I lay in bed several nights during the winter of my sophomore year wishing that all my dreams could come true, because then I could be a professional choreographer and I wouldn’t have to write my English essay which was due the following week. This wish sprung up while I was taking a class about choreographic elements, and I saw the work of Bill T. Jones, a professional choreographer...
You know how a banyan tree works, right? A tree sprouts in Sri Lanka, let's say—in a dry city on the eastern coast. As it grows, vinelike growths wrap around the trunk, following it up, and then spread out into branches—and these branches, they could stretch to the dusty city on the northern tip of Sri Lanka, or they could span over to a boarding school in the capital, or to a university in the hills in the middle of the country. What makes banyans so interesting is that then the branches drop to the ground and actually take root, becoming new trees (although they're still part of the old one) and winding back up and spreading out some more...
Originally, when I played Where’s Waldo, I would, like a “big ol’ dumbo,”[1] only look for Waldo. If you weren’t wearing a striped shirt and electric blue pants, I just didn’t see you. It was my sister who first noticed the fullness of the Waldo universe: the quirks and jokes and sometimes mildly scandalous images hidden inside the picture, and she helped me realize that the point of Where’s Waldo doesn’t seem to be finding Waldo...
The only father I have is my grandfather. No other man has the right to call me his daughter.My grandfather is a great man. He’s the perfect father. Growing up, I never noticed the absence of a father in my life. It wasn’t until my cousins started describing my father as a big fat ugly man with a huge mustache that I started to question my life. I remember gathering up the courage to ask my mom about my father every night, only to back out at the last second. What if she yelled at me? What if I’m different and don’t have a father?..
Like a djembe drum beating frantically behind my rib cage, I clutch my pounding chest. Trying my hardest to hold back the tears, they wet my cheeks like the Niagara Falls. My body begins to tremble – I was losing control; my mind is clouded with dark thoughts and nothing makes sense anymore. I contemplate the feel of a knife against my naïve skin. “Stop!” my conscience screams. Both aware and fearful of the consequences, I laid there as I cried myself to sleep with only my inner darkness to keep me company. I can recall this night like it was yesterday; it was my thirteenth birthday...
My hands were shaking as I drove the car back into the DMV parking lot. To drive independently was the moment I dreamed. I would finally have my driver’s license and more freedom. I stopped the car and waited for the proctor to finish jotting down his notes. Then he told me that I had failed my driving test...
Although baseball was my favorite sport, problems with my ankles swayed me to golfing. From the moment I stepped foot on the course, it became evident that golfing requires dedication, patience, critical thinking, trusting one’s decision, and risk-taking. Golfing is challenging, time-consuming, and involves tactical decisions...
One of the most troubling trends in the online world is the inability for people to communicate respectfully with each other. People often misconstrue others’ intended meanings when interacting over social mediums, which allow hostile exchanges to transpire. Repeated occurrences of this follow people into their daily lives, as they adopt a hostile attitude, and are unable to interact peacefully with others...
It felt like an eternity. After three hours of waiting, the fire department's crowbars slowly pried through the doors of the halted elevator, which was filled well over capacity with myself and ten other students from around the country. We were all there for the same reason: the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network flew us to Washington, D.C. to speak to legislators about the need for school climate change. More specifically, we were lobbying for two bills that would protect LGBT students from discrimination in schools as well as establish a federal anti-bullying policy...
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