Arriving, Finally, As My Chosen Name
I had recently cut my hair short for the first time. At school, a male friend saw me and said, “You look like a boy,” and it felt validating, especially coming from a boy. Then, it started to click that maybe I wasn’t the girl I thought I was. A few nights later, I sat […]
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My Own Stamp of Approval
My first two years of high school, I felt on top of the world. I had a 4.0 GPA. I discovered my love for theater. I made a lot of friends. I was up late studying so I wasn’t sleeping much, but I didn’t mind that. I figured that was a side effect of attending […]
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Silent No Longer
Names have been changed. Four years ago, my family spent Christmas with my aunt in Dallas. One afternoon, we walked into a boutique at the mall. Rows of trendy clothes caught my eye. “Let’s get you something nice,” my grandma said. I was excitedly picking through the shelves, talking to my grandmother in Spanish, when […]
Read MoreWe Asked 8 New York City Teenagers: How do you feel about returning to school?
It feels like the ones in power do not really care about us. New York City has the nation’s largest school system with approximately 1.1 million students. If we all go back, it is likely that interaction with our peers and strangers could cause many of us to contract the virus; cases are bound to […]
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