Bullying and Jealousy Made Me Into Someone I Didn’t Like
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. But in 1st grade, we began learning […]
Read MoreWhen I Lived in a Shelter, I Still Kept My Head Held High
Some names have been changed. In 2016, I felt like my world was collapsing. My two aunts died, and then my grandmother. This made me afraid that I’d lose my mother and twin brother, too, and be put in the foster care system. Then, in the midst of all that death, my mother, twin brother, […]
Read MoreDefunding the Police in Schools Can Help Support Essential Workers Like My Parents
My mother is a Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) sanitation worker. She works from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day, plus overtime late at night at least once a week. My father works even longer hours as a correctional officer at Rikers Island. Like many essential workers, they are risking their lives, yet their pay […]
Read MoreNow That I Am Inside
I am currently a junior at Hofstra University, and I am taking a course called Basic Black & White Film Photography. Since we no longer have access to the film lab at school, we can’t print or develop our photos right now. Therefore, my professor is having us switch from using film to our phones […]
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