Once I started high school, I was finally allowed to start wearing makeup. Though this is a pretty commonplace rite of passage, it was my first personal encounter with the injustice that people of color face. My mom and I walked into our local Target, and I was absolutely ecstatic to complete what I thought was such a womanly task. I quickly fell from cloud nine as I looked at the shades of the different products on the makeup shelves...

From an early age, I’ve always been interested in an array of different, and some might say conflicting topics. My dream is to one day become a doctor, yet I’m really interested in Enlightenment philosophy. Math is one of my strongest subjects, but reading is my passion. At a college with an ordinary curriculum focused upon a student’s major rather than their interests, my insatiable desire for learning would be stifled. I would be shoved in to...

We all exist within communities or groups of various sizes, origins, and purposes; pick one and tell us why it is important to you, and how it has shaped you. (100 word limit) Every other Wednesday afternoon, I have the unique opportunity to sit in a circle with a diverse group of people and talk about really good books. Though we focus on classic literature that most teenagers find absolutely uninteresting and irrelevant, these amazing people love what I love to...