• Listening to Love

  by Anonymous

  I realized I was unique when I was 4. Everyone else in pre-school had two ears, while I had a left ear and a tiny bump on the right side. I didn’t understand why my mom carefully brushed my long hair to hide the little bump.

• More Than Just a Game

  by Ayah Al-Masyabi

  When I was 5 or 6, I played soccer for the first time. In a school playground, I found a soccer ball lying on a patch of dirt and started kicking it away from me, then running to retrieve it. I thought I was alone, but a few minutes later an older boy with ginger hair walked over and asked if he could play with me.

• More Than Surviving

  by E.G. Grodzki

  Being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 3 years old meant I never knew a life without the disease. I thought my experience was universal until one day in the third grade. As my best friend and I ran laps during recess, I was stunned by her effortless endurance.

• Scoliosis Doesn’t Make Me a Burden

  by Ayah Al-Masyabi

  The cold hand of my mom’s chiropractor tickled me as she followed my spine. Pointing at it, she told my mom that my spine was curving. I had been experiencing worsening back pain for a few weeks. At first I hadn’t told anyone, afraid to be told that I was making it up to get attention.

• All of Me

  by Anonymous

  As soon as I started kindergarten, I knew I was different from other kids. While the rest of the class sat on the floor for circle time when the teacher read stories, I had to sit on a chair at the back.