One would probably assess my fourteen year old sister’s sleep schedule and my sleep schedule as starkly contrasting. I’m an early riser...

I never believed that I could fall in love so young, much less in love with her. I would scoff at Romeo and Juliet’s yearning for unity...

I stand on the stage of Symphony Hall, my shoulders tense, like they always are. A panel of five judges, faces covered in plain blue and...

A young boy, 9 or so years old, followed close behind as his father walked through the lobby of San Diego City Hall with a folder of...

An old, stubby, glitter-shedding, sandpaper textured, bright pale-yolk colored pencil. Clumps of glitter wedged in between the cloth of...

I wanted to be Anakin. I wanted Obi-Wan Kenobi to find me, just barely surviving in my desert hut. I wanted him to know I wanted to be a...

I I rest in a plush chair, waiting for my second ultrasound of the year, and my third breast examination. The hospital has become an...

Lunch was always a scary part of my day. Even though it was elementary school and there were assigned tables, picking the seat that I...

Since birth, I’ve carried the weight of my mother’s love. It’s like a tangible object in that I experience its manifestations with my...

How does one talk to, or even just interact with someone they barely knew? That was the question I found myself asking the first time I...

I had just taken a shower when I got rejected by Amherst College. I was on a trip to Italy with my Latin class and the weather outside...

Happening truth: I sat on my bed, grabbed my phone and scrolled through its contents for a minute or so. Moving on, I began the new book...

You’re not Indian enough. The uncalled for remark jolts me out of placid daydreaming and into harsh reality, bringing back a whirlwind of...

The bell announcing the end of the school day would ring in exactly 120 seconds, but by then, hopefully, I’d be zooming down Oregon Lane....

At this moment, you are only sure of three things. You are fourteen, your bus is late, and your hands are numb. You think the clouds will...

“A good heart is the sun and the moon; or, rather, the sun and not the moon, for it shines bright and never changes.” ~ William...

“Does she even speak?” the kids nearby whisper to each other thinking that I can’t hear them. Or maybe they want me to hear. To respond...

precontemplation My mom runs down the decrepit sidewalk, her bare feet tickled by the crabgrass emerging from the pavement cracks. Her...

Sometimes, for a moment, you didn’t feel like you came from there. It’s not that you hated the place. The psychedelic Chinese...

Donna Summer’s ethereal voice melted on the record player’s rusting needle while she rolled each body of flour and sugar, water and...