Teens Speak Out on the Election

Ari, 15: I am worried and baffled by Trump’s re-election. I don’t have citizenship and am in the U.S. as part of a program that gives Ukrainian refugees parole for two years at a time. Will Trump end this program? Trump being a fan of Putin makes me worry about my home.

More Than a Stereotype  

by Justin Sosa

Growing up as a Mexican-American, I’ve grown used to people reducing me to a stereotype (one teacher confidently called me “Jose”). I’ve even experienced people assuming that, because my family is Mexican, we’re criminals—that we’re a harm to the economy and to society and that we leech off of the US government.

Housing Stability Changed My Life

by Rose Perna

My mom, my six siblings, and I moved into a homeless shelter in Brooklyn in February 2021. It was a shelter for families with children, and the apartment they put us in was horrible. The walls had graffiti and mold on them, the floors looked like they’d never been cleaned, and you could hear rats scratching and squeaking inside the walls. 

The Foundation of Friendship

by Bhone Kyaw

The crowd erupted in triumphant noise. Cheers and cries rose from every parent as they saw their child walking into the auditorium, about to graduate Rego Park Elementary School. Unlike my 5th-grade classmates, a feeling of happiness and ecstasy did not rain on me when my name was called. 

Book Review: Spilling the Greasy Beans on Demon Copperhead

by Jessica Miller

Barbara Kingsolver dedicates her novel Demon Copperhead to survivors of the opioid crisis and foster care. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the book is dedicated to someone like me: I am an Appalachian who was put in foster care due, in part, to my father’s opioid addiction. 

How Gentrification Has Affected Me

by Enoch Naklen

I’ve watched the construction of 111 Montgomery in my Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights since it was nothing more than a large empty lot.  There was a playground nearby where my brother and I always played competitive 2v2s basketball with the neighborhood kids.