In the beginning of my senior year, I had no idea where I would end up after high school: whether I would be staying or leaving home for college. As I weighed my options, my friends and peers constantly...
“You never know what someone is going through” is a phrase that I’ve heard throughout my life, usually at the center of some moral lesson. Never did I imagine that I would be that “someone” —...
Stepping into a bustling fifth-grade classroom, I embraced a life-changing move from Chennai, India to San Jose, California, hoping for better education and brighter opportunities, but unaware of the challenges...
In the middle of the summer before my senior year, I laid in bed, the same moving frames playing over and over again in my mind. I saw myself running, panting, falling. Flat on the ground, completely expressionless.
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I watch my teammate swing at the ball, her lanky frame three feet in the air. She is going for a sharp angle shot, but she is not aiming high enough. I step to the right, anticipating the ball. Sure enough,...
My story started in a city North of New York City called Poughkeepsie. The concept of diversity there was so foreign that a local news reporter featured me and my friend for wearing traditional Indian...
I always remind myself, “Fake it ‘till you make it.” But I’m no actress. I’ve been fighting my introversion for years, trying to pretend that I’m an outgoing, charismatic person who is comfortable...
Five young Guatemalan girls clamored around me with sweet smiles on their faces, reaching for my hands and rushing me over to the shade under a nearby tree.
“Jugar con nosotros?” Maria asked eagerly...
At the beach, showers of silky sand and armies of sculptured cliffs have allured adventurers, swimmers and casual water waders for centuries. The breeze of savory oceans and goose-bumped skins are almost...
