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YCM Story of the Week

  • Coming Out

    How Stonewall and RuPaul inspire me

    by Shakeva Griswould

    When I was 12 years old, I developed feelings for a girl. We had been friends since 3rd grade. She was funny and we cracked jokes together. She was a kind person and a true friend. Everyone got along with her.

Recent Stories

  • What We Can Do to Honor the Loss of Tyre Nichols 

    by Enoch Naklen

    On January 7th, Tyre Nichols was pulled over by five Memphis police officers for “reckless driving” according to NBC News. What followed was 13 minutes of him being brutally beaten and tased by these police officers. He died in the hospital three days later.  

  • My Case for Examining Existing Stalking Laws

    by Luca Bernstein

    One day, I was sitting outside with my mom and her friends at a coffee shop when a 50-something looking man who looked like The Dude from The Big Lebowski complimented me on my bicycle and asked if he could take a picture.

  • Coming Home to Harlem

    by Kayla Ruano-Lumpris

    Names have been changed. It was 6th grade recess, and a couple of girls were complaining about how far away they lived from school. I stared off into space, kicking at the fake grass beneath my feet, hoping they wouldn’t ask me where I lived.

  • Of Course I’m Smart Enough

    by Enoch Naklen

    “OK class, we’re about to transition to community meeting! On my count. One!” announced my 4th grade teacher.   One was the signal to push out your seat from the desk.  “Good job we’re moving with urgency! I like it Morgan State!” 

YC Magazine publishes true stories by teens, giving readers insight into the issues that matter most in young people’s lives.

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Video: Stories That Transform

Watch how educators use our stories to support the well-being of students

Represent Magazine

Stories by Teens in Foster Care

My Burdens as an Adoptee 

My parents want me to be grateful; I want them to see the whole me.

by J.M.

I was born in Kentucky and only had about three days with my birth mother before I was put into foster care. While nine months pregnant with me, she had been apprehended by the police and forcibly hospitalized because she was homeless and suffering a psychotic episode.

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

Explore YCMag Stories

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  • Arts/Culture
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  • Covid-19
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More Recent YC Magazine Stories

  • Writing contest winners winter 2023

    Four times a year, we ask our readers to write about the impact recent stories have had on teens around the country. In Winter 2022-23, we had a range of responses from writers connecting to stories about family, race, online culture, self image, and the importance of a name.

  • Gaming While Female 

    by Erika Yeung

    Names have been changed.   The first video game I played, when I was nine, was Call Of Duty: Black Ops III, a first-person shooter game. The player experiences the action through the eyes of the protagonist in a three-dimensional space. I loved the adrenaline rush that it and other games gave me.

  • I Am Not My Inheritance

    by Anonymous

    While I was close to my mom growing up, my father was emotionally absent and only seemed happy when he was highly intoxicated. Like a ghost, he came and went. I only saw him briefly before he left for work and after he came home, or during the weekends as he binge drank in the living room.

Express yourself, get published, win $

Youth Writing Contest

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