• From Group Chat to Real Friends

  by Zi Qi Li

  Names have been changed. In 5th grade, I was diagnosed with selective mutism. Though I could speak comfortably at home with my parents and my twin sister Ada, at school I was completely mute. We were in different classes, but I’d stick by Ada at lunch. 

• Opening Up to the Right People Helped Me

  by Anonymous

  Some names have been changed  Going into high school, I had my guard up. I was just coming home from two years in foster care and I was quiet and slow to trust.  I was able to make friends, but I suffered a few betrayals.

• Bullying and Jealousy Made Me Into Someone I Didn’t Like

  by S.G.

  Names have been changed.  Being bullied and losing a friend made me loud and obnoxious. By high school, when I realized what I had become, it was hard to change. It started in elementary school. In kindergarten I had a good friend, Sam, and we did everything together.

• Wondering About Where I Fit In

  by Etana Williams

  For the first six years of my life, I grew up on the island of Trinidad. I spoke with an accent, pronouncing three as “tree.” I ate Carribean food like roti, aloo pies, and pelau. I was accustomed to drinking water straight out of a coconut, eating mangoes from my grandfather’s mango tree, encounters with snakes and lizards, and seeing houses in every color of the rainbow.

• Smoking Weed to Fit in

  by Tianna Bowman

  Names have been changed. When I started 7th grade, I became insecure about my body. My friends were more developed physically than I was and got more attention from boys. I was taller and skinnier than they were. This insecurity was all in my mind.

• I Became a Bully

  by I.M.

  Names have been changed. Middle school was the worst period of my life because of bullying. I was awkward, antisocial, and shy. I liked nerdy things like video games, anime, and comic books. I didn’t dress like most kids in school, and I had wild, untamed hair that was thick and messy.