• Arab, Algerian, Amazigh, and Kabyle

  by Hadjar Zafoun

  Sitting on a carpet surrounded by children, the kindergarten teacher asked each student to introduce themselves and say where we were from.  Most of the kids named New York City neighborhoods. Then it was my turn. “I’m Algerian!” I said, louder than I needed to.

• The Secret Language

  by Anonymous

  When your family of four shares a bedroom, other people’s conversations become background noise. But one night when I was about 11, lying quietly on my top bunk, I noticed that while my dad talked to his mother on the phone in Spanish, she answered in a different language.

• Powering Up and Tuning In

  by Yeshaya Benknockee

  When I was younger, I was reluctant to speak. Then, when I was in the 4th grade, my mom handed me a journal that was like nothing I had seen before.  On the cover were all my favorite DC Comics characters: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and the Flash.

• Mean Girl Wipeout

  by Anonymous

  Names have been changed. I got my first skateboard in April of my junior year. I practiced hard, mostly by myself, for a month because I was self-conscious about being a girl who couldn’t do cool “guy” things well.  By May, I had mastered some skateboard basics.

• Begging for Scraps as TPS Gets Taken Away

  by Anonymous

  On a family drive to the beach in Long Island a few months ago, my mom turned to me from the front seat and said, “Your grandpa was diagnosed with a terminal illness.” Her voice was sad yet calm, slightly detached.

• Beautiful Star

  by Noshin Sayira

  You almost got married when you were 13. That’s the version of the story people remember. The part that makes someone stop and ask questions. But they don’t remember that you had homework due the next morning. Or that you cared about the constellation of acne scars you gave yourself by popping your pimples until your face hurt.