Wolf and Sheep - Yuxuan Sha (Sasa)

Once upon a time, on the beautiful Mongolia prairie, another story between the wolves and the sheep was silently taking place. It was a evening in the mid-summer, a lone wolf slowly crept up behind a crowd of sheep. The wolf was very young and had probably never hunted on its own before. It looked nervous, and hesitated in the shadows, but hunger urged it forward. Finally, the wolf leaped and chased after the startled sheep. After a long time, an old sheep accidently fell into a crack in the middle of the ground due to exhaustion, and the wolf quickly jumped in after it. So, the situation changed, we had a lone wolf and a lone sheep standing face to face in the crack. Frightened, the old sheep stamped and snorted, pleading the other sheep for help. The crowd of other sheep all stopped in response and surrounded the crack, nervously watching, but none willing to do something to help. After the poor old sheep realized that it was completely on its own, it suddenly calmed down. The old sheep lowered its head, showing its short but sharp horns, and lunged at the wolf, ready for a final battle before its death. However, the wolf was still too young and innocent, surprised at the sheep’s sudden protest, it only had time to give a yelp before being knocked down by the sheep. Defeated, the wolf stumbled out of the crack and ran away into the prairie.

This is a real story my grandfather had witnessed when he was a child, and it was ridiculous. A huge crowd of at least fifty sheep, blindly running away from a tiny lone wolf and won’t even thought about protesting until one of them was left alone. So, I asked my grandfather how could such a thing happen in real life? And My grandfather explained. The sheep allowed themselves to be chased around by a single wolf not because they were actually that scared of the wolf. Some of the sheep might not even knew what was chasing them, they only knew that everybody was running, and so should they. The other sheep who saw the wolf and knew who was their enemy didn’t protest neither because they were waiting for someone else to do it. Of course, a single wolf couldn’t possibly win a fight against fifty sheep, but it was quite possible that the first sheep to turn around and face the wolf was going to be hurt first. So, none of the sheep was willing to be the sacrifice. However, when the old sheep fell into the crack with the wolf and the situation changed, the old sheep was willing to protest as a result of helplessness. The old sheep realized that there was nobody else to stand up for it and itself was already the sacrifice no matter what. So on the contrary, it was willing to fulfill the job and even surprisingly succeed.

This kind of story happens all the time, not just on the mongolia prairie, but also everywhere in our society. The Holocaust, and all kinds of massacres are all results of people not standing up for each other and end up being killed all together. So, it’s time to put down the selfishness and protest before it’s too late. Just like the lone wolf, our enemy might actually be a lot weaker than we thought.

The Good Ol’ Days by Arnav Bhardwaj

I believe that the good old days are only able to be seen once you are passed them.

As a kid, every child desires to grow up. There is something about being in elementary school that just makes it seem uncool at the time. Because of this most, kids don’t enjoy their lives in the moment and only seem to ponder on their future.

But, as people grow reaching higher level schooling such as middle school, high school, and beyond the same thoughts always seem to arise the ones of them missing the “good ol’ days.” The days where there were no thoughts about money, love, or what life was to become it was all about what was going on around you and that was it, that was life.

Then, there comes realization of how life along with everything you knew before has passed in a blink of an eye. None of the situations we imagined as children emerge leaving us perplexed thinking that we had been lied to our whole lives. However, everyone knows this is not the truth as we were young and did not know any better than what we had seen on TV and in movies. Even the older kids would make their lives seem like a fairy tale with all these amazing stories that would get all the little kids excited and anxious for what was to come. So I guess you could say we were misled to an extent, but I think it was protection.

Unfortunately though these are all things we learned a little too late causing us to miss out on what we did have, the memories that will last us a lifetime, the ones that make a person who they really are. Obviously we can see all this now because it is easy to do, however in the moment it becomes much more difficult as all the meaningless worries seem life threatening, stopping us from being able to see the positives and what we’ll remember about that time 20 years later.

Now you can see that it’s not that easy to “live in the moment,” when there are always things in the way. I think I have already figured out the true meaning of the good old days, they are the moments when there was nothing stopping me from seeing the good, the moments that were truly meant to be.

Thinking you are better than one person, well your're not- Aakash

Jackie Robinson said many years ago “I’m not concerned with you liking or disliking me… all I ask is that you treat and respect me as a human being”.

Do you ever stop to understand why Jackie has said what pushed him so much to say “ All I ask is that you treat and respect me as a human being”. People mistreating each other because their skin color was not the same as yours or they believed in something you don’t, that’s not right  giving a chance and understanding why is what will make you think twice before discriminating to one whole race . I like to say that under our skin we are all the same color.

In spring break of 2016 I went to New York to represent my school at the United Nations, At the United Nations we are there trying to fix world problems, when there I noticed many people from all over the world, and I had to talk to many of them. Trying to understand what these people from other countries were saying and their beliefs on why they were saying certain things for my topic was hard. At the end of the day thinking back to when people of different races and colors couldn’t be together but we were all together today working to fix world problems, and helping millions around the world. This experience has engraved itself inside of me, and it will always stay with me.

Today in class I sit next to an African american girl she is really nice, and funny, I do not understand why people in the 1960 could not take time to simply understand what the African Americans are going through or just colored people in general. If you still discriminate watch Remember the Titans you will learn to find a way to get over discriminating, and you will see everyone as an equal.

I leave you with this “I speak not for myself but for those without a voice… those who have fought for their rights... to live in peace, their rights to be treated with dignity, their right to equality of opportunity” Malala Yousafzai said this and that’s all people ask for and opportunity, and opportunity to show you who they really are.

This is what I believe, in Equality.

Couldn't See - Julia Raley

I knew she was there but I couldn't see her. When she wasn't there anymore, I finally could.

When my sister told me she was moving out (far from here), every words she's spoken, every glance she's given, everything she's ever done for me raced through my mind in a single beat. Suddenly, I saw her there. I really saw her. Tears rolling down her cheeks, glossy lost eyes, squeezing my hands. I felt her touch, felt her eyes on mine, felt her presence. My entire life with my sister, each moment down to every split second, those moments had been taken for granted and I couldn't get them back. She had been latent in my eyes. I can see her now though but she’s not here for me to look at her again and treasure her presence.

I believe we don't take the time to look at each other. To realize the moments we are given. To really admire them.

I expected her to just always be in the next room ready to give me a hug and aimlessly talk about our days after my school and her work. I miss her and I miss the moments I didn't give any attention to when they were still in my reach.

Now, I not only see the ones who love me and notice them with me, but I am afraid of not cherishing the time I have around them. I am not living out my existence in fear though. I am living my life breathing in every moment with the other lives passing through.

I can see them.

How to grow from your mistakes by Tim madison

In this story God tested my strength in him, and if i was ready for a new challenge in life.

I thank God that this tragic event happened to me. Experiencing events like the one I am about to tell prepares one for the real world; helps me become a strong man of Christ.

One day in the fall when I came back from school, my mom told me my sweet, caring, loving, independent Grandma had cancer. My world was instantly turned upside down; I thought it was going to be a normal day but it turns out to be one of the most tragic events of my life.

I started questioning God and asking why she had cancer. What did I do to deserve this? my mom kept telling me it was okay but I wasn’t a child I new what cancer does to people I was worried. At school people asked if i was ok but i would just say i’m fine, but my teachers knew something happened because they all told me that my grades were dropping, and that I wasn't participating and focusing like I usually did in class. My world was flipped in just a matter of seconds when before this I thought everything was fine and swell.

I believe in getting better from your mistakes. If my grandma didn’t have cancer I wouldn't've had the opportunity to grow stronger mentally;This unbearable experience helped me grow my faith in the Lord because I needed to trust God that everything would be ok and that I could get through the pain and the sadness. Lastly I grew mentally because if this didn’t happen one might grow up and not be able to handle a tragic event and may use other things to help with the sadness that is not Christ like.

Visualization by Holden Wilson

You can do anything if you picture yourself doing it. I believe that visualization is the key to success during a sport or physical activity.

During my early years of elementary school, my favorite sport was baseball and I loved to play in the field. One thing that I disliked about the game was hitting because it was our first year in kid pitch. One of my dreams in baseball was to hit a home run just like my teammates have. I practiced hard and gave full effort but things never added up during my games.

One day after one baseball practice, my dad noticed that I was a great hitter during practice, however I wasn’t during the games when the kids are pitching. My dad told me to pretend that your coach was pitching to you during the game and picture yourself hitting a home run beforehand. When I went up to bat in the next game all I could think about was what my dad preached to me before the game. During practice in the on deck circle, all I could picture and think about was me hitting a home run and seeing my team congratulate me at home base. When I stepped into the box, my legs stopped trembling and my heart stopped beating. All I could see in front of me pitching was my coach. When I swung my bat felt ten times lighter. The crack of the bat startled me, and my legs started moving without even thinking about it. When I stomped on home base I knew this technique would benefit me for the rest of my life

Even today, I still use this to accomplish many things, including baseball. From maxing out in the gym, to making free throws in basketball, visualization has taught me and guided me to success.

Not Just Syllables- by Finley Eidem

“You look terrifying.”


A phrase normally associated with a monster, or something that evokes great fear. Or, in my case, the first thing my best friend said to me when I got my braces off.


I remember that day vividly, as getting your braces off is basically a rite of passage for a thirteen year old girl. I wore my favorite shirt, put on my favorite shoes. I could barely contain my excitement, and when I smiled with my perfect teeth for the first time, I was overcome with the feeling that I was finally starting to look grown up. As I walked back into school, I smiled at the receptionist with a real smile, not just the fleeting traces of a smile with no teeth showing like I used to do so often. People were smiling back in the hallways, and I thought to myself, “nothing could ruin this day.”


When I walked up to my best friend, I was eagerly anticipating what she was going to say. So when she uttered those three little words, a dark rain cloud came rumbling in, torrential downpouring on my sunny day. People started to laugh. I started panicking. She continued. “I don’t even want to look at you.” I walked away, feeling small. I put a sweatshirt on over my favorite shirt.


A year later. I had grown up a lot in the past year, and finally had the confidence to distance myself from my so- called “best friend” and start fresh. I grew closer to someone who’d always been in my life, and she became the person who could make me laugh until I cried and who I could tell everything to with complete confidentiality.


I walked into school one morning, already having a bad day. I had a test I forgot about and my mother had yelled at me for not remembering. Just like the stereotypical awful day, I had woken up late, thrown on some old volleyball sweatshirt and shorts, my hair still slightly damp. I already couldn’t wait to go home.I walked up to my friend, ready to rant about my terrible morning. Before I could even utter a word, she said “you look really good today. I love your sweatshirt.” A simple compliment, 9 words, two sentences. She said it without thinking, but that’s why it meant so much. This small gesture meant the world to me, since I had grown so accustomed to hearing negative things about myself. Immediately, I was taken back to that day in seventh grade, and realized that I had great reason for being so hurt at my friend’s statement, because words do matter.





I believe in the power of words; how they can truly affect a person. Humanity takes words for granted, seeing them as just mindless syllables put together. However, I believe words are one of the most powerful mechanisms in the world. It breaks my heart when I realize that the only thing I remember from that important day was one mean comment. I have no recollection of anything else anybody said, and I feel awful that I was so focused on the one bad thing. My best friend’s positive comment reminded me of how great of magnitude words can possess, and how one statement beholds the power to change how a person is feeling completely. I believe in the tendency for humanity to take words to heart, since words should not be tossed around mindlessly. I believe in the power of words.

The Chord That Changed My Life by Katy(Ziyue)Zhang

There were monsters chasing me, compelling me to get the top score. Then I heard the words ,“Player number four, please enter the room.”,a teacher shouted across the hall. I snapped back to reality. I took a deep breath and walked up towards the piano. I glimpsed outside, my mom’s eyes were full of excitement. I looked up at my piano. Putting my hand on the position of the first chord. As soon as I pressed down the keys, my performance had commenced. At first it went well; all the piano keys were following my direction, but when it comes to the hard scale-run, my head went blank. A cold sweat broke off on my back. My muscle memory forces me to repeat the same measure over again. The keys are floating in my head. I panicked. By the end of the piece, I failed all the chords and completely wrecked the ending. My performance was considered a failure. I walked out of the concert venue with my head down, avoiding eye contact with everyone, including my mum.

“People all make mistakes, and mistakes are not necessarily a bad thing.” My mum patted my shoulder and said. “But what makes a person weaker than others is how you see your failures.” I thought to myself, maybe my mistake at the competition could actually teach me something. I reflected back on my performance. The mistakes I made were all due to my ways of practice. If I change my way of preparation, then I could do better next time. Slowly, I walked towards my house, and a tiny smile appeared on my face.

I believe in the value of mistakes. No one is born to be perfect. Everyone makes mistakes, but
mistakes are lessons that are granted to people to transform them in diverse ways. Starting from that

point on, instead of blaming myself on everything that I have done wrong. I make mistakes as granted.

Mistakes give me time to reflect on my life while learning something new from it.  There will never be
simple mistakes in life, but there will always be lessons to learn.

Pencil, Paper, Imagination, Lesson by Samhitha Radhakrishnan

When I was a little girl, my family always told me to try new things. But, I never liked to, because I thought I would never truly find something that I would enjoy. However, that all changed one day.


Art. An activity that I used to hate at one point of my life. I never even tried to understand why I hated it so much, I just never attempted to draw anything. I didn’t want to try drawing, in fear of being bad at it. However, one day, I was just lying on the couch, doing absolutely nothing. Then, suddenly, my mom came over and gave me a paper and pencil, and she said “ Draw something, Sami”. I replied saying I don’t like to draw, even though I never tried it before. She knew I was lying but just replied to my excuse saying “ You never know unless you try.”


After that statement, my mom put the paper and pencil on the desk and left the room. I grumbled and took the paper and decided to draw something in two minutes. But, two minutes changed to two hours and after a long time, I finally finished my masterpiece. It was a tree basking in the warmth of the sun. The leaves were of different greens and on the tree there were little pink flowers. I went to my mom to show my work and she was amazed. Then, she grinned and reminded me of her famous statement, and that moment changed my life.


I realized that trying new things helps you find who you really are, and the only person stopping you from doing it, is you. Trying new things may not always be easy to do, and it was hard for me to brace the fact that it might help me, but in the end, I realized the value of stepping outside my comfort-zone. When I did that, I found my passion and now I am not afraid to take chances. I am now a fearless risk-taker.

Saluting More Than a Soldier-By Scott McCord

I believe in working with a passion because I never know the effect it can have on someone else.

On a Sunday around the same time for the last two years, my church and I went to a homeless shelter that gives people a place to live and have a second chance at life. We usually sing songs about hope and Christ. Personally, it hasn't been anything special the last two times I wasn't expecting anything out of the ordinary to happen. However, this time on my 3rd year going and while I was in eighth grade something I have never seen or felt in my years of going here.

On April 14th, 2019, I did the same thing I always do when I arrived there, talking to people then we got up to sing our song but in the middle of the 3rd song. I was disinterested and looking into space but a looked across the room and my eyes were finally open of how we were affecting these people in such a positive way. When I saw people dancing and singing I noticed a veteran standing up with a stone-cold look on his face. He and his features on his face showed no expression as he was saluting but I could see the emotion in his face and in his heart.

Since then, I remember to complete a task to its fullest and at that moment everything in time stood still and Every moment where I didn't try my hardest came flooding back to me like an unexpected storm. I will never forget when the water in his eyes started to build up and the emotions he was feeling. I also felt a sense of gratitude and respect for him as well as he probably felt for us. When the Veteran saluted, my body became overwhelmed with emotions that have never be revealed to myself. I felt as if I was in his troop and he saluted to me for my time fighting in a war. Since that moment that lasted no longer than a whole minute, The event will be in the back of my mind and will help me remember this moment, and remind me to do everything with a full heart. I now see everything that I don't like as a chance to help someone find peace with themselves. It moved me in a way of how a veteran who served our country was not saluting his captain or fellow trooper but some teenagers that where that is what moved me the most.

The happiness of others is a better feeling and an overwhelming feeling that what makes me happy because I know that I'm living for someone else and not myself. When my opinions and likes were put aside and were able to change more than the other people around me. I change myself in more ways than one I was able to relate to someone by not even talking to him

I believe people should work with a passion because they never know the effect it can have on someone else.

Be Grateful for what you have by Anish Paudel

I believe in being grateful for what you have will result in happiness.


When I went to Nepal it was cool to see all the people living their daily lives. It was like I was in another world. Nepal is a developing country so other countries look almighty compared to Nepal. Just after I saw how kids lived their lives, it shocked me. They would go to play soccer, basketball, and anything outdoors. I reflected on my life and saw how everyone was either playing video games, on their phones and just in general indoors. The way a person lives their lifestyles affects their interpretation and definition of gratefulness.

Personally, I had an iPhone 6s plus. On the other side kids, my age in Nepal were less fortunate than me and everyone back home. Even though the teenagers in Nepal didn't have as much stuff as teens in America, they were still enjoying life. In the US we have stuff we want, but don't need. In Nepal, people get what they need, not what they want. For example, in the United States, we look at luxurious items as a need, like headphones. In Nepal through the people's interpretations are way lower; as a thing, they don't need is a toy. Through this experience, I learned that being grateful for what you have will result in happiness.

Don´t Expect Everyone To Stay by Kolby Ricketts

If someone has the heart and gut to leave me, I have learned, that they don't deserve to be in my life.

I have watched my family fall apart and break into pieces. My sister has ripped us entirely like a piece of paper. I was about 8-10 years old and she had done some things she should not have as well as getting kicked out of our house. At that point, I closed her door that I mentally made in my mind for her and locked it. People say, ¨ close a door and then open a new one.¨ That is exactly what I did. I believe she left for a reason. Maybe my sister wasn't meant to be a part in my future. So I closed her door and did not look back. Unfortunately, the door opened again, no matter how much I didn't want it to. Then, the exact same thing happened again ( came back then got kicked out again). Our ¨family¨ was as destroyed as it could be. After she had left, I created another mental door and bolted it shut. She could never enter my life again. I still believed she wasn't supposed to be involved with me, maybe God was trying to tell me somehow. I didn't know. I also was not mentally ready for her to be a part of me and my life. But guess what happened? My bolted door I made? Yea, she took a sledgehammer and knocked it down. My sister had found a way to sneak back and enter my future. Currently, I believe the events that happened has ruined us ( as a family) and me mentally and physically.

I believe not everyone is supposed to stay connected with us, as people. I believe she left for a reason but shouldn't have come back.


Now, I have used the events to realize that not everyone is meant to stay. I can´t just expect everyone to be in my life throughout eternity. If someone wants to walk out of my life, I'm letting them. But they´re not coming back in.

Wow Conversation by Vidhi Pulsay

Wow conversation by Vidhi Pulsay

It was like every other normal day, and I get this notification on my phone. It was a text from one of my best friends. I opened the text and it said, “Thank you.” I was extremely confused because she simply wasn’t the kind of friend who appreciates others, she’s cool and funny. My mind blew up with questions, is she being sarcastic? Is it a prank? Is she okay? Did I do something wrong? What happened? So I replied, “what did I do to deserve a thank you?”


“Just thanks for being trustworthy and kind friend.” At this point I knew something was wrong for sure. “C'mon what happened?” I questioned. “Fake people bother me and real ones surprise me and you’re one of them.” This statement was the last thing I expected from her.


I had mixed feelings, and I knew she went through a terrible situation but I was glad she got a lesson out of it. I felt something after she said that, the need of thanking others for being there for me, always, my friends and family. That very ‘wow’ moment I realized how lucky I am to have all these amazing people by my side.


Today, I think about the effort others put into helping us and genuinely value it. Almost all of us take one or the other for granted but what about their efforts? Shouldn’t we respect them? All it takes is one word, thanks. Noticing what everyone around me does for me is why I feel good about myself everyday. Appreciate the simplest to the greatest things others do, only for you, it satisfies yourself and them.


Since that one conversation, every other normal day is incomplete without cherishing what individuals do for me. I believe in gratitude.

Mile Record! by Fernando Leyva-Montiel

I believe that negative thinking should not be the cause of bringing your thoughts and your mindset even in the hardest or saddest moments.

I believe that track is a very important sport, especially in the 1600 meters or the mile (which is 4 laps), because this event requires both a very quick jog but yet again you need to have insurance, and need to be able to pace yourself to be able to get the same time per lap and try to get 1, to be able to do this and try to get a record takes a lot of practice and training especially when the record is 3 minute and a 34 second mile world record. 15 minutes before my race started I recently noticed that my time had ranked 4 in the district which was decent time compared to the other competitors which their times were scaled from a 4:40 to a 5:08 while I was running a 5:16 knowing this struck a million of negative thoughts throughout my head thinking that I wasn't good enough and that I was not capable of getting in the top 6.

At this point every part of my body was showing how negative I was thinking and how it showed that I was telling myself that I was not able to do good in this next event, especially through my face showing doubt and fear. It wasn't until my dad saw me when he knew had to do something about it before my race had even started. As he called me over I ran towards him with a slouchy back and a sloppy running form showing many people that I wasn't confident in myself giving the image to other people that I wasn't going to be able to do what I have done for the past few races in this race. First thing he did when I arrived with him was slapping me on the back making be extend it so that I would keep my back straight. The first thing that he asked me was what I was thinking. I responded the question by saying that I was fine evading the question. As I looked at his eyes we both knew that I was not fine and that there was obviously something going on through my mind making a negative wall that was stopping me from going

better than what I could go at. He started to tell me that this was my race that I would be able to own it and to start telling myself that I am able to do this, that this was going to be a piece of cake, and that everything was going to be fine. Within 10 minutes until the race I was already feeling more confident and started to trust myself.


“BBAAMMM!” The gun struck as all 8 boys started to get ahead of the line, as I wasn't able to push myself to the front of the group making get me marked at 3 to last place. Unfortunately it was a struggle to catch up since i had to sprint to the front of the group making me feel more tired per second.”ding, ding, ding¨ it was the last lap as everyone started to pick up the pace starting to finish unfortunately I kept the same place during the whole time which made me stay in 5 place finishing with my head almost down disappointed that we were all clumped in a group and that 4 place finished a couple of milla seconds ahead of me made me feel angry. As soon as the lady came over to tell us our time, she told me that got a 5:10! With this news I saw that my mentality was affected by my positive thoughts . Seeing the effects of my thoughts I noticed that negative ones should never affect your performance.

Not What It Seems by Mahela Taj

I believe that everything happens for a reason.

Someone reminds me of this every single day, my dad. As lucky as I am to live with a roof over my head, it wasn’t easy to gain.

My mother told me about how they managed to make a living and the hardships they both went through. My dad has struggled to find a place to live; he was in a spot where he was forced to stay on the streets to sleep and live. My father had migrated from London, England to Chicago, Illinois and was living life as if it was every man for himself. When he had doubted a positive outcome, he had met the love of his life. My mother was his boost of determination to find a job and maintain a lifestyle that was healthy for them. Five years later, I was introduced to their lives. Keeping me healthy was and still is their biggest priority.

Unfortunately when I was born, another obstacle came upon them, my dad had lost his job. This limited them from a lot, and we had to hold onto what we had left. My mother then turned to God, and prayed for a miracle. This helped our family out quite a bit. He gained luck from finding hundred dollar bills on the ground, to visa gift cards full of money. It was something he did not expect, but got both of my parents to see the bright side of things.


Currently, we are happy to say that we do maintain a stable life for our family and have bright plans for the future. Afterwords, I personally felt a flood of emotions. From gratitude, to curiosity, and even a bit of regret. I have taken this story they’ve confessed to me into a life lesson. Anytime I feel as if my problems are the end of the world, the image of my parents going through those tough times appear; my issues seem less intimidating.

The idea of everything happening for a reason is hard to accept, but the story I was told got me to see that sometimes you have to get through the worst of times to get to the best of times.

Social Skills by Manit Mallesh

I’ve tried starting conversations they didn’t even last 30 seconds. I’ve tried waiting until someone talked to me but, that would’ve gone forever. I even tried annoying people until they talked, but they kept on ignoring me. I believe that social skills are a good skill that will help anyone in their life.

It all started when I moved into a new school and tried making friends; however, my social skills have kept me from achieving what I wanted to do in my 6th-grade year. I tried talking to as many students as possible, but no one would respond back. I went home every day trying to ruminate something that would improve my social skill, but nothing came to mind. Eventually, as the school year went on I kept on trying to talk and practice my social skills. I went home every day, practicing my talking skills. I kept on bothering my parents and my brother by talking to them as much as possible. I became better at it each time I did it! Soon enough, people stopped ignoring me and people started to talk to me. There were people trying to talk to me frequently every day.

I have learned many valuable things as I went through this terrifying experience and I'm also really grateful for having this experience because now I'm able to learn from the mistakes I did and help newcomers from other schools. Using my past experiences to help others is always an awesome thing to do and It also has an awesome feeling to it.

Find the importance in a Vegetable -by Anwita Bulusu

I believe I should be thankful for what I have. Being gifted food on my table and having access to resources has helped me in everyday life, but never taught me the value of it.


When I was a little girl visiting India one summer, my mom took me to a small shopping center located in New Delhi, India. As we tried and peaked through many colorful outfits , I started to grow hungry, as a 7-year old girl I started bugging my mom for food. While my mom started peeping through each store trying to find if there was something to eat, she finally found corn. As I bit my teeth into the corn I realized that I didn’t want it. Since my mind was set on not wanting the corn, I gave the rest to my mom.


Later that day, we were waiting in the car for my uncle to get back. Next I heard two small knocks on the window. Looking at the window , I saw two little kids,one boy and one girl, in faded clothes. My first reaction to those kids were, who were they? What did they want? Then I noticed my mom giving the half eaten corn to them, they both sat there enjoying the warm juicy vegetable. Seeing those two kids appreciating the leftover corn where as I gave it back to my mom not even appreciating it a little made me want to die in shame, but feeling the embarrassment helped me know the importance of the simple vegetable.


Now I realize as a person I should find the value in food and money. I realize not to waste food. I also realize I should also be appreciative for what I have.

The power of YOU - by Devika Nambisan

I believe that being yourself has a huge impact. Writing has always been a nightmare for me. It gives me stress, and tension about my grades. I thought that using complicated words and thesaurus would get me better grades. But my thinking changed completely this year.


In the beginning of the year, I wrote my essays by faking and not being myself. I was just doing it for the sake of doing it. It impacted me inadequately as my grades were not that high.


After many essays, when I thought about the way I write and Mrs.Hill’s tips, I was disappointed that I could not achieve good grades. So, I decided to not think about grades, and I just tried to be myself and wrote whatever I felt like without using a thesaurus in the handouts like the ‘Blue Eyes’, which showed me the power of being myself. My try to be myself resulted in better grades. A mindset of trying led me to a different thinking about writing.


The experience of my change in grades prove that it had a really massive impact. Mine was a big impact however it can even be a small one, but it did impact my thoughts and my writing.


Even though it is such a small thing to be yourself while writing, it does wonders. My lesson was that when you be yourself you will see a gigantic change. The change can be anything, grades, happiness, anything. The writing was something that proved me the power of being myself. It took me almost an year to realize this lesson, but it was a lesson that was worth the time.

Selfless Friends by Anish Yakkanti

I believe in my friends selflessness. Friends are the people in life that comfort us during hard times, they are the people who make us laugh and smile. Sometimes friends are closer to us than even our own family. I’ve known these things my whole life, but I never truly understood the true value of friendship until I moved to a new school. I’ve done many hard projects during school, but the hardest task for me, always, is making friends in a new school.

In the 2014-2015 school year, I was sent to a new school. It was hard for me to make new friends, but I met a kid named Jason after a couple of weeks. We had the same interests such as Minecraft, anime, and tech, but Jason was already in a friend group, and being a shy 4th grader I didn't even dare sit with them during lunch. I sat by myself during lunch, but everyday Jason chose to sit next to me instead of the other kids which he had known for multiple years. He introduced me to his other friends, and we got along well and even played in a park after school some days. I never really appreciated the things Jason did for me until I was older I easily could have been the “one shy kid with no friends” In my school, but Jason was selfless and sacrificed his time with the people he’d known for years to hang out with me.

Jason may have just been an extroverted 4th grader, but he changed my life. Now I’ve moved to a different school and have made many friends thanks to the lesson I’ve learned from him. Even though we live far away from each other I still make time in my week to play some Minecraft with him. Now I genuinely sympathize and care about my friends, unlike a little elementary kid who just moved to a new school.

We Are People by Sam Durham

I believe that you aren't supposed to gawk at women

When I was still doing competitive dance, I performed quite a bit. One day, I had a costume for ballet which had a tutu. As I was walking off stage a man came up to me. He said he liked my costume because it “accentuates my curves” and he “enjoyed watching me perform”. At the time, I didn't think any of it. However, now looking back to it I feel disgusted, horrified, and slightly violated. The man objectified me, possibly others, and I was only a child.

With me being eight I was bewildered. I asked him to explain what he meant as I was confused. He said he liked it because it was tight. That’s disgusting! Who likes a costume simply because it’s tight? I regret not telling anyone besides my coach because who knows who this man has targeted. I hated it, I was uncomfortable and he wouldn't leave until I walked off, scared and confused.

Later that day I had asked my coach (also making her swear not to tell) why the costumes were remarkably tight - the boys costumes were baggy - She said the judges “appreciated” it and it could earn us more points which made me confused. Why are the points for the costume, not the routine. We spent months perfecting the routine, not the costume.

However, because of this I've learned that objectification can happen anywhere, at any age, and at any time. Now, I try and advocate for the awareness of harassment, trying to bring it to an end.

Because I believe that women can teach, win, lose, play, work, and live without feeling scared of getting harassed or taken - solely for how they look.

I believe that women aren't just items

I believe we are people.

Family is Life by Ahmad Yousuf

“Ahmad, get in the car” my dad shrieked. I slid on my hoodie and scrambled into the Mercedes, as my sisters followed me. It was a cool November evening, the birds singing, it was the perfect day for my baby brother to be born.


Once we reached the hospital, my stomach started to do cart wheels and my heart was leaping in my chest. We zoomed into room 931, where my mom, grandma and brother were waiting for our arrival. As soon as I set foot in that room, I didn’t realize that my life would change forever.


I believe in family. Family is not an object you can mess with it, it is a life. Once someone loses their family, everything changes and maybe their life would never be the same again. Being an older brother, I have to set example to him and be a role model, because whatever I do he does. Brad Henry said, “Families are the compass that guides us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter.” Families are always gonna be there for you no matter what, if you laugh or even cry they will always be by your side. For example, I have a twin sister and the relationship I have with her is very unique, because it is pretty rare to have a twin. My mom also had twin siblings, but they passed away a couple days after birth, and that really broke my grandma’s heart. Now, my sister and I are here and we support her as family, friend and grandchildren.





Family is something you should desire and appreciate, because there are millions of people that don’t have a mother or father to support them. There are also children in foster homes, looking for their parents and crying for them. Family is one of the most lovable things in my life. I believe in family.

         The Stress of Middle School   by Kayla Barnett       

         The first day of middle school is stressful. A used-to-be fifth grader heading into sixth grade at a new and improved school can be filled with stress. As kids go through the rest of the year, it gets better. I believe it's important to have change in life, and later on in life there will be a multitude changes.

        I should know because I've experienced it myself. The first day of basically anything will be stressful, but  it mainly takes place in school. I struggled with remembering my locker code, getting to classes in time, and figuring out where to sit at the lunch tables. When the time goes by for the rest of the year, it starts to get easier and people get the hang of the process.

       Now when I went into seventh and eighth grade year, it was the same routine. I was able to figure out my classes and get to them on time, remember the combination to my locker easier, and find friends to sit with at lunch. As people get the hang of middle school, the stress will slowly dissolve everyday. Sadly, there still is all the homework, test/quizzes, and the projects.

       Experiencing the same change with other people in middle school was a big part of my life, and I gladly appreciate it.This process made me believe that minor changes in life is important because it will help with whatever comes next.