Sisters have a bond that lasts their entire lives.They share every moment, from the most trivial to the most defining, of alifetime. My sister Tessa will always hold a special place in my heart, andnothing that may come our way can change that. My first memory of hersitting in a corner and drawing intently will […]

What significance does the number 26.2 have? Why would this number be important to a 17-year-old high school senior? To many, this may be just a number having little or no significance, but to less than 1% of the United States population, this number means a whole lot more. To this tiny sector of the […]

The elevator doors open and an eighty-year-old woman wearing crocodile boots, and a full face of make-up steps out into a five-star restaurant. Ignoring the shocked eyes of her onlookers, she confidently maneuvers her way through the busy tables to the hostess station. Trailing behind her are my mortified parents, who are surprisingly overshadowed by […]

My feet were a blur to anyone who was watching. I was pedaling faster than a speeding bullet, flying down the road at a speed dangerous even for a NASCAR driver. With my helmet resting snugly on my sweaty 9-year-old head I was invincible, unstoppable, capable of anything. My hair was plastered to my forehead […]

I like to say that I turned 30 on my 13th birthday. I finished reading Anna Karenina. I took my first college tour and started my scholarship search. I memorized the Driver’s Permit Handbook and was ready to test. By the time freshmen year rolled around, my college plans were set in stone, and I […]

A lyricist since grade school, a writer since kindergarten, and an incessant chatterbox since the age of three, my life has long quested for the chef d’oevre, the masterpiece, the culmination of Hannah C.: the composition that I bestow upon the world that may define me and my existence as thoroughly as possible. “Bomb of […]

Once I told my mother, “I don’t want to be here.” “Where do you want to be?” she asked me, frowning in concern as she scrubbed a plate at the sink. “Inside my books,” I told her, my eyes falling on my tattered paperback on the counter. When I was a kid, I found solace […]

It is almost midnight. My feet are sore, my hands are calloused, my head is pounding and the smell of The Red Parrot – food and cigarette smoke – is seeping from my body. I have just worked for 12 hours and feel 100 years old, but it is worth it. At nine years old […]

Nothing in the room moved. I looked up, stared at my friends, and looked back down at my knees. In a matter of seconds something in the room had changed. We had gone from laughing and joking to sitting in complete and utter silence. I looked up again. A quick furtive glance and then it […]

Why am I crying? I mean, I’m barely three years old – am I always expected to provide a legitimate reason? Something really bad must have happened, though, considering I’m sure I was so cheerful a couple minutes ago when the nice nurse gave me some candy. What would Blue’s Clues do in this situation? […]