Until my freshman year of high school, I thought my comfortable life was exactly what I deserved. I didn’t care what my parents had to say about my friends or my plans for the future. Believing life was on my side, I was shocked as, one by one, our restaurant and clothing store went out of business. We moved from a two-story house to a one-bedroom apartment; we no longer had comfort to enjoy spending money like others. Despite...

It’s November, and it’s nearly the end of the Salvation Army Second Chance Project. Our six month project consisted of personally designing individual trees, marketing our product to specific targets, and auctioning the trees for donations towards Japanese relief. As the 39 students and I wrap up what we started, we examine the flowers, arts and crafts, and displayed paintings covered all around the room. I remember my junior year when I was grieving about receiving a C on...