Unmasked

This book was written by the students of the Academic Leadership Community in Fall 2021.

The views expressed in this book are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of 826LA. We support student publishing and are thrilled you picked up this book.

Las opiniones expresadas en este libro son las de los autores y no reflejan necesariamente las de 826LA. Apoyamos la publicación de jóvenes autores y estamos felices que haya recogido este libro.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Editors: Mike Dunbar, Maddie Silva, and Andy Molnar

Cover Artwork & Book Design: Puicón-Pérez for 826LA

Echo Park 1714 W. Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, Ca 90026

Mar Vista 12515 Venice Blvd. Los Angeles, Ca 90066

DISTANCE WRITING THROUGH A PANDEMIC

BY THE STUDENTS OF THE ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP COMMUNITY

INTRODUCTION

What follows are the stories of high school teenagers. Stories of love and heartbreak. Stories of family, friends, and enemies. Stories of life and death, joy and sadness, light-filled dreams and shaded-gray realities. Stories crafted from our imagination and from our truth. Stories about beginnings and about endings––where people come from and where they end up.

We wonder if readers will relate to our stories. Do they think similar thoughts? Do they feel our feelings and experience our experiences? Do they laugh and cry with us? Do they understand who we are?

In this COVID-19 pandemic, we wear masks to protect ourselves and our community. It’s a simple task that society can make complicated. One of the few good things about distance learning was that we could safely remove our masks. We could breathe a bit better, communicate a bit easier. Feel some relief.

As we read and edited all of the pieces for this book, we realized that writing them, for many of the authors, must have been like removing a mask.

By telling these stories, we breathe a little easier. We feel less hidden, less constricted, less conflicted. We understand each other and ourselves more clearly. In the act of writing, we have unmasked our true selves. A very appropriate metaphor for times like these.

—THE 2021 ALC STUDENT EDITORIAL BOARD

CHAPTER I:

MY _____ ISN’T WORKING RIGHT NOW.

THE LIFE I LIVE

CALONIE A.

Calonie is a 17 year old who loves to play basketball. He may be the top 3 basketball players ever on his team. He has a girlfriend, he loves to draw, loves rap music, and he has a YouTube channel.

My life is hard. For one it is COVID- 19 and day and night people are getting sick and dying. I have to remind myself to wear a mask everywhere I go and with everything I do because at the end of the day I have to be safe.

And nobody is gonna tell me I need to wear a mask and to wash my hands. I have to do that by myself.

And I tell myself to get up in the morning and brush my teeth and wash my face and get ready for school and do my work and do what I need to do to get good grades so I won’t need to retake any classes.

Some people try to fight me and push my buttons and make me mad and sometimes I can’t control my anger but I ask myself what is fighting gonna do?

Like all its gonna do is get me in a lot of trouble or get me put in jail.

Some people ask me how I let my anger out and I say that I let my anger out by playing basketball. Before COVID when I was in school my class played a basketball game at lunch and I remember my friend shot a 3 pointer and missed. Then I caught the rebound and made a lay up. And everybody cheered and I was happy and my team won the game.

I spend most of my time playing basketball and every day I play, I get better. I started playing basketball when I was 5 and I was bad. I told myself I need to stop cause I suck. But my best friend told me to keep playing, “Keep working out and as you get older you will get better.” And he told me the truth. I played every day for 4 four to 8 eight hours at a time and I got better at basketball.

I tell myself every day to focus on one thing and that is to not care what people say, just do me.

So a few months ago my dad passed away and I was crying and I was not focusing in school and not doing my work. But he told me, “If I’m here or not, I’m gonna still be proud of you. Even if God takes me ima still be proud of you.” And when he said that, I cried.

The memories that I had have with my dad are going to go-kart tracks and going to car shows and playing video games with my dad and making YouTube videos with him And just chillin.

Since my dad passed away I wanna make him proud of me. So that’s what I’m gonna do. I’m not gonna let anyone get in my way of doing it. And every day I think about my dad and ask why did you have to go? But I know that he is always gonna be here.

Now I know that life is not fair.

Life is not easy. Believe me it’s not easy. There are steps you need to take.

I wanna be something in life. Like for example: I wanna be a basketball player

And be a car designer and work on high end cars.

But I need to go to school and I need to set goals for myself And I need to ask for help when I need it And not give up.

FALL

DAVID S-J.

David is curious and an individual worker. He likes to play football.

Corona virus aka COVID-19

A virus not bias of who would be its next victim

The fear and frustration that has made us change the way we live and communicate

Social distance is our friend and being with close friends is our enemy

Locked down like prisoners, it’s the new norm

Deaths on the rise, deaths that diminish all our lives.

LONELY NIGHT THOUGHTS

KRYSTEN B.

Krysten is considered an enigma to most.

In the night

When my body is at ease

But my thoughts deafening

I lay in a bed of grass

Thinking about what did happen

And what could’ve happened

Imagining myself in scenarios that feel like reality

Wanting them to be more than a fantasy

And coping with all the regrets I have

With a good night sleep

GLOW TO GRAY

LEIDY C-A.

Leidy loves the cold, enjoys bagels and is an indoor person but appreciates nature.

I was walking through downtown as I admired the twinkling bright city lights, its scarily tall buildings, its gray concrete floor, With its many people bursting with stories of their own. The bright colors of stores and the area being lit up by a massive firefly up in the blue beyond. Slowly but surely, some gray clouds slowly drifted across the above, in no such hurry to the other side, forming figures as they went by. They shadowed the land, covering the firefly’s path to light up the day and instilled gloom instead. The bright blue beyond was now devoured by a desaturated tint of itself.

The glow has turned into gloom.

CONQUER

ANTHONY M.M.

Anthony M.M is the author of this story, which shows that everything and everyone can get love. Even a monster. He doesn’t like to chat about himself, so let’s read his story, which is a fairy tale.

Cold wind passes by, blowing from the outside and screaming. Just a feeling of a big storm that is coming. Hopefully it’s nothing. I just hope it’s nothing, since home is not one of the safest places to be in. It could easily break like a toothpick. It’s bad enough that I’m alone, I really don’t want to end up with no house and that’ll be even worse because I have nowhere else to go.

There is someone who doesn’t know I exist, and I want to keep it that way. So I ran away from this person. Who could it be? She is the one that passes by and just with a small glimpse you are just lost in her eyes. She is the girl with the perfect smile everyone cares about. Well at least I think that.

There is the girl, but like in every story, of course there is the guy that wants everything. He is not afraid of me or the way I look. He sees me across the street, and starts crossing with a mean look on his face. Well let me tell you who he is to me, he is the––

“Ouch!” I say when he swings a hit on me.

“Oh sorry buddy did I hurt you on purpose?” he asks calmly like if it was nothing. I try to catch my breath and try to get up.

“Yeah… you kind of did, William.” I say, still trying to get up, “Sorry man, let me help you,” he insists, but I know that

he is not going to help me. He grabs my hand and lifts me up slowly off the ground. I hope that he might actually show some humanity, but this hope goes downhill when I see his fist right in my face as I fall down to the floor. He gets close to my ear and says, “Quit staring at my girl, you creep,” then walks away.

While I’m bleeding walking to my so-called home I see the second person that is not afraid of me or the way I look. Not someone who will hit me. I have dealt with that already. He runs to me worried. I just hope he doesn’t insist on talking about what happened to me.

“Hey Johnny,” I say while my face is in pain.

“What happened to you?” he asks concernedly.

“Oh nothing” I say. “Just you know, the same old things as always. I don’t want to talk about it.” Then I just start walking toward home, “Can I come over?” he asks nervously, “We’ve talked about this, you can’t. I don’t want trouble.” He is a good kid, even though we are almost the same age.

“You should head home, it’s getting late,” I say to him.

“Okay, but I don’t mind what they say to me about you. You’re my friend,” he says with confidence. Then he leaves as the day goes away and disappears.

Home sweet home at last. No interruptions and no prob––I speak too soon. I hear a noise. I’m alone so there should not be any noises. “Who goes there? I gotta tell you, you picked the wrong place to rob!’’ I yell nervously.

I see a shadow walking by and I know that it’s no animal. I walk towards the shadow and I notice it fall and drop.

“Please don’t hurt me,” says a familiar voice.

“Uh… you’re the one who entered my house,” I say in a calming but funny way.

“But aren’t you the monster that everyone is talking about,” she says nervously.

I try to hold my temper, and I say, “You hear the story of the guy with a scar and burns and you think he is a monster because everyone says so, right?” Before I get any closer to her, I cover my face with my scarf to not show the “monster” everyone is talking about.

“Now can I ask what you are doing here before I just kick you out?” I ask.

“Friends forced me,” she says ashamedly, looking down. I try to see her but I can’t really tell who she is. She steps closer, so I get a good look at her and my heart rises up.

“Look I prefer you leave,” I say. “I don’t want to be rude but you have to go.”

“I don’t want to go,” she says furiously. I look at her and say, “Look, I don’t want to get in trouble and I don’t want you to get in trouble,” I take a long breath to calm myself down. “So it’s preferable that you leave.”

She looks down and knows that it is the right thing to do. “You’re right,” she says and walks out of the door.

Minutes later, Johnny arrives with some food. I grab a fork for both of us. The warm good smell was amazing, the smell of joy. I get it close to my mouth to take a bite, but I’m stopped by a scream from a long distance.

“What was that?” Johnny says while putting his food down.

“I don’t know, but I have a feeling the girl that was just here went the wrong way and ended up at the cliff!”

We both run towards the scream and it is the girl hanging from a cliff.

“Hold on, we will help you!” I yell through the howling wind. “Johnny, I’m going to make a rope and I need you to hold it while I go down.” He nods as I tighten the rope to a rock to have more support. “Hold on and when I tell you, pull it up,” I say. I jump down the rope to be on her level but I still can’t reach

her. I untie myself and I try to go lower. She hangs on a branch that is surprisingly strong, and I stretch out a little farther but I still can’t reach her.

“I need you to reach for my hand!” I yell. She nods and tries to catch my hand. The wind blows off my scarf revealing the terrible 3rd degree burns all over my face. “Don’t look at me!” I yell. “Just grab my hand. Do you trust me?”

“I don’t know, I am afraid!” As she speaks, the branch she is hanging on snaps like a pencil. She screams while falling, but I catch her. It is not easy because the sharp end of the broken branch is now stuck in my side.

“Are you okay?” I ask her, and she nods. I tie her in the rope so Johnny can pick her up.

“What about you?” she asks concernedly.

“Oh don’t worry about me,” I say, trying not to make eye contact. But she grabs my face, turns my head around, and tells me thank you, looking into my eyes as my heart rises.

“Yeah no problem,” I say. “Just don’t get too used to me saving you.” She gives a smile and Johnny pulls her up to the top of the cliff. I make it up later, but I am bleeding so much that I pass out.

I wake to her face.

“Now we are even, right?” she says to me, and I notice that she has patched my wound. “Thanks so much …” I say, searching for her name.

“Amanda,” she says smiling.

“Nice to meet you, Amanda. I’m Steven.”

She looks at me closely. “What happened to you, if you don’t mind me asking?” Even though I know what she is talking about so I say, “Well you see I was trying to grab you, but while I was grabbing you––”

She interrupts. “Not that … I mean––”

“I know what you mean,” I say as I sit up. “I was a regular kid in the town. It was great, nothing bad, no problems. I took care of my family and I was studying as well. I felt like I was able to do anything. I had friends that were on my side forever. Well, I thought it was like that.

“My family loved the town, but they preferred to be alone and to be close to nature. My father created this amazing house outside the town. He was my role model and my inspiration. He was everything.

“One night in town I was at a party. William was there, and he was the same jerk he is now and he wanted to fight. I fought him and I won. He told me that I would pay for what I did. The party ended and I was going back home and when I got there I saw my house on fire.

“I ran towards the house because I knew that my parents were there. There was so much fire I didn’t know what to do, but I was able to find my mom and I ran towards her, picked her up, trying to find my way through the flames and smoke. A wood plank fell on my head and I got knocked out.

“I survived, but I didn’t look like me anymore. People in town saw a monster. William told everyone that I burned my house and I killed my parents. Everyone believed him because I didn’t look like myself anymore. They chased me and threw things at me. Even my friends.

“Johnny is the only one that didn’t see me as a monster so I decided to stick around for a bit. He is always here to talk and he is a really good friend.

“Now you know the story. I might look like a monster, but William is the real monster.”

Amanda stands up. “I have to go, but I will come back,” she says. She slowly gets close to me and I get a kiss on the cheek. I smile and look at her and she smiles back. At that moment I

know there is a chance for me to have love.

As she leaves William arrives out of nowhere and grabs her.

“What are you doing here?” he asks.

She looks at him with hate. “Why do you care? I am allowed to go anywhere!”

William holds her arm tight so she doesn’t run away. “No, you are not allowed to go anywhere without me because you’re mine!” William grabs her arm tighter. “That is enough. You’re hurting me,” Amanda says.

“She said that’s enough,” says Johnny, leaping from the bushes.

“Who are you supposed to be, the hero?” William asks.

“Closer to a hero than you’ll ever be,” I say as I move next to Johnny.

“You’re not a hero, Steven. You’re a monster,” says William. “He is no monster,” replies Amanda. “Steven is the kindest human being ever. You’re the real monster.” I just stand there and blush.

Suddenly, William tries to throw a punch on me. I dodge as fast as I can and grab his arm. I pull him close to me and say, “Not today. Not anymore. You tried to hurt my best friend and the girl that I fell in love with.”

Then I punch him down to the floor.

I turn to Johnny and Amanda. “Are you okay?” I ask. They both smile and nod and I smile back.

I wish on happily ever after, but at that moment, William gets up and tries to swing at me again, but I dodge his punch and back away from him. I keep backing away from him until I lead him to the point I want him to go.

“Come on, coward, come closer,” William says, getting angrier. Then he runs towards me and I leap downward so he runs over and past me and off the edge of the cliff. He manages

to hang on, catches my leg, and I slip and I grab something so I’m not pulled over the edge.

William laughs and says, “You either help me, or we both fall.” Amanda and Johnny run toward our struggle.

I stare at Amanda’s eyes one more time and she looks at me with no fear.

I grab William’s arm and turn to face his direction. “I guess we both fell,” I say, and I let go of the hill.

We both plummet over the cliff. The sun disappears.

I wake up, and Amanda and Johnny kneel over me, crying.

“Well, we won,” I say. “But I don’t think I’m going to survive this.” They look at my weak body and know this is true.

“Johnny, you’re the only one who took care of me, you are truly a hero.” I say trying to catch my breath. “You are the best of the best,” I say weakly, already feeling dizzy.

Next, I call out Amanda’s name and she gets close to me. She cries and says, “Promise me you will be okay.”

“I can’t promise you that because I don’t control life,” I sigh. “Do me a favor though. Can you keep an eye on Johnny? He’s a good kid.”

“Okay,” she cries. Then she gets closer to me and I feel her lips against mine.

I smile. “I guess love can conquer all,” I say.

I make a wish to see them, when I see them, somewhere up in the sky. I know they will be safe with no harm in their way. Then I see the clouds shining and the clear sky showing, and my eyes close.

ASSIMILATE

VALERIA O.

Valeria is a quiet girl but when she feels confident in a place she likes to laugh and make other people laugh. She enjoys watching Tiktoks, but not creating them. As a Salvadoran, she believes that pupusas are the best.

Life used to be like a clock,

We never stopped working

Hands turning around and around

There was no time to appreciate every little moment

Freedom was not a thing to ask for

No masks but smiles, and now it’s masks and no smiles

A pandemic came and we became caged birds

Fear takes over, there is no trust anymore

We are afraid of ourselves because we live in fear of getting sick

Watching Nexflix, working out, reading books, eating, cooking, Tiktoking, overthinking,

We are refugees on social media distracted from the outside world.

And now what’s next?

The world needs you for an upgrade

But to change that we need to help improve it

Things like being able to hug or be close to a person aren’t easy but we need to keep working together, Taking care of each other by keeping our physical distance, we can do more

We might not be physically together, but we can still be one voice

Let’s make a difference

Let’s be the difference

REBELS

DULCE P.

Dulce is 17 years old.

In her free time she likes to read, listen to music and go to the market with her family and with friends. She also likes to shop, dance, play an instrument, play chess, write letters, paint, cook, and watch TV.

We become angry quickly. We Fight often. We attack we yell and scream. We cover our ears and refuse to hear.

MY EXPERIENCE

LEANDRO P.

Leandro is from Mexico and he is shy and short and he likes sports. His favorite sport is soccer. He likes to eat tacos.

One day I woke up to go to school like normal. When I got to my first class the teacher told us that they were going to close the school because there was a virus. When I heard this, at first I thought that it was just going to be a few days but I was wrong. The first week without school was okay but me and my family had to be at home. My parents were working, but two weeks later my dad lost his job because they were closing the restaurant where he worked. I wanted to help my dad but I couldn’t.

When online classes started I felt nervous because I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t attend classes because I was stressed. I couldn’t sleep at night. But the next week I decided I had to attend my online classes because I was behind. I started doing my work and I was doing okay. Now I’m doing well, but I think online classes are hard for me. I can’t focus and it’s hard to understand.

During this time, I experienced a lot of bad things. One of them was that my family and I got COVID. During that time I learned things, like how to appreciate everything you have even if it is something small like food and health. The good thing during that time was that I had my family with me. My dad has his job again. I hope everything goes back to normal soon.

THE WORLD AGAINST ME?

MATTHEW G-H.

Matthew grew up in Los Angeles. He is a kid with dreams. A kid that has dreams but does not remember what he dreams of at night. He is bored every single day so he decides to bother his friends and spends his time watching anime. His favorite show is Naruto. Overall, he is a nice person.

What is love?

What is life?

What are we here for?

Are we here to make a difference in the world?

What do I mean?

What do I do?

Where do I go in this world?

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?

Where does the light lead to?

A better home?

A better world?

The people that I hold dear?

How will I get there?

Through pain?

Through suffering?

What if I get tired along the way?

Do I give up?

Do I close my eyes?

Do I turn around and run away?

Who can I turn to when I am tired?

Can I go to my friends?

Can I go to my family?

Is there someone I can rely on?

How would I feel?

Would I feel as if I went crazy?

Or maybe I would feel depressed?

What if I fell into a deep slumber forever? What would I see?

The darkness?

A new beginning?

Maybe the end?

This is all a misunderstanding…

There are people who are going to support me until the end. There will be a feeling of happiness.

The world isn’t going against me, it’s me and the world going through it together.

CHAPTER II:

CAN YOU MAKE A TITLE FOR THIS?

ANDREW R.

Andrew exists as your average human on earth. Hmm and he also loves to sleep and he only lives in your imagination.

Hmmm what should I write about, you got any ideas? Well too bad I’m going to write about my favorite hobby, sleep. Stupid? Why am I stupid? Sleep isn’t a sin, if anything it’s more of a blessing. Sleep might have taken my consciousness by now. “Y’all ready for this?’’ I did not steal from Space Jam.

Starting off with the sweet sense of relief after a hard day at work, school, your stressmaker (I don’t think this is a word), one desires the time to sleep. Your body aches and stings, your eyes begin closing in on you, and your whole consciousness has had enough for the day. Lying down on the bed, on a couch, wherever you might decide to sleep, cover yourself with a warm blanket, a sweater, whatever gives you comfort. Then the body relaxes and calms down, eyes shut tight, and one dozes off to the unknown. Even as you’re reading this you want to sleep, well no turning back now. Oh now you want to sleep, huh? After you read this you can go have a cat nap.

By the way did you know a huge variety of people love to sleep, even animals love to sleep. Sadly some put sleep aside. smh. Sleeping isn’t a universal love for everyone but I assure you that sleeping benefits our own health. Yep that’s right ,sleeping helps us recharge our body and our mind for the next day. While sleeping, our strong body fights off diseases. One does not want

to wake up the next day without having the ability to even get off their bed, and one especially does not want their own kin shouting at them to wake their butt up.

Oh you feeling down, has life thrown so much at you? Well do I have news for you, sleeping counts as a massive stress reliever and once one catches the chance to slumber, it can help us take our minds off the problems in our life. When life knocks you down, we get hurt emotionally, physically, etc, and sleep makes that all disappear. We can curve our way out from a horrible day, start over the following day better and happier, and forget everything awful that happened the day prior. You have to study, you have homework, you have a test tomorrow––don’t worry, just close your eyes and sleep away, but not too long if you don’t wanna fail your class.

You got dreams? Well, everybody does, and one can probably experience their dream while sleeping. It’s called a dream. Or did you ever want to expect the unexpected, well there’s a name for that, dreams, and they cost absolutely nothing. When sleeping, one either has the chance to experience a magnificent fantasy, or a straight-up nightmare, hellish and horrendous. You can have the joyful experience of your crush saying yes after asking her out to prom. Or one can experience a small brat known as chucky chasing you, hoping he doesn’t catch you. No matter what unforeseen surprise might occur, you’ll receive a breathtaking experience, until your alarm clock wakes you up and you have no memory of the past dream.

You’re still having second thoughts on sleeping? Well, hold your horses because I haven’t even told you the best part of sleeping. Y’all ready for this… are you ready now? C’mon I’m running out of paper space. I know you won’t see it coming but… in sleep you can time travel. I know it seems absurd, and it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Ever had the patience for

something... obviously not, but by sleeping you can skip time and get closer to playing the new releases, new DLC’s, everlasting updates, and getting your package from the slow delivery services. Ever tired of your teacher speaking nonsense and you’re just dying from boredom. The solution is catnapping, just don’t get caught or else you’ll be sorry. This technique, yes sleeping, has always been a technique to fast forward time ... I think. Well anyway it’s really useful when on a plane, on a car, or when one plans a long trip. Though I just wanna say… hey stay with me partner, you’re falling asleep. Hmm, it was bound to happen at some point my friend, you can’t stop the inevitable. Well, it was nice meeting you. Laters.

LOCKDOWN EPIPHANY

GERALDINE P.

Geraldine, also known as G, also known as “chair” (it’s an inside joke I can’t explain), also known as Jolene (another inside joke). Loves pancakes, will spend hours on Tiktok, will cook for you if asked, Roblox character is Felipe and Felipe rules!

With social distancing and lockdown restrictions enforced, it’s safe to say many of us haven’t had much contact with the outside world for several months. Preliminary lockdown measures, for the most part, affected the relationship between my family and I on a deeper level than I would’ve anticipated. And it changed the relationship I had with a certain group of friends in a positive manner. Due to school or work I had to learn how to coexist with family who I’ve never exactly taken an interest in getting to know better. It was difficult to adapt to this new environment because I had come to realize, I didn’t exactly allow my family to get to know me, and they never really had the time to show me who they are either.

What qualifies a person as family? You could consider friends family, so the real question is: do we consider all families close? Because aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. share blood relations and you’re expected to treat them as if you’ve known them your entire life. The reality behind immediate family is, blood relation doesn’t always assure a connection between two people.

Back in March, my friends and I for the most part spent the entirety of our days with each other, but virtually. While we did

lack physical contact, during the ongoing pandemic crisis I found much more comfort in them than I did with my family.

The comfortability levels you have established with a person dictate who you resort to when you need advice. We censor what we say when we’re out with certain friends, but with others, we can freely express ourselves. Have you ever noticed that it’s much easier to talk about some topics with some friends as opposed to others? That’s because the space you’ve created with them is much more open. They’re less judgmental and are genuinely concerned for your well-being.

I came upon an epiphany about my closest friends. I accepted that my family not only consisted of my blood connections, but with my kindergarten friends as well –– I’ll call them X and Y. I strongly consider them a part of my family because despite us going to different schools and losing contact for a few years, I know I am my most authentic version of myself around them.

A major reason we began to talk more frequently over quarantine was because of the shared interest the three of us had in playing PUBG. Who would’ve thought that a third-person action shooter game would bring a group of teenage girls closer together.

I remember one game and its climax: I was in a car with X and Y, bullets were gliding past, and it began to set fire. We stepped out of the car, yelling at each other to get behind a tree before the car exploded. To save my team, I quickly launched a grenade in the air. It landed under the opposing squad’s vehicle and all of us waited on the bomb to save us. Boom! Just like that, a banner with the words “Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner” popped up on our screens. We screamed, and congratulated each other for our hard efforts, having a good laugh in the voice chat.

Still high off our victory, I knew the timing was right, and I revealed a few personal details about myself, something I had put

off for a long time because it wasn’t something I’d ever thought of sharing. To my relief, they responded well. In fact, they didn’t even care because it didn’t define who I was. This was the moment I realized I didn’t need to hide parts of myself around X and Y. I don’t need to put up a fake version I’ve built around other people to please them because they accept me for who I am. We organically tore down our barriers and became much more comfortable with each other day after day.

Despite the distancing, I feel at home when I’m around them, casually switching between different accents during conversation, not getting judged for the awkward noises I create to fill the void, the light-hearted teasing. They made lockdown feel like a fun stay-at-home-get-away from reality. While we may not talk for the entirety of our ten + hour long Zoom calls, it’s simply nice to take in their presence. The pandemic and lockdown restrictions forced me to analyze the relationships I have with those closest around me, and as a result, I’ve discovered that some of those friendships are what I consider to be familial.

IN THE MIDDLE

MARLENE A.

I am the middle child. What I hate about being a middle child is that sometimes I don’t get the same attention as my brothers. Now that my two brothers and my sister moved out, I became the older sister and the middle child. When they moved out, I was left to do more chores than I used to do. But sometimes I like being the middle child because they always spoil me when we go out and eat and when we go out to different places. What I learned from being the middle child is that I became more independent and responsible.

MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE

DANIELA C.

Daniela C. is a mess, but she believes that the worst things in life are fixed with a smile. She is persistent and it is very difficult for her to give up. She is determined and knows what she wants in her life. S he has a hard time letting go of important things, but as far as she is concerned, everything in life has a purpose.

It was one of those days when he was thinking about life and a strange thought hit his head. What does life expect of us? What is the true reason for life and our existence? If fate exists, is it actually already written? Fate may exist, and although it is correct to think, we all have a reason for life. Sometimes it is not necessary to look for it, sometimes the answer falls at your feet. That day, just like the apple that hit Isaac Newton’s head, fate hit him, ironically under an apple tree, when he saw her, that is why he called it gravitational fate.

He looked close and carefully at the horizon when he saw her go by. His heart raced and he knew that it was not a coincidence that the universe had put her in his path, everything around him stopped and he was convinced that he was born to love her.

He stayed in the same place, under the shadow of the tree where fate struck him. He waited and waited until he lost count of the hours, all to see again the sweet being that had stolen his breath and kept him, from the moment he saw her, in a trance of peace.

He kept waiting. Later by sheer chance, he was walking

around the city lake as he returned to his home. He looked up and realized that she was right in front of him. The world stopped as he watched her, and as her hair blew in the wind it was the longest and most beautiful millisecond he had ever lived. She was picking flowers as she walked by the lake, and she was the most beautiful creature in the world.

After a quick and quiet pause she also looked up, and when she saw him, her heart also stopped. It was a connection with the intensity of lightning. As if the magnets in their hearts reacted with their intertwined gazes.

They both felt that they had known each other for a lifetime. After that, they found a way to be together. From minutes to hours, from hours to days, from days to months and from months to years, that was the reality that they had together. But in reality more than that happened in their hearts, decades passed, and with it, from decades to centuries, from centuries to millennia, and from millennia to all the lives that the universe allowed them to be together.

In this life, the universe played them badly. He was the best thing that could happen to her and she was the best thing that had happened to him. But they couldn’t stay together. She was hurting him. She was born to be free and she couldn’t use her wings to fly. She felt trapped … he was her cage.

They looked at each other and convinced themselves of this: “Maybe we can be together in another life.”

She finally left. She walked away and he didn’t stop her. In time, they still thought they were perfect together, but they realized that they were better apart, because they were hurting each other. He wrote her a letter, but he didn’t have the courage to get it into her hands. At the end of the letter he wrote, “I still love you, I remember you at every moment, even in my dreams… and I miss you, but you are not here.” They both turned away

from each other, but their minds and hearts were still together. He let her go and didn’t want her to come back, but right now he’s still waiting for her.

I’m still waiting for her...

MOMS

JESSICA F-D.

Jessica: Average basic teenage girl going day by day and doesn’t like to associate herself with anyone. She is hoping to make it out of this so-called “high school.”

Very shy but has an opinion about everything.

Moms are the main source as to why we are here on earth. Moms are the best thing that could’ve ever happened to us. Moms are your number one fan. Moms are overall the BEST.

My mom is truly the best. I don’t want to brag but come on, if you meet her you’ll fall in love. Moms all over the world would do everything and anything for their kids including mine. She feeds me everyday. That’s always a plus. She takes care of me when I’m sick. She attends all my school performances while working two jobs. She basically has mom superpowers or something. I always look up to my mom.

She’s my idol, as funny as that sounds, but she really does inspire me to be the best version of myself that I can be. She has taught me to be truthful to myself and to others. She is the reason why I am me and I am forever thankful for her. All moms want the best for their kids. They want them to be perfect in everything they do and I appreciate how proud and supportive moms can be towards their kids. It amazes me the risks they would take for their kids and to see their kids succeed and genuinely see them happy.

Of course not all good fairy tales go as planned. Some moms are just not meant to be moms. They choose drugs over their kids or they physically abuse them or they abandon their kids. Sure,

moms will get mad and they will yell. That’s because they have so much on their plate they tend to lose their temper at times. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you. I’m convinced your mother is the only person on earth who truly does love you to the moon and back. After all she did give birth to you.

Moms don’t get enough recognition. Yeah of course there’s a whole day dedicated to them but I feel that Mother’s Day should be every day, not just one day out of the 365 days. Anyway kids, remember to hug and kiss your mom and tell your mom you love her because if you don’t, you’ll regret it. I’m also sure she will be very happy to hear that from her kids since moms don’t hear it quite often.

TO MY DEAREST ONE

KAREN G.

Karen is an ordinary girl with an ordinary life… got you there. Apart from that, she enjoys the romance in books. he enjoys romance everywhere. Whether it’s food or a pet, she just loves it. Right now she’s craving bread from that 85º C bakery.

Today’s my 18th birthday. My mom buys me a diary, black leather cover, the pages smooth through my fingers. As Mom stares at me, her eyes gaze upon me while I stare at the journal, I smile back. My steps leave the living room, my thoughts surrender in my head, ‘I’m not a writer nor a poet, What am I supposed to do with a journal?’ I leave the journal on my bed lying there, though when I look back I know that there’s something about that journal that sparks my attention.

Walking out of my bedroom, towards the hallowed staircase I see my crush, Mark Stephan, a glamorous sweet kid, standing in my doorway. I feel like actors in those dramatic entrances on the staircase. This is my moment. I’m in front of him and he’s staring at me with his eyes wide open. I feel my body falling, falling from mid-air. I never have felt like this for someone. Although when I meant falling for him, I didn’t mean to literally fall …

I woke up in a hospital bed. “Oh darling, how’s my baby? You fell from the stairs, honey.” My mother is sobbing from the edge of my bed. Her tears are real like never before. Waking up in a hospital bed with a headache is the worst. The doctor later comes into my room and explains that my accident was okay,

there’s no permanent damage, and if there’s another accident to my head, this would result in memory loss. Sitting there, I replay the news in my head, over and over again. How does the doctor keep a straight face when saying that news? I just have to be more cautious of my actions.

When I get home, mom offers me lemonade. The sourness cuts my tongue. I go straight to my room and the first thing I see is a black journal. I don’t remember buying a black journal. It’s empty, when did I buy it? Looks new. I leave it on top of my shelf but as I walk towards my bed, l stare at the notebook and millions of questions come to my mind. I start to get a small headache and my body starts to ache and feel sore. Glancing at my phone, I read 8:36 pm. Feeling tired at an early time. Very strange, I wonder, and slowly my eyes begin to close, but I try to keep them open. “I’m awake,” I say to myself, but my eyelids close back again and suddenly it’s morning. I wake up in a good mood, maybe because of the hours of sleep I got. I brush my teeth and get ready for a new day. I go to the kitchen to get my breakfast. I sit down at the counter where my brother, Hector, is eating to my right.

“I didn’t see you yesterday, Hector. Where have you been?” I say without looking at him.

Midway through chewing his food, he responds with, “In my room playing with my friends. How about you?”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full. Did you not hear?,” I sigh. “I went to the hospital.”

“The ambulance should have a quieter siren,” he says without hesitation.

“Shrug it off, Kelsie,” I say to myself. Hector is a jerk sometimes but he can also be nice when it comes to passing the salt on the table or opening the door for me. We both get ready for school, and we hop into my mom’s car. The ride to school

isn’t long. My high school is small and located in the city.

“Bye, have a nice day, be careful with the car door.” That’s the only thing my mom says, unlike other mothers. I wish my mother was more attentive and caring about her kids rather than her car. I say, “Thank you, Mom, you too.”

Another week, another Monday at school. I see Mark Stephan, my crush, at the entrance of the school and he starts approaching me. Is this the day he’s going to ask me out? My heart is racing so fast, it’s about to explode.

“Hey, how do you feel?” he asks. I’m confused, why would he ask that?—-oh right, when I fell. I feel speechless, my body gets warm, and I feel his second-hand embarrassment. I seriously thought he wouldn’t remember.

I rushingly say, “Yeah, I’m fine thanks. See you later.” I walk fast to the restroom and into one of the stalls. I lock myself in. My heart starts to pound twice as fast.

“I talked to him, OG, this is big. Okay so he remembers me. Not in the way I wanted, but he remembers me,” I say to myself. The excitement on my face becomes immense.

Aleska Marymount, my best friend since last year, looks for me. I text her: I’m in the restroom.

What are you doing there? Go talk to your man, she jokingly says. His smile, eyes, and eyebrows are pretty, I say lovingly.

After the embarrassing talk, he hasn’t talked to me. I have Mark Stephan for my history, and English class. I want to tell him how I feel already but I’m really shy. I get nervous around him and start to get red. As I lay in my bedroom on a Saturday afternoon, I hear the leaves outside rushing through the wind. Then the black leather journal caught my attention again. Staring at the

journal and back to the ceiling I wonder what to write inside. Then my mind is sparked. In the journal I want to tell him the reasons I have fallen in his spell. But how should I write it? In school, I write a lot of essays, but I don’t want this to be like an essay or something.

I got it.

I’m writing a love letter to Mark! How do I start? Dear Mark sounds so cringe. I’ll start with….

Dear little nugget,

Hi, my name is Kelsie Mendez, I sit next to you in English, the one whose help you always ask for. And I have feelings for you…

Silence fills the room. What should I say next? I take a deep breath and write:

I have strong feelings for you Mark …I love you …I care about you.

It’s not making sense. I pause and think about what else I should write. I hear the tick marks on my clock, and the time suddenly slows down. I tear the paper from the notebook and throw it in the trash. I put my hands in my face feeling hopeless as to what to write.

I get a phone call. “Hey girl, where are you?” Aneska excitedly screams.

“I’m on my way out, I see you outside,” I say, fake smiling, rushing to get ready.

In the middle of going down the stairs, I stub my toe. It touches my whole nervous system; however, in my head I think, “Not today. I’m not falling again.’ I meet her outside my house. I feel more relieved since I’m not in my room crammed with my thoughts. I get in Aneskas’s car. The car still smells new, and in her car back seat, I see cans of soda and a banana peel.

“Woah, you pretty were hungry, Aleska,” I say, putting my seatbelt on.

“Oh, funny story, I didn’t eat lunch and breakfast,” she says, trying to cover the mess with a blanket.

During the car ride, she talks about her boyfriend and she thinks he’s cheating, which I find hard to believe. He’s a straight-A student and he has rejected every girl, except Aleska. We go to a coffee shop filled with bookshelves. I order the same drink, a small frappuccino caramel with whipped cream and oreo topping. I let Aleska order. She goes for a dark coffee on a Saturday afternoon. Strange, but I care not.

I grab a book on the shelf and look for the new book by the famous Halsey, I would leave me if I could. I feel a hand touch mine, super soft and the grip gets hard. As I look down I recognize those shoes- black vans and those shoelaces, always untied. I slowly lift my head and my guts tell me it’s him, it’s him. As soon as my eyes meet his eyes, I freak out.

“Hey are you going to read it?” he asks as he touches the book.

I nervously say, “Yeah I will.”

“Oh, it’s you. Hi Kelsie. You’re into poetry books?” He waits for my answer.

I try my best not to freak out, and I try to be honest, so from my mouth this came out:

“Yes, I’m very interested. Poems are magical. Like it’s very easy to read and I can relate to it, you know?”

In the corner of my eyes, I see my best friend eyeballing me with him and I shake it off because I’m not trying to ruin the moment. I go back to him.

As he keeps staring at the book and back to me, he says, “I’m looking forward to reading that book from Halsey, but you can read it first.”

My breath is taken away and my drool starts to fall.

“Did you hear what I said?” He’s getting worried.

“Oh yeah, yeah totally. I will read it and give it back to you. No problem, sorry it won’t be long.”

“Meanwhile while we’re here, do you mind if I take you out to eat somewhere?” He shyly scratches his head. OMG, my heart almost leaves me. I can’t believe my ears. He just asked me to go eat with him. Mark Stephan asked me to eat with him.

I want to faint and say yes, although when I look back at my best friend and I just see her signaling ‘“yeah go with him,” I feel so bad for her, leaving her in the coffee shop but this is my only chance to get to know him and for him to know me so I say, “Yes!”

We go to this exquisite restaurant and he asks me to order. Although I can’t order anything because I can’t process what just happened. I feel full, full of emotions. The food in this restaurant is immaculate so I order something simple…

“May I have a salad, a side of rice, and a chicken soup?”

He orders a whole buffet. Afterwards we eat and start to talk. I feel more comfortable, a bit shy but comfortable, talking to him. Honestly I kept talking and talking, letting out everything I have to say. After dinner, he takes me home, puts on some music, and let me tell you, his music taste is good. We vibe in the middle of the road and many people are staring at us but honestly, I don’t care at the moment. It’s as if I don’t care what others think as long as I’m with him but I never feel like this with anyone, not even my best friend. So this night, I will never forget.

“How did you like tonight?” He smiles at me nervously and I say, “It was great. Thank you for dinner. Well, see you tomorrow at school.”

As I walk to the entrance of my house, I see my mom sleeping in the living room. I willingly wait for her to wake up and

talk about my day. I’m not sure if I should consider it as a date but I think it’s a date. I don’t want to wake her up so I just let it be and go straight to my room. I see the black journal laying on my desk and so I decide to write about today’s adventure.

The next day, as I go to my first-period class, I see him walk past me through the hall and he doesn’t say a word to me. Not even a “Hi Kelsey.” I think I did something wrong.

During lunch, I go up to him.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” I’m getting a little tough.

He looks so confused, and weirded out. “What?”

“I said, what’s wrong with you? You didn’t even say hi to me. I’m getting mad.

At that moment I think that everything that happened yesterday meant nothing to him. He responds with, “I didn’t see you. Sorry, do you want to hang out today after school?” He looks so innocent as if he is afraid of me. After that, I say, “Yes, meet me in front of the school.” I leave calmly to my next class knowing that he did remember what we had yesterday.

After school comes and I am waiting there in front of the school for 30 minutes! I literally can’t believe my eyes that he would leave me just standing there, looking lost. I go back into school and get so mad. I think I am the dumb one. I thought I had a chance with him.

Then I find Aneska in the restroom and she asks, “Where have you been?” I answer with a long face, “Long story.” When she notices I am gloomy, she invites me to her music club. We go to the Freshman classes and then I see Mark sitting there with his guitar.

He looks at me and I ignore him, and sit next to my best friend. He hovers by me and says, “I’m sorry, I forgot I had guitar class every Tuesday. Is there a way I can make it up to you?

His words don’t sound as convincing but I forgive him

because I still want to go on a date with him. I sit in the music room in between my best friend and him. His guitar skills are amazing. It is soothing the way his fingers go through the strings as if whenever he plays a note, it is him saying something to me. It’s mesmerizing.

After music class, Mark and I go to eat at IHOP.

As I am eating, he keeps staring at me. His eyes meet mine. He gazes at me like never before. Why is he looking at me like that? I feel a connection with him as if he likes me. I have never seen him this way and honestly, I am so surprised.

I ask him if he is okay and he says, “Yes I’m okay.” But his eyes tell me something else.

After that dinner, as usual, he drops me off at home. I quickly get the journal to document what happened today. I lay in bed hugging my teddy bear and look out my window. I feel loved. “Today was the greatest day of my life.”

Suddenly, I get this phone call. I think it is my best friend Aneska. “Aneska, guess what? Today was the greatest night of my life.”

“Hey, it’s Mark. What were you saying, Kelsie?” Mark asks, clearing his throat and laughing a bit.

My heart freezes and I can’t breathe. I stand there for a while to process what just happened and who I am talking to. The only thing that comes out of my mouth is, “Who’s this?” I obviously know who it is, but just to make sure.

“This is Mark Stephen,” he just says it like that, like normal, while I’m here with my little panic attack again.

“How did you get my number?” I ask so firmly.

“Well I asked Aneska for your number and she gave it to me”

There is an awkward silence between us. Then, we talk about our day, our backgrounds, and our hobbies. After two hours of talking on the phone, I look at my phone and I can’t believe

my eyes: it’s 10PM. I tell him I need to sleep, that mom always wants lights out at 10PM. So I tell him I have to go and that the conversation we had was pretty nice. I feel more open to him and he calls me bugaboo. It is weird for him to start calling me nicknames, or is it just me thinking it’s weird because it’s way too early for a nickname?

I shrug it off and from there he says his goodnight. As I hang up the phone, I start to giggle and smile. That night I slept tight and happy. I’ve never been this excited, not since my dad bought me my bicycle, but that’s for another day. I have so many questions, thoughts, and ideas going through my head like, what’s our next day going to be like, or what’s going to happen tomorrow (a lot of what-if questions come to my mind). I never thought I would have a lot of questions for one simple guy. Is it too much for me? Is this what’s called being an overthinker?

I honestly feel like Mark has been the other half of me. Without him, I wouldn’t be happy. Everything that’s happened is due to him, because I started liking him. After dates and dates going out with Mark Stephan and getting to know him better, today the unexpected happened.

He nervously asks me, “Would you like to be more than friends?” I am ready to say “yes,” but something doesn’t feel right. I feel like I am going fast. I feel like I am losing something and I have to remember Aneska. I haven’t had time with her since I’ve been with Mark Stephan. I have lost communication with her.

I tell him, “I’m not sure, I think we should wait a little longer. I’m sorry.” I feel bad for him. He agrees and says, “No worries, I understand. Friendship is everything. I lost my friends in 9th grade because of a girl.” It looks as if he is about to cry and the day gets very blue. After that conversation I call Aneska and I ask her if she wants to hang out at my place. She says she can’t since

she is hanging out with her boyfriend and I suggest another day and she says, “Sure.”

Jumping to the day we hang out––she comes to my place and when she comes in, it feels like the first time. She is still happy for a girl’s night. We drink hot chocolate, watch a scary movie, do some self-care, and we brush our hair, tell stories, and afterward, it is time for bed. She sleeps with me in the same bed, of course. That’s what best friends do. I have a really good time bonding with her. I feel great about it because we haven’t had time together and now I see that I have to pay attention to my first priority. My priority now is me and my best friend.

When I wake up my best friend, she is acting a little strange. She is smiling at me like she did when I told her about the date with Mark. Although Mark isn’t anywhere in my house. I just feel like there is a vibe that she knows something I don’t know. I mean she knows everything with Mark and me. So like, what’s that smile all about? At first, I think this is her reaction saying, “I liked yesterday because we had a great time.”

With my confused face, I say, “Are you okay?”

“Yes I’m fine.”

“Why are you so happy? We haven’t even had breakfast,” I joke.

She keeps smiling and doesn’t respond.

After breakfast, I go on a walk with my best friend so I can lose weight. My slippers keep falling from my feet and I struggle to walk. I see the neighbors playing football across the street and my best friend blocks my view while we vibe with our playlist.

Suddenly I hear a “Go long!” and I say to Aneska, “Damn, what an athlete.’’ Then the ball comes right in front of me and––boom!––it hits my head. I fall unconscious. I hear a loud ping in my ear and I see everything blurry.

I hear someone talking gibberish. As soon as I get up, my

eyes slowly close, my whole body shuts down, and I see the world go dark before my eyes.

“Where am I?” I hesitate. “What’s happening? I’m so confused.”

A strange woman gets up and without a second thought, she says, “She woke up. Hi baby.”

Then a very tall guy asks, “Hey, how do you feel?”

A girl my age starts to cry and says, “I’m sorry.”

“Who are you guys?” I ask.

This middle-aged man comes into the room. “I’m sorry to tell you guys, but Kelsie has lost her memory. She does not remember anything from the past.”

After months of therapy, I start to remember who I am. I find a black leather journal. There is a letter in that journal. It reads…

Dear My Little Nugget (Mark Stephan),

I just wanted to tell you that the first time we hung out in the coffee shop, I felt butterflies in my stomach. This is the reason I fell for you: your hobbies, your caring actions, and your optimism. Through this letter, I want to tell you how much you mean to me.

The first months I started talking to you, you shared that you love playing the guitar. You said your favorite singer was Bruno Mars and that his soothing voice touches your heart and others’ hearts with his singing and the romance he sings about brightens you up.

Last time when you played the guitar, your fingers curled around the

strings, and every note you hit was another melody to my heart. Each day we’re learning something new about each other and listening to your soothing voice honesty warms my heart.

Every time I hang out with you, the way you grab my hand, the grip makes me feel so protected. There are many reasons why I like your charismatic and caring actions. One of the reasons is the feeling of protection and comfort. Once when my hands were cold and my teeth were trembling, you came by with your jacket and put it around me. This jacket really warmed me up like toast and you always cared for me first. Walking after school with you, I see your eyes. You probably don’t notice, but there’s a spark inside you. When it’s the golden hour those beautiful dark brown eyes of yours sparkle. The days we drive home and share our future goals, your commitment to your passions and those goals you share, I know they will come true because you are taking steps to accomplish your goals. Every day you discover yourself more and more, showing your independence and your encouragement. You care about everything and everyone happening around you and when something goes right, you celebrate it with joy.hat makes me happier, just seeing your smile. The way you talk to me brings me so much joy and every time I hear you talk about your day and the tiny details of your day, it brings butterflies to my stomach.

Those months were the best and I hope there will be many to come. Your way of reaching your goals, your hobbies, and your caring actions really define who you are. I hope this gets to you because writing this letter tired my fingers.

Sincerely,

Kelsie Mendez

CUPCAKE

ANDREW J.

Today I’m going to talk about the day I got my puppy named Cupcake. Cupcake is a black dog and a mixed breed of terrier and chihuahua. She’s short and full of fur with big brown eyes. In 2014, my uncle noticed his neighbors were playing with a cute little pup.

My uncle told my grandma that these kids were mean to the dog and that she was missing her tail. He didn’t know if they cut it off or she was born that way. One of the kids said he didn’t like how his siblings were treating her, so he gave it to my uncle. My uncle gave it to his girlfriend at that time because my grandma already had one and she didn’t know if my grandpa would want her. When his girlfriend didn’t want the pup, because of her landlord, she had no choice but to give it back to my uncle.

My mom was really sad that nobody wanted the puppy, so she told my uncle, “Let me convince my husband to keep her.” My mom didn’t have to convince my dad much because as soon as my dad laid eyes on her, he immediately fell in love with her and said, “She’s mine.” She’s been with us for seven years and she’s been part of the family ever since.

NEW KIND OF LOVE

SAMIRA M-G.

Samira grew up in LA.

They enjoy sleeping a little too much. An arts and crafts enthusiast. Aspires to become someone who can aid undocumeted students of color. They love stuffed animals.

Only caught a glimpse

Blurry images rule my thoughts

Puzzle the pieces together

Dug me up from a void

You’re the light I am the dark

I am falling in love I am falling in love

I am falling in love with this feeling

You don’t have to say it

What’s this feeling? A new kind of love

Are you falling in love?

Are you falling in love?

Are you falling in love with this feeling?

It always ends like this

Don’t want the stitches to unravel

We have reached the limit

This was solely to believe

We can’t escape each other

Until we meet again

THE PIECES OF MY PUZZLE

MAGGIE S.

I am from a college graduate that didn’t let having three kids stop her from her dreams

From a mother who wanted to provide more for her children than she had growing up

I am from a dad who doesn’t stop working

From a dad who didn’t have a father growing up but he grew up to be the best dad I could ever dream of

I am from a grandmother who is 71 and still hasn’t stopped working

From a grandma who has a heart bigger than the world, and a faith that could move mountains

I am from a grandpa that’s fighting through Covid, even with that his faith continues growing; he’s the strongest man I know

From a man whose love can break through barriers, even through his leg amputation he kept on moving forward, he never stopped fighting

I am from a sister who has taught me how to love, how to open myself to new possibilities and how to treat other people

From a brother who has taught me to grow and to fight for what I believe is mine

From siblings who are paving the way for my future

I am from a church who makes me believe in the world and in myself

From a church that encourages me and believes that I could do more

I am from a God who made me and my family victorious though the many battles we’ve been through

I am from a family where my education is the most important thing I can earn

From a family that has never doubted me

From a family that believes and encourages every dream I have

THE FLIGHTLESS BIRD

BRAYAN C.

Brayan likes to stay at home and watch anime. He also likes to play video games but most importantly, he likes to spend time with his family. He also likes skateboarding although he doesn’t skate that much anymore.

According to Chinese mythology:

“The jian, also known as the bird that shares wings, the Jian only possesses one wing

Unless a male and female pair lean on each other and act as one They are incapable of flight

They are imperfect, incomplete creatures

But for some reason their way of life

Struck me as profoundly beautiful.”

This made me think about how we are imperfect birds

Also incapable of flight, without a partner to join together

We can’t unleash our full potential.

We can’t do things by ourselves, we need help from other people.

CHAPTER III:

WE’RE GOING INTO A BREAKOUT ROOM WITH

SEASONS COME AND GO

WENDY C.

Wendy is a person who enjoys spending time with her dog. She grew up in Los Angeles and she enjoys rereading all the Harry Potter books.

SPRING:

Soft breezes tickled the flowers

Bees buzzed around, gathering pollen from nearby tulips

Following in suit, hummingbirds pollinated foxgloves

Butterflies spread their wings, preparing to take flight

Rays of sunshine reflected off the water

creating beautiful rainbows

People hurried and enjoyed the sight, just in time since the season came to an end

SUMMER:

The faint sounds of bells chiming, a familiar song being played

Voices of kids yelling

“I scream, you scream,

we all scream for ice cream” They eagerly walk up to the ice cream truck, clutching dollar bills in their hands While their parents stay behind supervising them from the picnic blanket What better way to spend a beautiful summer day than at the park, enjoying the finals rays of sunshine before the chilly air could settle in

AUTUMN:

The winds howled in the distance, leaving the trees bare

People walking down the hiking trail enjoy watching the once bright green leaves, now a rich orange, fall to the forest floor.

Songbirds resting on tree branches hummed a shrill tune The temperature grew colder, as they skies grew darker Signaling that winter was looming right around the corner

WINTER:

What was once covered in grass and flowers is now covered in cold snow

Bears once roaming the forest grounds are now hibernating underneath the ground

Rivers full of water turned into bodies of ice

Instead of puddles created from rain drops, snow and hail now litter the ground

People bundled up, create snow angels and snowmen

And in the arctic, the aurora lights rage on

… And the same cycle would continue each year

WONDERS OF LOS ANGELES

GERARDO A-O.

Gerardo is a New York Times bestselling author––just joking. Born and raised in Los Angeles.

As a kid who was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, I started becoming aware of how popular Los Angeles actually is. I noticed that a lot of people are frequently considering packing up and moving to California. Of course if you are having doubts, here are the best reasons why Los Angeles is such a pleasant place to travel to.

In much of California, the climate is subtropical. In other words, the weather is so amazing that the sun isn’t as hot in the summer and neither is it really cold in the winter compared to other places. You know what else this fine weather fits with? Beaches. California is known for its many beaches in the cool summer months. Santa Monica Beach, Malibu Beach and Long Beach are some of the many known beaches here open for the public to enjoy.

There’s much more Los Angeles has to offer besides it’s weather. Los Angeles is the entertainment capital of the world. Los Angeles offers many different attractions and activities to its residents and tourists. Movie theaters, beaches, landmarks, museums, theme parks (Disneyland, Universal Studios, etc.), bars, and many other outdoor activities. The night is young so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t enjoy yourself.

These are three of the numerous reasons why Los Angeles is the right choice for you. To recap, Los Angeles has the best

weather, tropical climate beaches, and many attractions at night you can always visit with your friends and family. It takes time to get used to the city but it’s always worth a shot.

MY FIVE FAVORITE THINGS

LUIS G.

Hello my name is Luis Garcia I am gonna name my Five List. Hope y’all enjoy.

This is for my favorite athlete. It has to be Kobe Bryant. Since I was a little kid I have looked up to him as a person and a player as well as a player in basketball. It made me wanna play basketball and try a new sport. He kept trying to stay longer in the gym after practice to get better. This made me think if he didn’t give up and kept getting better to become a legend, why should we give up? If we fall down we should get back up and try harder and harder until we are successful and until we accomplish what we are gonna accomplish.

This second part is my musician. Someone I really (listen to?) hear has got to be Eminem. He is an all time great, coming out of a battleground rapper, changing people’s point of view. Since he was white, people probably didn’t think he could rap and make it as a rapper. He has shown that it doesn’t matter the skin color, you can prove people wrong and change their point of view. For example, he got his own shoe with the Nike brand. He has won awards which he has thanked his fans for because they supported him and has done a movie, 8 Mile. It doesn’t matter about the skin color, you can achieve all the things you want.

My favorite TV show was Jessie and Austin and Ally from the Disney Channel. They were funny and really interesting. They would make me laugh and I would be so into it. I wouldn’t even

blink sometimes because it was so good. They gave life lessons which were about love, bullying, and having fun as a teen kid. They would show how to give people a chance and show how people took the chance in a good way.

My favorite video game has gotta be FIFA. It’s fun and really competitive because it’s a sports game. I have played every FIFA game. It’s really a family game, but it gets really intense, so it will get you mad. But I recommend that you play it even if you don’t like soccer–it’s really a good game.

My favorite books gotta be Diary of a Wimpy Kid because they are funny like the movie. But the book has drawings like a comic. They have sold a lot of copies of the book and the fact that they made a movie is even better.

NON-PICKY EATER

AMAIYA J.

My story is about food and the way I enjoy it. When I was little I loved eating sweets and spicy treats to keep me happy throughout the day. I remember my first and amazing experiences of getting food like candy, chips, and soda. My parents always made me try many alternative sorts of food when I was younger. I always enjoyed trying new things and different kinds of food. My parents are two different eaters. On my mom’s side, she likes more of the sour, bitter, and robust taste. But my dad likes the opposite? flavors that my mom prefers, like sweet and spicy. But I like everything–but olives. Olives are too salty and too chewy in my opinion.

I grew up liking seafood and Asian food. Seafood is one of my favorite things to eat only because I always just like the flavor for a few reasons. It just makes me happy. To be a multiracial kid it’s pretty interesting because I get to taste many alternative cultural foods. On my mom’s side, she is Japanese and on my dad’s side, he’s German, Indian, Creole, and much more. So it’s no wonder that I like a lot of different things, but I do prefer seafood and Asian food. Most Asian dishes have solely? natural flavors to their foods, snacks, and more. But my sister is a whole different story. My sister dislikes most Asian food. I guess you’d call her an awfully picky eater. I’m happy to mention that I’m not a picky person when it involves food and snacks.

MY TOP FIVE GAMES

ANGEL M.

5. ROCKET LEAGUE

This game has been out since 2015 and it recently got more popular because it became free. Many people are playing this game because it brings a whole different concept unlike any other game. This game takes a lot of hard work and can get addicting.

4.

GTA V

I really like this game because you can do whatever you want like playing with friends and getting cool cars. You can go on missions with your friends and have fun.

3. DEAD BY DAYLIGHT

I really enjoy this game because I have over 700 hours on it. This game is really fun to play with friends and you can play for hours without not having fun. I like this game because once you get good at the game it can be really enjoyable.

2. APEX LEGENDS

I really enjoy this game because you can play as many different characters and play how you want. This game is very competitive and it is really intense which makes it fun.

1.

MINECRAFT

This game is my all time favorite because I’ve been playing it since 2010 so it is a nostalgic game. I have many good memories of playing this game with friends and family.

GENERATION OF GAMING

EMMANUEL S.

Emmanuel is a boy with many dreams. He either wants to be a gamer, a construction worker, or a football player.

He is a very passionate boy, for example his most passionate hobby now is football. Whatever he wants he won’t stop until he gets to where he wants to be. He is a very chill and funny dude to be around too.

One of my top five favorite video games of all time is Call of Duty Black Ops 2. This game was released on November 12, 2012. I bought it the first day it came out and I was in love with this game. I didn’t get off the game at all unless it was important. Important for me was eating, going out with my family, or when I was sleepy. This game was so realistic and the graphics were so delightful. The camos on that game were also nice. What I mean by camos is the color or wrapping of a weapon. People were always grinding on that game to get the max camos.

Another game that’s on my Top Five list is Call of Duty Black Ops. This was the first Black Ops game which was released on November 9, 2010. This game was so good but since I didn’t have the hang of it like the pros, I didn’t enjoy it as much as Black Ops 2. Still, it was a good game that made it to my top five. I loved the gold camo from which I was grinding to get. This game had a zombie mode too, which everyone from the gaming community loved. This game could’ve been hard but most definitely was super worth it to play.

Third in my Top five list is Call of Duty Black Ops 3. This

game was released on November 6, 2015. Black Ops 3 was way different than the first and the second one. In this game we had jetpacks so we could fly and so many unrealistic things. I really loved this game because it was so creative and it also had some guns from the second Black Ops. It was really a mix of Black Ops 1, 2, and 3. I liked the unrealistic things so I think that’s why I loved that game. I was better than most of my friends too. I usually get more kills and less death than my friends in a match.

Fourth on my Top Five list is Call of Duty: Cold War. This game was actually released on November 13, 2020. I really had my doubts about this game but when I started playing it, I started to like it. This game is more on the realistic side. The guns are really made in real life, the graphics look so real, and the characters in the game talk smack. Today, December 16 was their first update and it was a success. They brought back an OG map that was in Black Ops 2 which everyone in the community loved. There was also an update recently where they added a game mode for people that like competitive match ups. I myself really enjoyed that competitive game mode because I’m pretty good at the game.

Last but not least, fifth on my Top Five list is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. This game was released on August 23, 2019. This game was not released in November because it wasn’t the same person who created my other top four games. The developers of this game were called Infinity Ward, who were very successful as well. One reason I love this game is because there is a battle royale game mode. A battle royal game is where 100 or more players battle to get first place to get that win. Another reason I love this game is because there is a competitive game mode. I always have a lot of fun playing this game mostly because all my cousins and uncle have it. So we all play together and it’s just really all fun and games.

These are all good games and they are also all successful. Each game really has their own recipes. They might all sound the same but really they are all different. They are all fun to play and enjoyable. The only thing I don’t like about all the games is that they just take way too long to fix their bugs and problems. But at the end of the day, you will be addicted to these games just as I am.

One story I remember about playing Call of Duty 2 was when I was playing the game and I rage quit so hard I broke my control and TV. I broke my control by banging it on the floor, then I threw the control at the TV screen and it was broken. I felt very bad because it was my Mom’s TV. When she found out she was very upset. I don’t think I’ll break anything else for rage quitting over some game.

PASSION

FREDY T-H.

Fredy: Just a kid learning new things and having fun.

Knowing that you like something is a skill. Knowing that you’re good at it is a passion. Growing up, you find a hobby you like and you try to be the best at it. I know that around five to 10 years old, I was into soccer, hoping I would at least be a captain of a team. I didn’t make it that far but at least I made some shots leading us to be champions. At one point, I decided to stop playing soccer and to stop having a passion for soccer. Going into middle school I saw people with skateboards and that the school had a skateboard program.So for my birthday I decided to buy a skateboard. The way I fell in love with the skateboard was like a different feeling that I had had in a long time. It had me going everyday to my garage and trying to learn new tricks.

MUSIC VS. A FROZEN WORLD

DIANA C.H.

Diana is very shy at first but blooms like a flower after a month or two of getting to know her. She listens to K-Pop everyday, likes to watch K-Dramas, and enjoys watching videos that make her laugh and have a good time. She also wants to be a photographer at some point and maybe end up being the photographer for a K-Pop group one day. People think she’s funny and always thank her for her positivity even during hard times.

SOME VOCABULARY TO HELP GUIDE YOU

SUB-UNIT: A combination of certain members within an already existing group. The name of the sub-unit depends on the names of the members in the sub-unit. For example, EXO-SC is a subunit that consists of the two rappers of EXO Sehun and Chanyeol.

SOLO: A member debuting solo but can go back and forth between solo and group activities.

COMEBACK: New music release by an artist (mostly used in K-Pop).

K-POP RANDOM DANCE: Mix of K-Pop songs anyone can dance to.

STAN: To be an honest fan of a group. Liking other groups is okay but always going back to support and love that one favorite group of yours.

What I would’ve never thought could give me comfort did in the most peaceful and hidden way.

Well to start off, I first saw EXO back in February of 2018 and at the time, I was honestly a whole different person. I’m being serious. I’m not joking. I wasn’t open minded and I didn’t really have my own opinions and thoughts. I was mostly led to think what my family thought was right, which in some cases, was or was not true. After I heard EXO and watched some videos of them, I came to see how they all had a mind of their own. Each member had their own opinions on things and every single member was just his own little world. That’s how I became more aware of events that were going on in the world and started to have my own opinion on those events for example lgbtq+ people, presidential elections, and so on. I started to have my own opinions on what was “right” and “wrong.” Then later in the year, I got to witness my first EXO comeback on November second of 2018 with their fifth album “Don’t Mess Up My Tempo.” I felt excited when the album released, although I wanted to wait until the end of the day, come back from school, change clothes, eat, do any homework I had, then sit on my comfy soft bed, open my ipad and click on the official video for the title song of the album “Tempo.”

After watching the video like three to five times, I continued on to watch the lyric videos of the rest of the album since the side-tracks don’t have music videos. The album is honestly special to me because my friends gave me the physical version of the album for my birthday with pictures of them and everything and it was my very first copy of a physical album I owned. That day I felt very thankful towards my friends and that even though EXO is not their favorite group, they still have an album by them.

Lastly, I felt proud that I found the one, the one who never bored me, and always had amazing albums. I could like all of

their songs with no fear of them not being good. Cheesy, I know. It’s just I have never loved an artist as much as I love EXO in all my life.

Well that was 2018. Now for 2019 which honestly happened to be a great year for EXO. In 2019, a whole lot of things happened. EXO had two members debut solo, Baekhyun and Chen. Also EXO had a new sub-unit who made their debut and they were called “EXO-SC’’ which consists of two members Sehun and Chanyeol. This was their second sub-unit to debut after “EXO-CBX’’ which consists of three members, Baekhyun, Chen, and Xiumin. And finally we had an EXO comeback that’s where my favorite album of 2020 came from. It was called “OBSESSION.” This album came out a day before Thanksgiving, the 27th of November to be clear. So on that day I woke up at 12pm–I know it’s late, but I wanted to be awake to watch the music video for the album “Obsession.” I watched the video about three to five times, like I did for “Tempo,” and then proceeded to watch lyrics of the side-tracks of the album. I was impressed that even with just six members EXO made a solid album. Well I wasn’t so surprised because I know EXO doesn’t disappoint in anything and even less in music. The album contains beautiful songs like every EXO album does. It may sound biased, because it is,.I can’t agree to something that’s obviously not true. Well that’s it for 2019. Now on to 2020 where EXO and a mysterious group helped me get through that rough 2020.

It was December of 2019 on Christmas Day. I had gotten a gift from my brother.t was the 2020 Season’s Greetings from EXO which included a calendar, stickers, and pictures of them obviously. I was very happy on that day because I love anything EXO related. Now on March 20th (I think) we went on lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic and that’s where my life would take a 360 degree shift. I started to take school at home on Zoom

which was not fun at all. I had to do a lot of assignments in a short amount of time and had to learn the material in that short amount of time too which was very stressful for me. I felt tired almost everyday because all I did in my entire day was wake up, eat breakfast, log onto Zoom for 4 hours, take advantage of the 10 minute breaks to eat, and then when “school” was over, I would eat again, do my homework for countless hours, just rest for like four hours, then sleep and repeat the next day. That’s what I did for a whole year and still am since the situation hasn’t gotten any better. So as you can imagine, most of my day was spent doing homework and doing school-related work. I didn’t really have time for myself in 2020 but the time I did have, I’d spend it listening to EXO or any solo/sub-unit projects. To be honest I felt a little sad on the inside because having a solo comeback or a sub-unit comeback does not feel the same as seeing all the members in one video, on the same stage, all in one song. Well, since EXO didn’t have a comeback in 2020, another mysterious group did, (well the subunits had many comebacks) and that group has 23 members. And That group was… NCT!

Now NCT has a very special place in my heart. They are like my “little kids.” I call them that because they’re younger than EXO and I think it’s cute. NCT consists of 23 members. Well at the beginning of 2020 we had 21 but then two new members were added. Back in 2018, I knew who NCT was but I just never listened to them. The concept was a little complicated to understand, but I liked it so I didn’t really care about looking into it. So when I finally decided to listen to them, I fell for them instantly. Their song “BOSS,’’ which is my favorite, convinced me to listen to the rest of the subunits. “BOSS” is my favorite song because of the rap that Mark and Taeyong deliver, strong but with flow. Also the vocals are on point, so the balance between the rap and vocals made it the perfect song for me. That’s why

I love it so much. NCT is a group that doesn’t have a fixed number of members; they can add new members whenever it seems appropriate. I feel very proud and honored to attend NCT because they really gave me something to look forward to in 2020.

Now EXO and NCT were at some point my only motivation to get up from bed. My stress with school work led me to thinking this one and only thought before getting up from bed, “I’ll just get up to listen to them because they bring me happiness.” What I mean by this is that I just really, really didn’t want to wake up. It made me stressed and wanting to cry just thinking about logging onto Zoom for four hours, having to do my personal schedule, and also having to do assignments all in one day. Although when EXO or NCT released something new, it motivated me to get up from bed to watch their new music video and to listen to their albums. Thinking about them changed my mood from negative to slowly being positive which helped me get through my day. I hate being negative so I’m thankful they existed to change my mood. All this may seem dramatic but it’s true. Even I couldn’t believe it.Me, who thought I could always be happy, who was always positive, who always found something to motivate me, who always… had amazing grades.

Grades have always been a big weight on my shoulders since eighth grade. I got a D in my math class in middle school and my parents were not happy.Ever since then, I have always wanted to get them the perfect grades. Usually the “amazing grades’’ do come with a cost and that 2020 just made it even more expensive. Doing school online made it difficult ,not because I didn’t understand the material, but because of the amount of work due in such a short amount of time. Everyone can probably agree with me, I’m sure. I still feel sad when I remember the lunch times me and my friend had together, listening to K-Pop random

dances, and trying to dance even though she was good, but I wasn’t. But I still “danced” to go with the vibe of the song and to have a fun and good time with my friend. That was something I missed dearly since I had gone to “real school” for almost 10 years and was not used to “seeing” my friends and teachers through a computer. This new form of learning was very hard for me.

Luckly, EXO and NCT had my back and they really made my 2020 kind of “better,” I guess. They dried my eyes when I cried, they lended a hand when I was down, they made me think positive when I was feeling negative, they made me laugh when I was feeling bored, and they made me smile when I was sad. Both EXO and NCT were amazing and a very needed comfort in 2020. I got to know NCT a little better by watching their daily vlogs by a different member each day. They made me laugh everyday. NCT and EXO are both super funny and I don’t ever regret clicking on that EXO video that made me get to where I am now.

CHAPTER IV:

EVEN THOUGH _____, I PASSED THE CLASS WITH A _____.

NEVER GIVE UP (NUNCA TE RINDAS — KEEP FIGHTING FOR IT)

EMERSON P.

I am from Guatemala City. I remember when I arrived in Los Angeles, California. My life changed completely. My first day in Los Angeles, it was very new. I saw many colors of people, all very different places around the city. I felt I needed to be brave because it was honestly scary. My cousin and my brother took me to a restaurant to eat. In that moment, while eating pupusas, I felt very sad to see that I was far from my parents in an entirely new world.

Later my cousin took me to buy clothes. I bought new tennis shoes. As my cousin took me around the city to buy new things, I started to feel happy. When we arrived at the apartment, it was already dark. Inside the apartment, my new lodging, I looked out the window at the buildings around me in the dark. I felt my heart breaking. It was my first day in Los Angeles . and already I wanted to return to Guatemala. I missed my mom, my brothers, everything about home. I missed my dog, my pitbull, Rocky. Yet there was no way to return home. The next day my cousin took me to the park. He took me to see the city. After days and months, little by little, I built up my familiarity with this country. Soon I started school. Luckily, I found new friends at school!

After school, I went to the gym to entertain myself for a while. I wanted to be healthy so I would lift 20 pound weights. Late in the evening, my brother and my cousin would come home to the apartment. They would be working until 7PM. One day I said, “I have to change my life. I have to make my own life. I don’t need to depend on my brother and my cousin.” I expressed to them that a friend appreciated my work. I went and they interviewed me in Spanish with the manager and “Chef.” He told me that they were looking for a “lavaplato,” a dishwasher, and so that was my only option. I took it because at that time, I didn’t speak English and my options were small. I became the lavaplato.

I remember that the chef told me that I would tomorrow. The next day I went to the restaurant and told the chef that I was ready to start work and they gave me a uniform with a “redecia” on my head and an apron. I started working at five o’clock in the morning. So early! The restaurant was very large. It had three floors! l remember that there was a lot of work. We washed a lot of dishes: a minimum of about 300 plates and many pots, forks, cucharas, etc. I felt a lot of pressure to get it all done. There I was. I reflected on my work thinking that the paths of life are not as I imagined them. I worked in my only option and realized the Path of Life was very difficult to walk. It was difficult to imagine finding a way out.

When I was a child, I thought life would be very different. I thought things were easy like yesterday. I realized I was growing up and life was getting complicated. I left work at one o’clock at night and I waited for the bus. I would arrive at the apartment at two o’clock in the morning and the next day I would get up to go to school at 6:30 AM . After leaving school, I went to work to start again. I slept five hours. School, work. School, work. Little sleep.

It took two years working and studying. I started to learn

English. Teachers would tell me to get my work done. I was sleepy. I felt that no one understood my suffering. There were times when I felt overwhelmed; that life was very cruel to me because I was suffering. I told my brother and my cousin that I could not do it anymore, the best thing would be for me to drop out of school to work. But they did not understand my suffering. My brother told me that he was leaving school but I could not leave school. I did not want to affect him with the expenses of the apartment, so I kept doing both. Work and school.

I felt that he no longer had the strength to cope. I kept asking God what plans I had for my past months and years. Now I look back on what I have done. Now I have a good job where I work only five hours a day. Life has hit me with more. Nevertheless, here I am still standing. I am proud of my achievements. This year I am going to graduate from high school and I plan to go to college.

My goal is one day to be an empresario, to have my own company, I promised my mom and I am going to achieve it. I have many goals in mind such as to help disabledpeople who have nowhere to go and to help low-income families. If one day God gives me the opportunity to have my own business I will help people who really need help. Thanks to the difficulties that I have gone through every day, I am a stronger person.

GROWING UP AS A MIXED KID WITH STRICT PARENTS IN THE HOOD

TAYLOR B.

As a kid growing up in the hood I have experienced a lot of ups and downs, such as gang violence, shootings, drug deals, and fighting. You might assume my parents would go easy on me considering how much we have to deal with in our surrounding environment, however it’s the opposite. They go 10x harder on my siblings and I because they don’t want us to become part of one of the “cliques’’ in our neighborhood. Of course, there’s pros and cons, such as we are prepared for the real world and not some fantasy parents often put in their kids heads.On the other hand, we often miss out on stuff like going to parties, trips, and amusement parks with friends because my parents are too afraid to let us out. I can understand their fears and worries for us but at the same time, I wish they would trust our judgment and trust that they’ve raised us good enough to know right from wrong. I wish they would trust us to have one another’s backs so we stay out of trouble. My parents raised us to be the kids who stand up for ourselves and each other and always said to treat people the way we wanted to be treated. When we were always being told no, probably for a good reason, we didn’t always listen. I know for me and my brother at

least we went out a lot of times even after we were told no. We were in trouble all the time. No phones, no friends, just school and home. We always thought it was worth the hours of fun and other times we regretted it. One thing we never regretted was we always listened to my mother’s words of wisdom and had one another’s backs. We always returned home safely. It was really hard for us. I know my parents had good intentions but it felt like they didn’t want us to be happy and experience a normal childhood. We already had it hard being kids of color, always having to look out for the police so we didn’t get stopped on the way to school. And as we got older it only got worse, especially in our neighborhood. We just wanted to be like every other kid in the neighborhood.

DROWNING IN THE DARK

SHARLENE G.

Like a night owl

I see better

I feel better

I started seeing my flaws

Started feeling that spark

I look at big lights and feel flames around

My heart

It’s chaotic

But calm

You find peace in the silence

Why only at night?

I look at the stars and enter another reality, for hours

You let fear consume your life

You’re comfortable

Your mind is like a maze with twists and turns

But you like it

You find beauty in the darkness

You walk on thin ice just for the thrill

The world is full of madness

Faces from your past return, another lesson Is yet to learn

THEY KEEP ON FALLIN’

JEFFREY M.

Jeffrey is from LA, of Salvadoran descent. He enjoys playing video games and listening to calm soothing music. Although at first he is shy, he is fairly cool when you get to know him more. One day he hopes to have some sort of involvement with animation.

The rain. The rain is like us, human beings in a way. Calm, relaxing, quiet, but in some cases it can get loud, obnoxious, and even dangerous. One might think hearing the droplets as they fall upon the window is calm and soothing, others might think it’s an annoyance that bothers them. As they keep on falling, roads and sidewalks become wet and humid, large puddles form in backyards, crops and plants embrace. Rain can, however, flood houses, causing property damage and death to those that are unfortunate. Just like how humans tend to flood markets during an event like Black Friday, causing destruction around the store, many injuries, and in rare cases, death itself. The human mind can be compared to the weather. A sunny day is a clear mind, a gloomy day could be a mind filled with thoughts, and lastly, a rainy day could be a mind that’s suffering with the raindrops representing the many worries and stress. A sunny day for me is when most of the day is spent having fun with friends or family, not worrying about life and it’s many obstacles. A rainy day could be summed up with having to deal with a lot of work that has been left for you to finish before a certain deadline and rarely getting time to spend with said friends and family. It is always best to keep your head and chin up just like the sun when the rain clouds fade away and the rainbow that forms and shines with its array of colors.

A TRIBUTE TO CASTRO

EMERSON M.

Emerson might seem like an ordinary boy but as far as the eye can see he has won a Nobel Peace Prize for bringing down the CEO of racism, discovered the rare element of Obamium, and resolved nuclear tensions between Russia, North Korea, and the United States.

But when he’s not busy saving the world from another global crisis, he loves playing Minecraft with his friends, talking to them, making them laugh, and making sure they have a good time. And finally he loves watching as the time passes by in front of him.

It seemed like a normal day as I walked to middle school and waited for the period to start, wanting the class to end. Nothing was out of the ordinary on my end. Right as I shared my step with the rest of the class out the door, in pure force, my teacher closed the door and brought all the students back inside the classroom. Everyone was confused and worried about what was going on and at that very time we got told that a shooting was currently happening in school. A life and death scenario that can end in any form, a double edged sword as some would call it. A life would be taken from an innocent classroom as the other life gets their freedom taken away. A normal day turned into a complete fantasy that I would usually read in news articles or past history. Never in my life would I have thought that I would have to live through it.

Back in the class life: students began to worry, some cried, some were in utter shock, and others were in disbelief of the

reality that was going on. At the time we didn’t know where exactly it was taking place as all the classes were in the same building. Who knew on what side the shooter was on? As other students called their parents and this event was hitting the media, we were all stuck inside trying to kill some time. Personally, I just chatted with friends in the class and played card games with them. The teacher projected some live news on the event that was going on and wouldn’t you know it’s a helicopter view of the school. The room was all pitch dark with some light coming from the metal fenced window.

It was currently 12PM noon and we were all sick of staying in there. Most kids had calmed down from this tragedy and others were minding their own business. That was until, the police busted into the class with several armed and ready officers. I jumped from the sudden brute force they used to get into the class and their strict attitude to the children as well as it being nerve wracking to have them in front of the classroom, especially having to be searched by them. As someone whose whole family has told them to fear the police, I used to think, “Oh this is a one in a million chance this will happen.” Little did I know I would land on that side of the roulette.

After the whole fiasco with them, we were able to go home if we had a parent or guardian pick us up and walk us home. Since I didn’t have a phone, I wasn’t able to tell my parents to come pick me up or notify them of the event. As it turned out, I was one of the last few students in an empty classroom to be picked up by their parents. Escorted from the classroom to the Belmont softball field, everything seemed normal though it was empty. Aside from the cop cars around the area and the tents and flocks of parents trying to see if their kids were safe. things weren’t out of the ordinary. Some were crying, others happy, and me with an expressionless smile towards my parents who picked me up. They were happy I was safe and unscathed. With that, the experience

came to a close and the next day arrived.

As I walked back to school for the next day, things were different. Backpacks were searched, more law enforcement officers were on the premises, and fewer students were around–probably from parents being worried of their children going back to a place that just got shot up. Sure it was another “ordinary” school day, but with the whole shooting in the back of students’ and teachers’ heads. The normal school day resumed with some ease for the students that were still worried about the whole incident. The news vans were still there, most likely to get a quick scoop of the aftermath of the situation. More days passed by, more students returned to school with the weight of their backs. Less school security came and the whole incident breezed away.

Coming full circle, a discussion of the aftermath did happen. Two children got shot, one in the head which he luckily survived and the other in the wrist. Apparently a teacher also got shot. Since this took place in the first week of February, the Valentine’s Day shooting was also an event that happened in as short a time span as ours. Theirs was more fatal than ours, sadly, which can show the bigger possibility of a larger scale shooting if the shooter was prepared. The girl who brought the armed weapon to school was never heard of again. I believe she is somewhere lost in American soil.

A time of reflection came across since I didn’t experience the whole shooting as the kids in seventh grade did. Their stories need to be heard more to get a clear picture of what happened that day. It was a traumatizing experience for them but hopefully one day they can look back and reflect as well at the past. Usually I joke about the situation because my experience was quite subtle, unlike other people’s experiences. Though this may be a situation that may be spread around, I believe it’s best to leave the final nail in the coffin for this story.

LETTING GO

HODALIS P-H.

Hodalis is a student at Academic Leadership Community and is still learning about creative writing. She is shy but outgoing when she feels comfortable and is a very generous person. She is a very resilient person who always tries to give her all. She enjoys various things like spending time with her closest friend, being on the swim team, exercising, listening to music, napping, learning new things, learning choreographies, creating new choreographies, and anything she can possibly do. She may look and seem ordinary, but there’s more to her than most people can see.

To some people she may be a mystery, but you will be amazed by how big her heart is.

I want to breathe, I hate this night

I want to wake up, I hate this dream

I’m trapped inside of myself and I’m dead

Don’t wanna be lonely

Just wanna be with you

Why is it so dark when you’re not here?

It’s dangerous how I wrecked me

Save me because I can’t get a grip on myself

Listen to my heartbeat

It calls you whenever it wants to

Because within this pitch black darkness, you shine so brightly

Give me your hand and save me

I need your love before I fall

Give me your hand and rescue me from this darkness

I need your light

Today the moon shines brighter on the black spot in my

memories

It swallowed me, feeling now like a lunatic, please save tonight

Within this childish madness you will save me tonight

I knew that your salvation is a part of my life and the only helping hand that will embrace my pain

The best of me, you’re the only thing I have

Please raise your voice so that I can laugh again

Thank you for letting me be me

For helping me fly

For giving me wings

For straightening me out

For waking me from being suffocated

For waking me from a dream which was all I was living in

When I think of you the sun comes out, so I gave my sadness to the moon

Thank you, for being ‘us’

You got me

I dream while looking at you

I got you

Inside those pitch black nights

The light we saw in each other were saying the same thing

Starlight that shines brighter in the darkest night

The deeper the night, the brighter the starlight

One history in one person

One star in one person

Seven billion different worlds shining with seven billion lights

Seven billion lives, the city’s night view is possibly another city’s night

Our own dreams let us shine

You shine brighter than anyone else

Perhaps the reason this night looks so beautiful is not because of these stars or light, but because of us

City lights, this city’s star

I remember the night sky I saw when I was young

Where people are light

Where people are stars

In this place full of WHERE

People are lights

We shinin’

You got me

I breathe while looking I got you

Inside those pitch black nights

Shine, dream, smile

Oh, let us light up the night

We shine in our own ways

Shine, dream, smile

Oh, let us light up the night

We shine just the way we are

Tonight

Open your eyes under the cold blue sky

The pouring sunshine makes me dizzy

My breath is quickening, my heart is racing

I can feel it is so easily that I’m alive

It’s, even if it’s not us

Even if sadness erases me

Even if there are dark clouds

Even if I’m in an endless dream

Even if I’m endlessly crumpled

Even if my wings are torn

Even if some day, I’m not me anymore

It’s alright, I am my own salvation

I won’t ever die in this path

How you doin? “I’m fine”

My sky is clear

All pain, say goodbye

“Goodbye!”

My cold heart has forgotten how to call you

But, I’m not lonely, I’m fine

The darkness of the night shakes awake my sleeping dreams

But I’m not afraid, I’m fine

I’m feeling fine

I’ll let go of your hand now

I’m know I’m all mine

Cuz I’m just fine

I’m feeling just fine

I don’t want to be sad anymore

I could see the sunshine

Cuz I’m just fine

I’m just fine, all of my pain

I can overcome without you

I’m just fine, don’t worry

I can smile now because everyone knows your voice

I’m so fine, you so fine

All of the sadness and scars became an old memory now

So let’s smile and let go, we so fine

I’m so fine, you so fine

Our future will only have happiness

So put away your fear

Enjoy it, you worked hard, we so fine

Can you see it too?

The dim moonlight?

Can you hear it too?

That faint echo?

I’m feeling just fine

I’ll yell it out myself

Casting a spell on this repeating nightmare

I’m feeling just fine

I”ll keep telling myself even if I fall down again

I’m fine

EVERYTHING GETS BORING

ALAN R.

When COVID started I didn’t really care about it. I thought it was all fake until schools shut down. I was happy at first because there would be no more stress and no more homework or class. I thought it was only gonna last for like a month but then schools never opened and online classes started and at first it was fun and all but now it’s extremely boring.

We can’t go out and see our friends and hang out after school. We can’t go to the park or watch a movie and sleepover and have parties. I dislike not being able to do any of that now. I miss going out and buying food. After school me and my friends would go to Chipotle or McDonalds or Pizza Planet to buy food and just chill, eating and talking, and then go home or go to my house and watch movies or play games. It was fun. Now the only thing I can do is be in school and be on my phone or play games by myself.

During the pandemic I’ve only been able to do some things which are boring. Well, everything gets boring if you do it everyday, but I’ve only been able to play games or watch anime or movies and it’s been stressful. But what I do to relax is sleep and just do whatever.

WE ARE THE SAME

ABIGAIL S.

Abigail is a girl who loves to sleep. She hates reading but loves being read to.

Many deaths over a skin color

So much hatred over a skin color

So much unfairness over a skin color

Why is that?

What makes you see us so differently?

We bleed, we cry, we smile — don’t you?

We breathe the same air you do.

We see the same sun and moon you do.

Why can’t you see us the same?

What makes us so different?

What will make you realize that we are the same?

We are the same!

CROSSING THE BRIDGE

TANYA R.

Tanya is a positive and social butterfly, who likes to make new friends. She also likes to go on adventures and discover new places with friends and family. She likes cats and can listen to The Weeknd all day, every day.

If you keep it cool with her, she’ll keep it cool with you :) Be nice and stay in school.

Disclaimer: my poem is what I imagined survivors of abuse go through and how they might feel.

As much as I avoid it

It’s still there, in my head

Stuck

It’s a memory

A bad one

But no one will understand my pain

My fears

My tears

And all those nights I have felt so alone

He took my safety

My confidence, and

My happiness.

The night he chose to take advantage of me.

I felt despair, worthless, and weak

But it’s time to finally let go

To release all my anger and pain by forgiving, but not forgetting

So I can gain strength to have no fears to conquer this nightmare I’ve been stuck in

And little by little Down this rocky road

I will turn the black and white world I’ve been seeing, into a Beautiful, Bright, and Colorful Butterfly

The one that will let me have a smile plastered across my face And allow Happiness to take over everything, I endured... that day

CHAPTER V:

REMEMBER BEFORE COVID WHEN WE COULD

METAL ROD

JAN A.

Potatoes have skin. Jan has skin. Therefore, he is a potato.

Winter of 2020, pre-COVID 19, I walked to P.E. with a couple of my friends to play baseball with a metal rod. I batted and my friend pitched. The pressure was on as he was preparing to throw the ball directly towards me. I wiped my brows and drops of sweat came down my face. As if in slow motion, everything seemed to stop. Then, whoosh as the ball came toward me. It swerved in different directions. I swung the metal rod as a large clink shocked us all. I thought to myself, “I hit it” as the ball lunged toward the infield. Then it hit me, not the ball, but the realization that I needed to run, before it was too late. So I ran. I said to myself, “Remember that ice cream truck that you had to chase six blocks to get a delicious ice cream sandwich.” This motivated me to run faster than the ice cream truck… and I did.

The wind against my face as I ran was like a hot day when I had my fan blasting at full power against my face. The left fielder missed the ball but quickly got it and threw it to second base. Second base began to throw the ball. Analyzing this, I thought of the skills I’ve seen in the big leagues… I slid. Sliding to first base not knowing that it’s strictly prohibited to, I saw the ball fly over my head, barely miss my nose, and bounce off the metal fence. I got to the base first. Laughter in the background as I stood up, with a scraped knee, and pants filled with dry, red, musty dirt.

WHY

FRANKLIN M.

Franklin thoroughly enjoys summer. Moral of his story, he loves going outside.

Piece for publication: Being happy seems to be a temporary feeling. Just like at that one time my family and I went out to a lake for a fun day on a Sunday. Seems like I could enjoy life when the sun was out. The smell of carne asada. The smell of summer. Jesus man, I truly miss those days where we didn’t have to wear the stupid masks. Life was simpler back then. Too bad this summer will be a bummer. All in all, I want summer days back, to enjoy myself and relax.

A MIXED UNIVERSE WITH MIXED EMOTIONS

NICOLE S.

Nicole is from Los Angeles, California.

She enjoys writing poems sometimes and likes to listen to music as well. She hates it when things that she tends to overthink about end up being true. She hopes one day to either write poems and/or make music.

The Universe is one sphere with unexpected imaginations

Imaginations without explanations

The universe is one in a billion, full of emotion

Emotion that is rare to be spoken

Mixed Emotions is what creates the world to be a mess

A mess that can’t be seen with images,

Messages are being unread at this point; many actually and without these beautiful people on this earth, we can’t open those important messages.

Be yourself, stay strong, you’re not alone… yeah yeah we know all that, but if you see clearly, not all of us are that tough. We can try, but it won’t be enough

They gotta know and understand that the world is full of different experiences and that everyone goes through a lot.

Not everyone’s the same or can be the same

Everyone is different from where they came

Cold as stone with difficult weather… Heat like the sun with difficult pressure

There’s a lot of questions being asked and not all are being answered

Even with incorrect responses, people don’t want to give others chances.

Chances that prove what they’re trying to explain.

At the end of the day, we are all humans and go through a lot each and every day. We might not see what happens on the other side, but somehow we feel the need to help each other in any kind of way.

MY TRIP TO THE US

MIGUEL M.

Miguel is a person that likes listening to other people’s problems and gives advice to whoever needs it. He loves listening to any kind of music, he plays soccer, basketball and video games, and also is someone who likes having new adventures everyday.

When I first came to the United States of America, to me everything was new. A new home, new friends, new school, new language, and new experiences to live in this new place. At first I was scared, nervous, and happy at the same time because I was gonna be with all my family for the first time in my life. Everything was different. I met family members that I didn’t know I had. At one point I was confused because they knew me but I didn’t know who they were.

On my first day of school, I got lost and to be honest, I was so scared because I didn’t know no one and everyone was speaking a different language that I couldn’t understand. I asked a teacher if she could help me find my class but she couldn’t understand me so I had to do it by myself. It took like 20 minutes to find my class. One day I was eating lunch by myself when some kids came up to my table. They sat at my table and we ate lunch together. We became friends. They were from Mexico like me and they also immigrated to the United States like me.

I remember that every Friday we used to pitch in to buy pizza and go to a park to play soccer or basketball. Those were the best days. We had fun playing and talking about our future and

what we would like to be when we grow up. One of my friends wanted to be a professional soccer player. Ain’t gonna lie,he was a good soccer player. My other friend wanted to be a businessman and I didn’t know what I wanted to be. I still don’t know. When we graduated from middle school we never talked or hung out again. We lost contact, but I hope they are doing good and they accomplish their goals.

THE LIFE OF AN AVERAGE

16 YEARS OLD GUY

ALBERTO R-F.

This story starts with an average guy named Jake. He lives in a lower class neighborhood and lives with his sister and mom. Jake goes to high school like any teenager does on weekdays and gets average grades. He gets help and works hard to make his family proud. So far his life hasn’t been good since his father left and his family couldn’t waste any money until his mom could find a good job. Throughout the hardships he faced in his childhood, his family managed to make life average in terms of money. They tried not to struggle and managed to live in an apartment and be happy.

Jake in the present time has been living his average life and not many crazy things happen. He just faces hardships that any teenager does, like school and personal hardships. He lives the life of an average 16 year old guy.

The point of view of Jake on the events of his life has been hard when it comes to food. Jake doesn’t eat as much food as he could eat. He also struggles in school and Jake has hardships around not having a dad, school, and supporting his family. Jake has to accept not getting stuff he wants and to be happy with stuff he had at a young age. Jake works hard at school so he gets a good education and so he could support his family in the future.

For Jake, the term “average” means to live a normal life with struggle and hardships as any person does in life. It means to live a similar life as any low income person does and that’s how he lives. It is not a unique, just average, lifetime of a 16 year old kid.

I REMEMBER

ITALIA P.

Italia is from Los Angeles. She enjoys participating in activities at school.

One of the biggest ways to not be beaten is to always go back to the same things such as repeating assignments and having goals of what you want to achieve. She thinks the best foods are bananas then meat.

She likes to exercise because her favorite class is P.E. and because she likes to motivate students who cannot and always show them that everything can be done. Although she has slowdown days, the good thing is that she has a partner called Daniela and that she’s there to support their friends.

I remember that day like it was yesterday. It was a Saturday morning, a shiny day. A lot of birds were flying everywhere and standing on every bunch of corn outside my house. My parents were not at home. They had been invited to a family celebration, and it was only my third oldest brother that was at home. It was then that me and my sister decided to go out to the small field to play on the swing on our favorite tree. We called the tree “only for girls.”

My brother came home later. We were barely entering the house when he saw us. The first thing he did was say hello and he asked us what we were doing. I answered that we were playing, and then my brother asked my sister the same question, but my sister replied, “Nothing interesting.” And she left.

At the time, I stayed standing in the middle of the house and asked my brother if some day he wanted to get along with my sister and receive a hug from her one day. He answered that he wanted things to be fine with her and he didn’t like that my sister looked annoyed with him all the time, as if she didn’t love him.

I already felt tired of my sister getting mad at my brother all the time. Why could they not get along even just one day - only one day - is the question I asked, screaming inside my head.

And from that day on I had an idea on how I can get my sister to get along with my brother. It was late in the afternoon when my sister and I went to feed our cow named Manzanita. We were outside the house, surrounded by beautiful fresh flowers. I was thinking about how to make things easy. I knew that my brother worked and it would be easier to lend him money since we always did favors for him and he did favors for us.

I told my brother as he walked in the middle of me and my sister, “Do you have money?” He responded, “Yes, and said what do you need it for?” I responded, “Well, we wanted to buy cheetos.” So he stood there thinking while I was waiting and I thought he was going to ask us for something.

But then I spoke and I said, “Better if we give you a hug and you give us the money and so everyone is happy.” He thought for a few seconds again. “Okay, I’m satisfied with that. You both give me a hug and you can buy your Cheetos and that’s all I ask.”

My sister turned around at me and said, “You give the hug, I won’t.” And I was like, “Ohhh come on! It’s our brother. Sooner or later you guys have to get along.” But she refused.

You know what? My brother hugged my sister so that we could go to the store. It’s just a hug–what would it affect so much? My sister looked and turned and she ran away. I told my brother to chase her, so he went. My sister went running around the house calling out my name saying, “Italiaaaa! Help me!” I stood there laughing because it seemed funny that my sister and brother were running around the house. But my sister went upstairs to our room and locked herself inside. I heard that she was crying. I told my brother, “What happened?” He said, “I did nothing.”

I knocked on the door and I said, “Are you okay!” She yelled at me and told me, “Get out of here Italia! It’s your fault that our brother chased me and you didn’t even help me!”

I left her alone and I felt very bad for having done her that way.

It was dinner time and my sister did not pay attention to me that night. We went to bed and she was still mad with me, so as not to disturb her, I went to sleep. I told my sister the next day that I was sorry for what I had done to her and that something like that would never happen again; if she did not want to do something, the best thing to do would be to leave her alone and not bother her.

And she apologized to me and said that she would try to get along with our brother and that the brothers are there through thick and thin. And I said, “You should also apologize to our brother, because he is our brother, and he just wanted to give you a hug since he loves you so much.” And well, she did apologize, and he accepted. But they did not give each other a hug. Instead they shook hands with each other.

And so the years went by. We were growing and I saw that little by little things were changing. My sister was already fitting in with friends. Even my brothers and I think that time changes everything.

In the end, my brother went to the United States of America to fulfill his dreams and said goodbye to my family, even to my sister. My sister gave him a hug, and told him to take care, that hopefully one day she would see him soon, and we could be a family again.

A NEW CHAPTER

YEIMY B.

Yeimi is from El Salvador and has faced a lot of challenges. For example, she has had to learn a new language and adapt to a new culture. She is a social person who loves to meet new people and make new friends. She likes to write. She is a persevering person. Her favorite book is “Don’t Overthink It” by Anne Bogel.

Here is when my story begins. On March 31, 2016, I started a new journey in my life.I never expected that from that day my life would change. Since I was 11 months old, I grew up with my grandmother because my mom had to travel to the United States. The reason why she had to leave my brothers and me to come to the United States was because of the economic situation.

So my mom left me with my grandma and my two brothers until I was 11 years old. She decided that I had to come here to the United States with her because in my country El Salvador, there was a lot of violence and I was not safe living there. I remember on February 24, 2016, my mom called me and told me, “You will travel to the United States with your aunt on March 31.” I didn’t realize that since that day I would start a new chapter in life. It was so difficult to come to the United States. I didn’t eat for almost three days. I was scared thinking about how my life was going to be, living in a new country, going to a new school, having new friends. But finally, I made it.

I got here to Los Angeles on May 10, 2016. I can’t even describe the feeling that I had that day when I saw and met my mom for the first time.My grandma always showed me pictures of her, but looking at someone in a picture is not the same

feeling as having her close and hugging her. From that day, my life changed, not for months or years, but forever. From that day, I noticed that it was a new chapter and I had to adapt to it. Adapting to life without my grandma and brothers has been one of the difficult challenges that I have faced in my life.

The most challenging part of this chapter was that I had to accept that everything that was going on at that moment was a reality. When I was adapting to live here in the United States, I started going to school and started adapting to learning a new language. I remember the first weeks that I was going to school. I always was crying, scared, and feeling lonely because I didn’t have friends and I didn’t understand English but I never gave up. I just kept putting in the effort to learn English and I finally made it.Now I can tell you that I understand English and I can speak it. From this chapter in my life, I learned that in life you will have some ups and downs and also there will always be a new chapter in life. You just have to adapt to it. New chapters in life make you stronger.

I HAVE FRIENDS INDEED

EDEN A.

Eden is a natural storyteller and athlete. She is an outgoing redhead that likes to make people laugh and lights up every room she walks into with her charisma. She is a former high school football player and is very dramatic in everything she does.

It is a hot sunny day, wind speeds at three MPH and the temperature is 86 degrees. My friends Dewey, Daniel, Odalys and I go to the beach. Hopping out of Dewey’s bright red shiny Mustang GT500. We head over to the beach.

Arriving at an empty spot, we settle down and play some football. Guarding each other and running routes, we get tired and decide to get into the ocean. Admiring it first, we thank the good Lord for creating it. The reflection of the sun hitting our face, we soak it in and listen to the waves splash.

We start walking in and notice that Odalys stays on the shallow side. We ask her what’s wrong and she says she’s afraid of the deep. We then go 70 feet into the water and jump on the waves, showing her that there’s nothing to be afraid of. We go back to the shallow ground and drag her in the water. Going back to the deep side, we hold hands and jump the first wave together. We then see no waves coming so we turn around and joke around for a good 10 seconds. Not noticing behind us a massive wave coming our way. Dewey turns around and yells, “Look out!” We turn around but it is too late. As the wave takes over us and I feel my leg get tangled with Daniel’s leg, the wave

flips me upside down. Then my arm gets tangled on Dewey’s leg. The wave passes and we struggle to get up. We all appear on the shallow side and once we take in some air, we all start laughing not knowing how to explain what just happened.

Not learning our lesson, we go back because we thought it was fun. Although we don’t drown again. Night falls and we decide to head home. On the freeway, we talk about how we can be the next generation of the Fast and Furious. We look at each other and we start laughing knowing that it could become reality.

This is an unforgettable memory and experience because it was the first time we all went out together and had fun, not knowing we would become close friends. After this we made a pact, “We ride together, we die together. Forever and always.”

ACKNOWLE DGEMENTS

Many thanks to the following hugely generous people whose donations made this book possible:

Andrea Canas

Briegh Winderbaum

Cindy Francisco

Kenia Lopez

Kevin Flanagan

Marlene Ramirez

Matthew French

Michael Herrmann

Nathan Hahn

Roderick Yoo

Ryan Carr

Silvia Portillo

Tobie Whitman

Ture Lillegraven

Thank you also to the following staff and volunteers who dedicated their time to our students during such difficult circumstances. The impact of your commitment resonates in the confidence our students embrace as published authors:

Andy Molnar, Academic Leadership Community Teacher of English

Anna Thompson

Brianna Barton

Cathy Mayer, 826LA Programs Coordinator

Collin Abe

Dominique Zamora, 826LA Intern

Emi Yoshino

Jack Cline, 826LA Intern

Jake Fiedler

Janson Lalich

Jessica Lee

Kenny Ng

Margie Templeton

Marilyn Wilker

Michael Batchelder

Mike Dunbar, 826LA Programs & Operations Manager

Ned Albright

Puicón-Pérez, 826LA Design Manager

Rachel Holzer

Skyler Pak

Zack Taylor, 826LA Intern

ABOUT

TUTORING

From Monday to Thursday, students attend 826LA for free individual tutoring in all subjects. Once homework is completed, students read books from 826LA’s library and write stories based on a monthly theme. Students submit their writing for inclusion in chapbooks, which 826LA publishes throughout the year. To celebrate students’ hard work, 826LA unveils these chapbooks at book release parties, where students read their work to thunderous applause from their volunteers, families, and peers.

IN-SCHOOLS

Because not all students can come to us, 826LA brings specially trained volunteer tutors into under-resourced public schools. There, volunteers provide one-on-one or small group assistance with writing projects. 826LA works with teachers to craft all projects, which are designed to engage students while targeting curricular issues. In addition to visiting twenty schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District each year, 826LA has additional sites within Manual Arts High School (South Los Angeles) and Roosevelt High School (Boyle Heights), called The 826LA Writers’ Rooms.

826LA

WORKSHOPS

826LA’s workshops bring students together with artists, writers, and professionals for creative collaboration. Whether the subject is journalism or preparing for the zombie apocalypse, our workshops foster creativity while strengthening writing skills. This includes two long running workshops, our reading development workshop Barnacle’s Bookworms, and our Journalism workshop.

FIELD TRIPS

During the week, 826LA invites public school teachers and their students to our writing labs to participate in a morning of collaboration, creativity, and writing. Whether Storytelling & Bookmaking, Choose Your Own Adventure, Memoir, or Personal Statements, field trips at 826LA support teacher curriculum and student learning by offering a safe space for students to be their most imaginative and to work on their writing skills. In a few short hours, students brainstorm, write, edit their work, and leave with something tangible—a bound book or a revised essay—as well as a renewed confidence in their ability to tell their stories.

Jaime Balboa Executive Director

Shawn Silver Director of Advancement & Events

Cheryl Klein Senior Communications Manager

Ashley Love-Smith Senior Manager of the Volunteer Program

Pedro Estrada Programs & Operations Manager, Echo Park

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Susan Ko President

Sarah Rosenwald Varet

Vice President

Nancy Yang Treasurer

Chad DePue

Secretary

Andy Alcaraz

Ben Au

Adriana Centeno

Matthew Cherniss

Dave Eggers, Emeritus

Jodie Evans, Emeritus

Scott A. Ginsburg

Eileen Shields

Belinda Tan

Holly A. Thomas

STAFF

Mike Dunbar Programs & Operations Manager, Mar Vista

LaTesha Knighten In-Schools Program Manager

Melissa Long Institutional Giving Manager

Carinne Mangold Store Manager

Puicón-Pérez Design Manager

Jennie Najarro Senior Volunteer Coordinator, Mar Vista

ADVISORY BOARD

J.J. Abrams

Judd Apatow

Miguel Arteta

Mac Barnett

Steve Barr

Joshuah Bearman

Amy Brooks

Father Greg Boyle, SJ

Stefan G. Bucher

Mark Flanagan

Ben Goldhirsh

Rebecca Goldman

Ellen Goldsmith-Vein

DeAnna Gravillis

Spike Jonze

Miranda July

Catherine Keener

Keith Knight

Al Madrigal

Angelica ButiuCoronado Program Coordinator, Writers’ Room Roosevelt High School

Cecilia Gamiño Program Coordinator, Workshops, Mar Vista

Maricruz Pool-Chan Program Coordinator, Tutoring, Echo Park

Monica Arellano Program Coordinator, Tutoring, Mar Vista

Maddie Silva Program Coordinator, Field Trips, Mar Vista

Krystyn Madrigal

Tara Roth

Katie McGrath

R. Scott Mitchell

Lani Monos

B.J. Novak

Miwa Okumura

Jane Patterson

Keri Putnam

Sylvie Rabineau

Sonja Rasula

Luis J. Rodriguez

Terri Hernandez

Rosales

Brad Simpson

J. Ryan Stradal

Natalie Tran

Sarah Vowell

Sally Willcox

Marina Aguayo

Marketing & Communications Coordinator

Grace Kim

Volunteer Coordinator

Americorps VISTA

Wilson Swain

Echo Park Time Travel Mart Staff

Larry Hansen

Mar Vista Time Travel Mart Staff

Marco Beltran

Echo Park Time Travel Mart Staff

YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD

Echo Park

Gabriela M.

Natalie S.

Jose R.

Genessi L.

Vincent H.

Gabriela R.

Josue R.

Dayanara M.L.

Ana M.L.

Yamilka M.L.

Samantha J.

Mar Vista

Nadia V.

Nasim Z.

Michael R.

Mirna R.

Vanessa A.

Katherine G.

Montserrat L.