MY FIRST TIME: Singing on Stage
“It’s not a big deal,” I told myself. “You’re not alone on stage. The audience will focus on the soloists and you’ll be fine.” Then why was I so panicky? It was the night of my first choral concert, and I was 10 years old. The other kids were laughing and joking together as they […]
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My Looking-Glass Self
I was anxious on the first day of my first college class, The Individual and Society. It was a sociology class that my adviser had suggested I take. I did not even know what “sociology” meant when I signed up. I certainly did not know that something in that class would make my own life […]
Read MoreChange is On the Way
When Bill de Blasio was elected New York City’s mayor in 2013 he chose Carmen Farina to be the chancellor of our education system, the nation’s largest. Chancellor Farina has been working in our public schools for over 40 years. She started as an English teacher at PS 29, where she taught for 22 years, […]
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Labeled Troublesome
Some names have been changed. Walking through the front door of my middle school, it feels like someone’s turned the temperature up. I start sweating as if I had a fever. It seems like everything just stops and all the attention is focused on me. Today feels like a trouble day. My music teacher stands […]
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