• At War With My Phone

  by W.I.

  In the fall of 2023, I was in 9th grade, and my TikTok algorithm was set to funny memes and trends like Lebron James, Chipotle girl, the TikTok rizz party, brainrot, popular dances, and boy bands. My friends and I watched the 60-second videos on the bus to school in the morning, during lunch period, and even in school before the phone ban was implemented two years later.

• Chatbot Comfort

  by Lylagrace M.

  Names have been changed.  When someone asks if I use AI, I lie. I say, “No” or “Rarely.” Despite the fact that so many use it, there’s still a stigma. Especially if you’re using it as a counselor.  I’m not socially inept: I don’t flee to AI because I have no one to talk to.

• Being Creative, Getting Paid

  by Anonymous

  Names and identifying details have been changed. One of my earliest memories, from when I was 3: I dunked my hands into the paint can and watched them disappear into the blue liquid. My sister Stephanie and cousin Axel were covering each other and the floor with blue handprints and footprints, giggling loudly, and I joined in, slapping blue onto everything around me.

• I Don’t Want AI to Do My Thinking

  by Maggie Crary

  It’s been only two years since I first heard a teacher warn students not to cheat using AI. Since then, as I’ve learned more, it seems so obviously wrong and contrary to education itself. It strikes me as an attack on thinking, because AI can read the book for you and then write your essay about it. 

• Minding My Own Businesses

  by Orris Roper

  It was a weekday evening and I was sitting on the couch in our cramped living room, watching shadows lengthen across the wall. Finally, I heard the familiar jingle of keys in the lock at our apartment door. I ran to greet my mom.

• “Yeah, That’s Where I Live”

  by M.K.

  Names of people, places, and institutions have been changed. It was my first night at Camp Woods, where all Horter Academy freshmen are brought on their first day on campus. In two days, I’d start classes at Horter, my new boarding school in New England.