Falling In With the Right Crowd

by Elizabeth Castro

In elementary school, I felt like I could take on anything that was thrown at me. I easily made the honor roll; once I even managed to be student of the month. I grew a little cocky. But somewhere along the way, I lost my touch.

Muslim Youth Unfairly Targeted 

by Abanty Farzana 

As we move on from what seems like an unforgettable event, New York City’s Arab and Muslim youth are still reeling in fear. Just as I feel uncomfortable and try to ignore sneers from strangers, so do other young people.  The key suspect in the terrorist attacks, whose picture is shown over and over again on the news and in magazines, is Osama bin Laden.

An Epic Epic

by Arina Limarieva

Before I saw Christopher Nolan’s new movie The Odyssey, my dad told me, “You either go in as a Homer fan, and get disappointed because it’s not a word-by-word retelling, or you go in as a Nolan fan and have a good time.” 

My Father’s Failure, Not My Fault

by Anonymous ("Angela")

The assignment was to paint a mug for your father. It was June, and the warm air calmed our usually rowdy 1st-grade classroom. The other kids bragged about their fathers and turned their store-bought mugs into symbols of perfect families.  I dipped my paintbrush into the bright paint.

Teens Speak Out on AI 

As schools, parents, environmentalists, and pretty much everyone else debate the takeover of AI, YC has been gathering teens’ opinions on the technology and what it means for their lives. Many YC writers describe a similar arc in school: Over the course of about two years, messaging from teachers and administrators went from “Don’t use AI to cheat” to “Here’s how students and teachers will now use AI.” 

Cheated Out of Learning

by Anonymous

In 10th grade, frustrated by algebra, I went to Google, typed in “math solver” and found a website called Gauth. I typed in the equation I needed help with and the answer appeared. I was shocked to see how easy it was to just be done with my homework.