• 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. 

• More Than Shyness

  by Zi Qi Li

  “Uno out! See? I am better than you!” I laughed as I slapped down my last “plus 4 wild” card, beating my twin sister in yet another round of Uno. We would play for hours, our conversation swirling from the game to everything else.