YouthComm Magazine - Youth Communication

YCM Story of the Week

Reintroducing Myself to the World

Changing my name was the first step in acknowledging my trans boyhood.

by Marlin Xie

As the first semester of my sophomore year of high school came to an end, I stared into my bathroom mirror, and a speck of doubt began to devour every thought I had about who I was. A fog swallowed my mind, and I realized I couldn’t recognize my reflection.

Recent Stories

Taking Charge of My Learning Disability

by Anaiss Quiles

As a kid in Puerto Rico, I had a hard time in school. Sometimes I learned at a slower pace, and at other times I would not understand anything the teacher explained.When my class studied for a test, I’d copy the answers onto my pencil box so I could peek at them during the test.
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.
My Fantastic Fandom

by Anonymous

Around the time I started high school, I decided that I wanted to grow my hair out beyond the short bog I was forced to maintain on my head. When it was time for me to get a haircut, I playfully asked my mother, “Why do you want to make my hair ugly again?
Reconnecting with My Mother Tongue

by Anonymous

“What are your classes this year?” my mom asked in Mandarin, a few weeks before 9th grade started. I showed her my schedule and told her I had biology, one of my favorite science classes. “What is that?” “It’s.. It’s like a class where you study animals,” I explained in a mix of Mandarin and English.

Represent Magazine

Stories by Teens in Foster Care

Rejecting My Role Model

I became the best of my father, but I had to separate to protect myself.

by Anonymous

I was a daddy’s girl. In elementary school, whenever someone asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said, “I want to be like my dad.” He worked hard, and he was my role model. He didn’t tell me or my siblings about his childhood.

Youth-written stories in Represent give inspiration and information to teens in foster care while offering insight into those teens’ struggles.

More Recent YC Magazine Stories