Choosing Myself

by Faith Ornstein

In 17 years, I’ve had to move more than 10 times throughout New York City. In 3rd grade, I attended five different schools. As a child, I never understood why my family moved around like a military family, but now I know some of the reasons. 

Losing My Brother

by Anonymous

Names have been changed. My brother Thomas is only three years older than me. We didn’t feel close to our mom, our stepfather, or our dads. So growing up, it felt like it was just the two of us. We had so much fun playing video games, basketball, and other games we created.

Writing Contest Winners Spring 2022

Four times a year, we ask our readers to write about the impact recent stories have had on teens around the country. In Spring 2022, we had a range of responses from writers connecting to stories about family income, race, and fitting in.

There’s never just one way

by Maddy Goldstein

When I was in kindergarten, my mom read my favorite book to my class, How My Parents Learned to Eat. It’s the story of a Japanese woman and an American man who learned to use each other’s traditional utensils when they met: a fork and a knife for the Japanese woman and chopsticks for the American man.