When I had free time, I thought of all the school reading I should do instead, and it made me feel ashamed about reading something that wasn’t for my studies. I felt a weird hollow spot in the cozy nook of my heart that books used to fill.

A good book can challenge your beliefs and worldview, make you think about life’s big questions, ponder political structures and systems of oppression, and expand your mind. Restricting books anywhere is an affront to civil society everywhere.

Reflections on word games, positivity, and favorite five-letter words.

The window panes fogged as I leaned closer, my breath casting a warm haze over the wintry scene below. One branch caught my eye as it bobbed and swung back into place, out of step with the swaying movements of the others.

The season would end after October, and I’d be a normal high school student for a while. But I looked forward to the season starting up again so I could go back to the park.

The hero is trapped in a labyrinth. In order to escape, the hero faces two options; two identical closed doors. One door leads to freedom, the other is instant death.

Sandra was ambitious, adventurous, thoughtful, resilient, and kind. She tried to live her life full of gratitude for the privileges she was given and the success she received.

My mind went to all manner of fairy tales and fantasy monsters that lurk in such places…wraiths and dementors and who knows what else. But I have always prided myself on being a rational person. There’s no such thing as monsters.

Trigger Warning - Pet Death
I was sitting in my papasan chair doing schoolwork when I heard a weird thump. How was this possible?

As I was leaving the grocery, I saw a young girl waiting by the bus stop with her grandmother. She was dancing and twirling around the bike racks, her black braids bouncing as the beads in her hair clacked together.

Our song on repeat, we’d shuffle through the moves we’d learned, reminding each other of tips from our dance instructor and trying to remember not to look at our feet.

Up ahead, the clouds formed a massive shelf that blocked out the sky. They were a deep ominous blue and flat on the bottom, belying the swirls and shapes above that curled up to the heavens.