I think I’m crazy. Sane people don’t do something that could potentially kill them unless they’re crazy. To put myself out there and to talk to strangers was almost like asking for a death sentence. I wasn’t one to talk to strangers. I mean, it’s the first rule you learn as a child. I honestly […]

All I remembered about the house was it smelled funny. It wasn’t a good sort offunny, like grandma’s perfume or a musty basement, but a different sort. I wasstill undecided whether I liked the pungent smell of mothballs, fish and mustysalt spray that filled my grandparents’ summer home on the Maine coast. Butnearly 13 years […]

I failed. Yes, I am a part of the 26.2 percent of teenagers who on average fail their first time. I am going to be honest and say that it was quite possibly the worst experience of my entire life. Most people say, “Oh I hate the DMV!” or “It’s okay everyone fails their first […]

Obesity is a bigger social issue than more people would like to think. The United States of America is the one country in the world, where our people living in poverty are either overweight or obese. This disease is killing people, and it will become more rampant in this country if we don’t do something. […]

Throughout their lives, people accumulate experienceswhich shape them. These experiences lead many to hold contrasting views and topractice disparate ideologies. Differences can be healthy; people can learn fromeach other in spite of their differences. A major change in my life blessed mewith the knowledge and understanding of two vastly dissimilar subcultures ofAmerica. It is necessary […]

At 7 years old I had my heart set on becoming a hairdresser. Like many 7-year-old girls, I had experimented on the unfortunate plastic heads of Barbie dolls, streaking their platinum blond locks with food coloring and hacking off clumps with safety scissors. I thought myself quite the stylist. Looking back, I should have taken […]

I raised my hand and it fluttered in the air for a moment. “Yes?” asked the woman, before my fingers could retreat. “What occurrences in your life influenced your writing?” I asked, softly at first, then louder as I was encouraged by her nod and smile. She looked around the room, thinking. The day was […]

“So, Jess, I was just wondering . . . why are you so into horses? I mean, your parents know nothing about them, your brothers pretty much ignore them, and no one in your family has ever owned a horse before.” A typical question. The same answer. My best friend. When I was five years […]

It was October 17, 2010. I had just left all-night bowling with a couple of my friends at about 3AM. We went out to eat at Eat N’ Park, and we were just enjoying ourselves, having a good time. I got home late and went straight to sleep. My phone rang early that same morning […]

Two years ago my friend started talking to me about her favorite band, The Maine, while we were in school. I had never heard of them before, and I was curious. Who are these guys? Is there music any good? What does “The Maine” even mean? Are they from the state of Maine? When I […]