It was but a board – square, colorful, and deceptively unassuming. Harsh living room lights shone across it, creating a glow around the familiar property cards, tiny green houses, and pair of dice. I...

I sit on the sand, fine particles sticking to my thighs. With each breath, I am met with the salty scent of ocean water. The waves aren’t violent; they’re so calming that if I close my eyes I can fall...

Middle school was a difficult time for me, let alone 6th grade, a brand new place to get used to. How overwhelming. I struggled with immense insecurity and lacked an understanding of social cues. in a...

My world turned around on Sept. 27th, 2021 at 6:54 P.M. As I read over the singular text from my mother sent 10 minutes prior, a familiar feeling in my gut grew while I frantically asked my closest...

What is feminism? It seems the line is blurred on what it is and what it isn’t. Nowadays feminism has been defined as a girlboss queen that doesn’t need a man and doesn’t dream about love. Someone...

An old woman sat behind the camera of the most watched news network in the country, holding a deck of cards. Beside her, Fox News host Jesse Watters explained the segment. The old woman, Paula Roberts,...

Growing up, I always had representation. My friends and I would sit looking at magazines of Marsai Martin and Beyoncé wishing we would become them one day. We would share a laugh while going to the beauty...

My eighth grade self stood quietly as I struggled to find the answer to my parents’ question: “Why do you have anxiety?” I didn’t know what response would be correct or acceptable. A thousand words...

The room was blurry. My mind was spinning. The projector board was a series of indecipherable tasks  to accomplish. My eighth grade self sat awkwardly at my desk, palms sweating, legs shaking.The counselors...

Growing up, my family and I would take evening trips to the playground and  duck pond behind Timber Creek Elementary. Over the years, these places have lost their allure, but now I get to watch my brother...

Change: a six-letter word I despised.  My whole life, I’ve hated change. The smallest amount of change would send me into a panic. I could never accept it, rather I would whine and complain until normalcy...

Be advised that the content in this story contains self-harm and suicide, and may be triggering to some readers.    My mom cried when she saw the scars littering my arms and stomach for the...