• Of Course I’m Smart Enough

  by Enoch Naklen

  “OK class, we’re about to transition to community meeting! On my count. One!” announced my 4th grade teacher.   One was the signal to push out your seat from the desk.  “Good job we’re moving with urgency! I like it Morgan State!” 

• I Am Not My Inheritance

  by Anonymous

  While I was close to my mom growing up, my father was emotionally absent and only seemed happy when he was highly intoxicated. Like a ghost, he came and went. I only saw him briefly before he left for work and after he came home, or during the weekends as he binge drank in the living room.

• I Look, Therefore I Am?

  by R.G.

  Names have been changed.  It was the day of my friend Amanda’s bat mitzvah. She was more of a recent friend, someone who, with my implicit permission, tended to degrade me on a daily basis. Nonetheless, I liked her, and at one of the final parties of the year-long bat mitzvah season, I wanted to look my best.  

• More Than a Game 

  by Erika Yeung

  I fell in love with gaming when I was 9. My dad came home one day carrying a blue Best Buy bag with an imprint of a small, rectangular box sticking out the side. My eyes shifted like a cat following a ball of yarn—from his face, to the bag, and back to his face— until I noticed him smile, reach into the bag and pull out a bright green video game box.

• Fighting Two Battles at Once

  by Nabeeha Islam

  When I was 8, I was adamant about having a strict daily routine. I woke up at precisely 7 a.m., brushed my teeth at 7:05, and got dressed in 10 minutes. I had to follow this schedule exactly. If not, I experienced panic attacks until I got back into my pajamas and into bed, in hopes to “restart” my day from the beginning until I got my routine right.

• How Masking Impacted My in-school experience

  by Marylene Bioh

  After one year of online learning in 8th grade, I chose blended learning for my freshman year at Beacon High School. I only had to go in person one day a week, and during the rest of the week my classes were held remotely.