Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old young woman, was beaten to death by the Iranian morality police for wearing her head scarf loosely. Mahsa Amini who grew up in the Saqqez Kurdistan province, in northwestern Iran was visiting Tehran with her family when she was stopped by the morality police because parts of her hair were showing. …
Projector on a Whiteboard Stopped at a Red Light by Julissa Padilla On a warm and breezy day, you can hear cars honking, bright lights filling the air, advertisements as far as the eye can see, fruits in backyards, horses galloping, chickens walking on unpaved sidewalks. Uh, are we talking about the same world? …
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Rise Above “It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane.” — Philip K. Dick, Valis “The reward for the life of a writer is not happiness, but sudden death or disability.” — Philip K. Dick, The Divine Madness of Philip K. Dick * I’ve always been an avid reader, from my long …
Role Models by Larissa Sese-Khalid I met one of my first role models in a hospital. This experience happened when my sister cut open her knee and had to go to the hospital to get it treated. Occasionally, I believe that my sister can be a clumsy person. The time my sister injured her …
Finding Myself by Chad Grant “The reason we feel alienated is because the society is infantile, trivial, and stupid. So the cost of sanity in this society is a certain level of alienation.” — Terrence McKenna “A certain ruthlessness and a sense of alienation from society is as essential to creative writing as it is …
Personal Values by Aaliyah Sese-Khalid I believe that possessing good values is important. Values are important because they make up a part of me. I gained this belief from observing my parents throughout my life. My parents are very hardworking people and they work a lot so that they can support me. I’m very …
Time for Mental Health by Mitchell Nicolai I believe that one’s mental health is the most important part of one’s well-being. In quarantine, during Covid, I found myself in a different kind of health battle. I wasn’t sick, but I felt off. There was something wrong even though I showed zero physical signs of …
My son’s name is Pendar. The word Pendar stems from the Zorastrian religion — good sayings, good actions, good ponderings. I remember when he was not even a year old, he was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. And as he grew older he became severely autistic. My life was filled with reading books …
Right Person, Wrong Time by Kirsten Buenafe Something I believe in is right person, wrong timing. Everyone may not believe it is true but in my scenario it is. I have made many long-distance friends due to the course of the impact from the covid-19 pandemic. It was hard not seeing my irl friends in …
Water Is Thicker Than Blood by Naya Sanchez-Sanabria I have never believed in the saying that “blood is thicker than water.” It never made sense to me because I knew that it wasn’t true. One of the most important moments in my life is when I met my step-dad for the first time. I …
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I Believe in Self-Love by Ana Rosario Self-love is a concept that is relatively new to me. While self-love is something that exists in all human beings, it is not something we are often taught to prioritize. Mainly out of fear of being perceived as arrogant or conceited. Although, I feel the concept of …
The Kingdom by Omar Bracamontes I cannot say much about the current state of my Kingdom. Besides the fact that it’s in need of help. This city used to be a land where all things were possible, where one could experience the fruits of their labor. A land that brought hope and peace, due …
Hard Work Pays Off by Samuel Oteng I believe that hard work pays off. I remember the first time my dad brought home two professional cameras when I was 12. He was a photographer in Italy before coming to the United States. He drove two hours away to a camera store and bought 2 …
The Secret by John Nguyen The visible world is only a minuscule fragment of its entirety. These more elusive realms are only perceivable with an invitation. The most sought after is the domain of secrets. These mysteries thrive in a faraway land. This territory cannot be located on any artificial, synthetic map. Gaining knowledge of …
Therapy Saves Lives by Eliza Graham Moore I believe in therapy. Despite being a young 19-year-old woman, I have found myself a victim to many things in my short life experience, from minor inconveniences all the way to abuse. I grew up like everyone else, or so I thought for many years, despite the …
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