As the year ends, we’d like to thank our teen writers for sharing stories that informed and inspired thousands of their peers during the year. Below are a few of their most popular stories of 2021. 

And thanks to educators who used stories to make their classrooms and programs more engaging and exciting.

Of course, a big shout out to the supporters who are making this work possible. 

My Parents Collect Bottles for a Living A ‘friend’ tried to shame me, but I’m proud of their hard work. By Jessica Yauri

Not Allowed to Be a Kid As a tall, Black youth, I’ve been surveilled and pushed around by police since elementary school. By Amaru Howard

My Test Score Didn’t Show What I Could Achieve The Discovery Program is one step toward making New York City’s high school admissions process more equitable. By Richard Zhao

Not Just a Kid From the Projects I want to become a teacher to help poor students fulfill their dreams. By Meagan Zullo

Breaking Free of My Mom to Be My Real Self A loving and consistent foster family helps, but it’s still hard to separate from my abusive mother. By Miles Dale

How I Finally Got Mental Health Help It took a while to find the right adults to support me. By Sonobia James

I Got the Vaccine to Protect My Mom and Help End the Pandemic Social media told me the vaccine was dangerous, but my mom’s illness and my own research convinced me to take my shot. By Sirsy Galarza

The Healing Tree I lost myself in the pandemic and found myself again in nature. By Kiran Yeh