26 Years MAY

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1 26 Yers MAY 2015 $ 8.95

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3 CONTENTS M y 2015 Vol. 26, No. 9 TEENS, GET PUBLISHED! Submit onle t THE FINE PRINT How submit. We no longer ccept submissions by mil or e-mil. All submissions writg rtwork through TeenInk.com re considered publiction prt onle, re lso umticlly entered ny relevnt contests. Plgirism. Teen Ink hs no-lernce policy plgirism. We check origlity ll published work through WriteCheck. Editg. For spce or resons, we reserve right publish our edited version r work without r prior pprovl. Anonymity. If, due personl nture piece, don t wnt r nme published onle or prt, we will respect tht request, but we must still hve ccurte nme ddress mtion every submission. Complimentry copy. Teens published mgze will receive copy issue contg ir work. Submitted work becomes property Teen Ink. By submittg r work us, re givg Teen Ink its prtners, ffilites, licensees non- exclusive right publish r work ny mt, cludg prt, electronic, onle medi. However, ll dividul contriburs Teen Ink ret right submit ir work non-exclusive publiction elsewhere, hve our permission do so. Teen Ink my edit or bridge r work t its sole discretion. To prevent ors stelg r work, Teen Ink is copyrighted by Young Authors Foundtion Inc. SUBSCRIBE & SUPPORT TEEN INK IN OUR 26TH YEAR! $45 Individul Subscription One copy per month 10 months (we don t publish July or August). Plese enclose check or credit crd mtion. $99 Educr Specil One copy per month 10 months, plus three 30-copy boxes (Fll, Wter, Sprg). $215 Clss Box Set 30 copies Teen Ink every month. If subscribe now school yer, will be billed $215 will receive Summer 2015 issue free. Prices clude shippg & hlg. Purchse order # (if vilble): MC VISA Crd # Exp. Nme: School nme ( Clss Set): Address: School Home City: Stte: ZIP: E-mil: Phone: WW/PP M il : Te e n Ink Box 30 Ne w n, MA /15 4 Feedbck 11 Art Gllery College Direcry Nonfiction 6-9 memoirs I m or Sophi Rice-mkg rtist A pound does not person mke Brush strokes Letter girl blue cot On left snick Ayden Jmes girls prents Essys bout best rest 21 pride & prejudice Sexist firy tles Nturl blck hir I m hero pots view deth chivlry Bikis re exhustg Ashmed be Americn? Americn steerg wheels Prom-blem 24 helth benefits medittion Acute nxiety 25 environment Animl rights Superbd Superfunds trvel & culture Home life Nepl Mexicn culture Te pickg Thil Rome 28 community service Hospitl volunteer Nursg home helper 29 educr yer Nomtions our nnul educr contest 30 sports Bllet dncg Fishg Runng Reviews 20 s Drexel University University Wshgn 31 video gmes Monument Vlley Five Nights t Freddy s Wlkg Ded Super Smsh Bros. 32 movies & tv Birdmn Mn Steel House Crds 33 music Julin Csblncs & Voidz Tylor Swift Young Gint 34 books Book Thief I Am Mll Lord Flies Out Rech Fiction Poetry ON THE COVER Mom 10 Wonder Womn 12 Mom s Scrves 13 Mm s Pie Hs 14 Mmmy Snt Mn 16 You Are Your Mor 17 Becuse We Love You Dd Fmilir Strnger 10 Hope 12 Ferris Wheels & Pistchios 13 Cfee 15 Dd s Cot 15 Fishg with You 16 Prcess (Chuvist) Pig Why re firy tles so sexist? Why does prcess need help, nywy? Why is she lwys gorgeous slender? Why re se prcesses so open beg prizes men sve? Firy-Tle Fllcy, Pride & Prejudice, pge 21 Cover pho by Stephnie Severnce, Clrks Green, PA

4 FEEDBACK To submit r feedbck or fd rticles mentioned here, go TeenInk.com A Victim Hero Every issue Teen Ink hs plethor sries pictures tht enchnt me imbue me with refreshg perspectives life truth. One rticle Mrch issue especilly succeeded grbbg my ttention, sce I m n ficiondo ll spects humn behvior psychology: A Victim Hero by Allison. In her rticle, she relys n experience tht nyone hs delt with drug buse ddiction cn identify with. At sme time, she teches reder identify signs hero use. Allison sets bckground by recllg dte when her boyfriend s life ws slen by hero. In explg telltle signs tht he exhibited durg months bee he died, she fers vluble knowledge tht could help prevent ny us delg with sme grief. This piece thoroughly encpsultes horrific relities hero s tted unrelible drug. Most notbly, lst few les clude detils night her boyfriend s deth tht evoked deep sorrow me, mkg me ter up. declrtive ne lst two prgrphs leves resoundg che tht is furr emphsized when uthor sserts, it ws lredy o lte. Amily Phoeung, Phoenix, AZ GMOs: Wht Do You Know? I found Mdele Scott s rticle GMOs: Wht Do You Know? oh so very plesg. This is by fr best rticle I ve ever red Teen Ink prtly becuse how well it ws written. As I red, I couldn t help but smile knowg tht not everybody is mismed on geneticlly modified orgnisms. I loved how Mdele stted, sts on Monsn s reputtion hve untuntely rubbed f on GMOs s le. This is so true! GMOs re fr bd thg, without m re is no wy frmers could feed our world s growg popultion. Mdele lso poted out, In 1999, scientists Switzerl modified rice cont vitm A, vitl nutrient eyesight. This is only one mny thgs tht GMOs cn do help us, not hurt us. I thk best prt her rticle ws end when she stted, So bee strt cmpigng elimte GM food, mke sure tht know fcts. Too mny people jump conclusions bout thgs y know nothg bout! I hope this rticle sends messge teens her ir prents syg tht GMOs re bd. I wnt thnk Mdele reserchg writg this; it truly mde my dy. Nick Brown, Ayersville, OH Grvity I found Ktie Tsui s poem be extremely cptivtg. It strted out beutifully. I love how it is bout universl goddess defies grvity. figurtive lnguge is so effective cretive tht I could picture wht she ws tryg pt reder s md. Her words cme life creted msterpiece. Her endg ws wht I dored most: Newn never brought her home. Her references scientists studied or discovered lws physics re very terestg llusions ms figurtive lnguge. Grvity ws so good tht I couldn t help but red it over over. Ktie deserves much cclim this piece. Thnk, Ktie, shrg r wonderful work rt. I hope red more by Teen Ink. Nncy Reyes, Phoenix, AZ No Should Mtter Of ll wonderful pieces April issue, No Should Mtter ws by fr my fvorite. It s personl ccount uthor s experience copg fter beg rped. When she ws ssulted, lcohol ws volved, so, until uthor confided her friend, she blmed herself cident. When her friend sked her if she hd sid no (which she hd), she relized tht she hd been rped tht wht hppened ws not her fult but fult rpist. reson I love this piece so much is becuse reder umticlly sympthizes with writer, writer lerns somethg s person. As result, she is now tellg her sry help ors similr situtions. Tht, I believe, is best expression strength, it comes cross clerly reder. I lso gree with uthor tht no should mtter. No needs sp beg tken grnted not only context rpe, but life generl. No could sp so mny horrible thgs hppeng if syg no did somethg. If sy no re disregrded, hve right know tht it isn t r fult, shouldn t rture rself with guilt. People deserve be listened, especilly when y sy no, I thk uthor No Should Mtter gets tht cross reders perfectly. Sb Chernecher, Brooklyn, NY Price Generosity I enjoyed Price Generosity by Amrit Bhs so much. It is true how people don t thk bout wht y spend ir money on. I o m guilty wstg money on useless stuff, but if I hve chnge, I usully donte it becuse, like Amrit sid, It s mzg tht givg up somethg so smll cn hve such tremendous impct on nor s life. I m very grteful wht I hve, I do not sk much. I hope rticle ws spirg or teens o. Mybe it will open ir eyes mke m relize how givg just little cn mke huge difference. We could ll sve dollr or two donte it ech month chrity. Logn Belcher, Holgte, OH WAR NO MORE WAR NO MORE by Tifr Brown is very movg poem tht highlights truth never-endg fight rcil equlity. In her poem, Tifr compres contrsts words Dr. Mrt Lur Kg Jr. dy s society, describes her life tht is surrounded by rcism. poem begs, Dr. Kg, I respect r legcy, sure enough/but right now I just wnn screm ter up some stuff. This is just one mny les tht describe how Tifr feels bout wy Africn Americns re treted dy. She portrys ir lives her own s sted with blood, termlly ill lck selflove, turned gst one nor due prejudice. After redg this empowerg poem, I ws speechless. It mde me relize tht believg rcil equlity hs been chieved is foolish. This common misconception is merely wy hide snishg number deths due hte crimes silence screms those hve no voice. WAR NO MORE tells crge-worthy sry rcil equlity without sugrcotg evidence. It is time world knows truth. And lucky m, it s ll pcked one poem. Jsme Rmirez, Brooklyn, NY A True High School Sry As junior, I know struggles ssocited with hvg lot more on r plte thn cn hle. Sce I ten bite f more thn I cn chew, A True High School Sry resonted with me. Ethn Gueldenzopf mnged rely pfully ccurte ccount wntg run wy it ll tht I could defitely relte. I felt like I ws redg my own thoughts. With countless nights comg home lte rehersls mounts homework, I feel sme overwhelmg pressure Ethn describes feelg doubt get when re so stressed just wnt quit everythg. It s motivtg knowg tht I m not only one feelg this wy, so thnk, Ethn, understg relyg how stressful high school relly is. Brittny Skggs, Phoenix, AZ Box 30 Newn, MA (617) Edir@TeenInk.com Publishers Stephnie Meyer John Meyer Senior Edir Stephnie Meyer Edir Emily Sperber Production Susn Gedrick Ktie Olsen Associte Edir Cdy Spertner Book Devel. Edir Adm Hlwitz Advertisg John Meyer Interns Ntsz Gwlick Jonthn Hlpern Kte West Volunteer Brbr Field CIRCULATION Rechg millions teens junior senior high schools ntionwide. THE YOUNG AUTHORS FOUNDATION Young Authors Foundtion, publisher Teen Ink, is nonprit corportion qulified s 501(c)3 exempt orgniztion by IRS. Foundtion, which is orgnized operted exclusively chritble eductionl purposes, provides opportunities eduction enrichment ng people. FREQUENCY Ten monthly issues, September June. ADDITIONAL COPIES Send $6.95 per copy milg hlg. NOTICE TO READERS Teen Ink is not responsible content ny dvertisement. We hve not vestigted dvertisers do not necessrily endorse ir products or services. EDITORIAL CONTENT Teen Ink is monthly journl dedicted publishg vriety works written by teengers. Copyright 2015 by Young Authors Foundtion, Inc. All rights reserved. Publiction mteril pperg Teen Ink is prohibited unless written permission is obted. PRODUCTION Teen Ink uses Adobe InDesign design mgze. InvestIgte For LOVE English, LOVE literture, LOVE writg NtioNl ENglish honor society Scholrships Ledership Acdemic Enggement Cmrderie 4 Teen Ink MAY 15 visit nehs.us select Jo now!

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6 memoirs Or Sophi by Sophi Wtwood, Brooklyn, NY Der Sophi, It tkes n uncomtble mount trospection dmit tht I m or Sophi. I m one hs scrifice my lst vowel so tht we cn be identified seprtely. I m one should give up letter her identity. Every time someone shouts our nme crowd I crne my neck like Tntlus his fruit tree, my hert stiffens when I relize y re spekg. Whenever y nnounce n wrd spek my three syllbles, I hold my breth lst nme. n I hve hold my ngue while bow so low r medls scrpe floor. I ve lwys seen s competition stb lmost so close is lwys slightest bit shrper when I lose myself. Gold medls she brighter next silver when y re engrved with sme strg letters. It s not r fult, course. only first plce we ll ever shre is Most Common Nme United Sttes Four Yers Row. re re more thn 50,000 us our country lone. But probbly lredy knew tht. Every morng I wtch dispper with friends I thk, You know exctly where belong. Every question I nswer correctly is remder tht I m or Sophi. Every slen glnce t is bitter wish be s good s no, superior. I don t know if ctch me jbbg with coveus glres, but even if did, would grciously give me, like st I ll never be. I ve lwys seen s competition. You were Sophi I wished I ws. You were lwys one ch tller, one friend more likble, one grde pot smrter. I ws Ron Wesley r Hrry Potter. I turned n idel tht I spired impersonted. You ren t only Sophi I d rr be. re is one mth clss fishes her tests bee I cn scrwl out our nme. re is clone dnce cn fouetté while I wobble pssé. re is one lughg with her friends while I wtch, only pretendg red. re re fr o mny people give me unttble strds. While or girls wish y were Jennifer Lwrence, I still cn t get over those god-dmned Sophis. Sophie, I shout t myself, would plese clen r dorky glsses look t thgs objectively? You need get over rself. Do relly thk no one understs how feel? You hve become cliché teenger. Mybe I should get 1D lbum Twilight book. We cn meet up t Strbucks. I cnnot succumb stereotypes genertion. I must sp lrg myself self-pity clen my glsses every once while. It s mzg wht cler vision cn do person. Suddenly I see pimples hidg est r hirle. I see crescents stress sleep deprivtion beneth r eyes. I see ters strength ll bullet holes everyone else put trget on r bck. I see girl wishes her nme wsn t so frekg common tht she could hide ll pressure. I blk, mke sure I wsn t imgg some writh this goddess s plce, I see girl just like me. You were Sophi, re gifted virtuous recrntion Glte, but Sophi I wished I ws re not goddess I mde out be. I turned n idol mrtyr model mgze, but re s humn s I m. For every security I flicked on, I hope y didn t stick. I m not or Sophi. I m no one s lesser version. Sophie F Art by Lur Chpmn, Plesntville, NY Forgiveness Remember when we were ng stupid even though we re still ng, stupid doesn t even beg cover it, but we were more nocent n, we wore mtchg rubber rcots slicked with perls fog, our reflections smll disturbnces surfces murky puddles. Thk bck bee we were willg et nythg green, while beg fr squemish when it cme pluckg erthworms sodden erth droppg m s delictely s children cn red plstic buckets. I imge I could see mischief ignitg r eyes s slid one cool, wrigglg m down my shirt. I rn house, scremg, slmmg door behd me. You cried, pnickg tht tht moment lost me ever which itself seems funny now, sce yers hve pssed, we hve so much more give ech or thn erthworms on wet fternoons. by Sophie Pnzer, So. Ornge, NJ Rice-Mkg Artist On Tuesdy night, phone rgs I glnce lzily t cller ID. Hello? Hi, Srh. Cn mke rice? I come home lte night. How mny cups? I sy, strg longgly t television. Four cups two hfuls quo. I grudggly wlk pntry. Our bulky rice dispenser, nestled between Nture Vlley Grnol Brs Welch s Fruit Sncks, spits out one cup rw brown rice ech slide switch. After slidg hle four times, I unltch crn dispenser crry it sk. While fucet runs, I gently pour rice bowl, n swirl its contents until wter turns milky. Once this is chieved, I hold bowl with my left h rse rice with my right. I slowly dr wter bowl so tht no grs escpe. This procedure is repeted three times: swirl, rse, dr. By third time, my rms che tips my fgers re s wrkled s sks dried mes. After rice is wshed, I pour three cups drkg wter not tp wter bowl dd two hfuls quo seeds. seeds re strictly nutrition; y hve no tste dispper when cooked. I position bowl snugly rice cooker press yellow butn tht reds Mixed Rice. Strt Cook. rice cooker lets out high whistle sends up skny strem smoke. Actg s bell, cooker lets I gently pour rice, n swirl bowl by Srh Nm, West Chester, PA me know tht it is now time prepre side dishes. I plce kimchi (spicy pickled cbbge), gim (dried seweed), bulgogi (stir-fried sesoned beef) center tble. I n ldle dried-ben soup five bowls bee rrngg utensils: spoons on left, chopsticks on right. When rice is redy, I scoop it bowls plce m left lwys left soup. Despite my whg complg, I feel sense pride tht I belong culture which preprtion food is hugely importnt. When guests re vited fmily s home, re is n unspoken obligtion brg host crte tngeres or box pples. Despite bck-brekg hours required mke kimchi, my mom her friends spend Sundy evengs crouched beside tub filled brim with wshed, pickled cbbge. My grfr knows how mke rice fifteen mutes. When he visits us Clini, he gently slps wy my hs s if I m ddler plyg with wter. In fluid movement, he swirls rice, diggg his fgers underneth grs swiftly rsg sides bowl. He is quick yet grceful; my clumsy, smll hs look wek significnt beside his strong, experienced ones. He teches me recognize rice-mkg s n rt, s n tegrl component my culture. Usg two hfuls determtion, four cups persevernce, one spoonful optimism, I strive become rice-mkg rtist o. F 6 Comment on ny rticle t TeenInk.com Teen Ink MAY 15

7 A Pound Does Not Person Mke It doesn t fit. I peel f dress, tighter thn second sk, ngrily ss it bck over chngg room door my mor. Her voice reches me or side, her pityg ne pushg me even closer ters. I m sorry y don t hve it ny or size, honey. I lredy checked. Of course y don t. y never do. I quickly get dressed s I suppress sob tryg escpe my lips. It s odd; would thk tht I would get used hvg sme experience every time I go shoppg clos. Every time, I nively believe it will be different. Every time I m, once g, proven wrong. As I wipe my fce leve dressg room, I pss trifold mirror, where petite blond teen is tryg on bright pk sequed gown. She smiles mirror, turns, strikes pose. Her mor sts side, one h on mirror, s if she s nerly blown wy by her dughter s beuty; she gushes bout how beutiful her dughter looks how perfect gown is on her. I feel so sick my own disgustg reflection tht I look wy, wdg through rcks clos tht re f-limits me. My mom is lookg through rck dresses, hopg fd one ny size bigger thn 16. Let s just go, I mumble, glrg ngrily t ground. She looks t me, opens her mouth s if sy somethg, n quickly shuts it. Mybe we could fd somethg t Lne Brynt. thought gog re look fills me with bittersweet mix excitement dred. On one h, I d ctully be ble fit clos; on or, I d hte beg seen wlkg plce known s ft sre. I shke my hed. Let s just go home. This is common experience me, lwys hs been. re is defite split between slim or verge women plus-sized women, I hve experienced rift mny times my life. first time ws t tender ge eight. Some girls my second-grde clss wnted mke club, just silly group tht would meet on plyground t recess. I rn over excitedly sked if I could jo. You cn t. You re ft. I frowned, unble process wht I hd just herd. Ft? Wht did beg ft hve do with nythg? I sod re strg, not sure wht do. I hd been so cert tht I would be llowed jo; not only ws I lwys nice se girls, I hd never sid nythg rude or men nyone. Tht ws first time I experienced prejudice becuse my weight. Fst wrd severl yers. I ws sittg t lunch tble middle school with group friends, just lughg tlkg s usul. Suddenly one girls looked t me, smile on her fce, loudly proclimed, Tristn, et like pig! By n I hd lerned why ft ws bd ft is ugly, disgustg, grotesque but I hd not experienced nythg so public sce plyground cident. I lerned hte etg public I turned red slowly put my k down. Tht ws yer tht I lerned hte etg public. I knew wht it ment be overweight: everyone believes re slob, glutn, compulsive eter. People expect lwys supersize everythg. Everyone thks tht rech chips when re hungry, tht ll drk is sod. When go out public, lwys wonder if people re wtchg thkg, Ugh, course she d be etg tht. Look how big she is! thought still bors me whenever I go out et, tht someone is silently judgg my choices two tbles wy. worst experience I hve ever hd, though, ws lter tht yer mth clss. I ws lredy mde fun how I dressed. On this dy, I sod up clss go throw somethg wy. As I did, h suddenly mde hrd contct with my butt, elicitg n embrrssgly loud slp tht echoed through bck room. I yelped turned round see mle clssmte hd mde rude comments me bee lughg long with hlf clss. She s so ft! girl stge-whispered her friend. My fce turned red my eyes begn fill with ters. I wnted run out room. I hdn t done nythg ny m, yet y humilited demened me front entire clss just becuse y could. Now tht I m older, I don t her mny overt sults directed t me nymore, but I still see prejudice by Tristn Podexter, Vn, VA everywhere: clothg rcks t deprtment sres, mgzes tht criticize celebrities g even pound, ctlogs ds television shows tht glorify slim figure s defition beuty. I her it comments mde mongst my little brors ir friends. Ftty! Ftso! Ft! Ft! Ft! I her it when girls wlk down hll criticizg mselves. I look so ft dy. I m on diet. Prom is comg up! Ew, look how ft I m! And I see it every dy mirror, but only becuse I m ld. F Pho by Sbr Sntigo, Westwood, NJ memoirs Brush Strokes by Emily Smith, Simpsonville, SC Tody, friend me will hve her first child. Tody, I visit my grfr s he slips oblivion. An entrnce n exit. A begng n end. two cnnot look more different. In mtter hours, scremg, wrkled bby will be pushed his mor s womb troduced world. His sk, flwless. His md, blnk. My Pp, with his wired hs tufts white hir, sits on edge life, huge vlley memories bee him. His sk, scrred. His md, full. It s mzg, progression life. journey birth deth, begng end, is brush strokes ptg. Birth is cnvs, deth, frme. As I sit by Pp s bedside with one his skeletl hs enclosed between both me, I cn feel Every mrk, every bruise, every scr is pro life ters wellg my eyes, burng gst rims. His life, ptg, is lmost complete. It s bout be frmed put on wll. I thk bout my friend is buildg cnvs workspce. A plce crete new msterpiece. n I remember tht with blnk cnvs, re comes n rtist, I relize tht this little one, every little one, will soon be dressed with n equl number scrs, n equl number flws, wher voluntry or ccidentl. Pp s right elbow cquired scr 1945, bee my existence ws ever considered, bee I ws ever dremt. I remember beg smll trcg puckered white le mrrg tnned, ged sk, I ws hppy becuse he ld me tht scrs fde. But now, s I wtch him with his droopg eyes sggg sk, I notice ll imperfections. scr, yellowed stretched somethg noticeble, is festerg memory suddenly mde mnifest fter yers yers remission. But it s not only scrs. It s everythg. ves on bcks his hs le rod mp his life, pumpg little bit life left him through his body, providg him with sweet, svored breths. A ter breks over brrier, slips down my cheek, drips my ch. I wtch his yellowed eyes, sittg deep ir sockets beneth droopg lids underled with drk purple bruises, I thk tht one dy, everyone will experience sme decy. Tht freshness, nocence present t birth, will fde wy. Prt it mkes my hert che, but prt it brgs me reliztion tht every mrk, every bruise, every scr is memory, is pro life. And I m thnkful p hertche bumps bruises becuse y re remders tht re ws life, tht re is life. By time ptg is complete, it s gog be somethg look t, somethg gret, somethg worthy frmg. F Lk r TeenInk.com ccount Fcebook MAY 15 Teen Ink 7

8 memoirs Der Girl Blue Cot by Rebecc Rkowitz, Stmd, CT Der Girl Blue Cot, When I ws seven I went Americn Girl doll sre. It ws birthdy present my friend Renee. I could brely cont my excitement! Renee I immeditely strted plnng wht outfits we our dolls would wer. Bee I knew it, it ws big dy. I got dressed my fvorite purple velvet shirt (velvet ws cool bck n), dressed my doll, Kirsten, sunflower dress light jcket ( cse she got chilly). My mom I met Renee her mom t tr sttion. Excited jitters flowed through us. We got f tr h-h, two seven-yer-olds redy tke on Big Apple. We skipped 42nd 49th, when red wng cme with sight, we strted quicken our pce. We were gettg closer! Closer closer locked doors. We rounded corner sw mny or excited ng girls witg by enormous golden doors. From our plce le, we could see through one wdows rows rows dolls! Endless rcks clos! It ws enough drive ny seven-yer-old girl md. Seeg tht we were gettg ntsy, my mom suggested we tke picture. We quickly fixed ech or s hir glnced t my mom s wtch. It ws 8:57 only three mutes until doors opened! Right bee my mom pressed butn, freezg this imge ever, ldy screeched Sweert, move out wy! I m sure y don t wnt r rm ir pho! Renee I looked left fd womn scoldg girl blue cot quickly scooted out wy. Renee s mom ressurgly joked tht it would hve been ll right if she hd been picture n we would hve lwys remembered Girl Blue Cot. I remember beg confused by this. Would we hve remembered her? So mny my phos were bordered with strngers, none m I remembered. Why would this girl be ny different? sound openg doors quickly ersed se questions my md. I hd convced myself tht Girl Blue Cot would be gotten. re ws no wy I would still be specultg bout her yers lter, or If we knew ech or, would we be friends? so I hd thought. Yet I sit here dy still thk bout, Girl Blue Cot, I hve so mny questions. Wht s r nme ge? Where re? How ws r dy t Americn Girl sre? Did we buy our dolls sme outfit? Did go cfé? Plese tell me got cnmon bun! And beyond tht dy hve we ever st trffic on sme highwy just few crs prt? Are new girl my Spnish clss? Do sense it when I thk bout, like someone with knee replcement feels throb r? Hve we ever lughed t sme time? Or cried? Do thk Just Timberlke is tlly dremy o? Coke or Pepsi? If we knew ech or, would we be friends? Enemies? Frenemies? Which us would get be hero which sidekick? Wht if, when we pply s, our pplictions re next ech or stck? Wht if we get ccepted by sme school? Wht if we end up s roommtes? Do thk some dy future ll be CEO hire my child his or her first job? Will be docr cres my prents when y re old ilg? Will bke my weddg cke? Did pick out tht blue jcket tresure it, or did r mom choose it just wore it plese her? Do even like blue? Where is it now? Did it end up Goodwill pile? This wter, did it keep some or girl wrm s she sod outside Americn Girl sre? Do ever wonder bout strngers re or could hve been (were it not screechg moms) r pictures? Do ever wonder bout me? Do even remember tht dy t Americn Girl sre? As I fish se closg les, re strtg letter me? I know se questions will probbly be left unnswered blnk envelope I send this will get stmped with words Return Sender, but I ll tuck this letter wy drwer scribble future questions mrgs. I hope one dy I ll get chnce sk m fce fce. Scerely curiously, Girl Whose Picture Your Arm Ws Almost In F On Left by Chrlotte Sulick, Wilmgn, MA We didn t lwys live on Lu Street. Bee tht we lived on North Street. But re ws nothg bee tht. Ten yers we lived tht big house with blue door, door my dd promised he would pt red. He never got round it. house ws trnished white set bck fr street on grssy hill tht te up drivewy when no one mowed it. night bee move I scrtched my life bck my closet looked like smudged chrcol gst ple wll. morng we left I ws not sd. My fmily hd been creted destroyed under ro 35 North Street; I ws redy move on. Lu Street is different. house is not consumed by luscious grden or tll pes. floors do not hve dog nil scuffs. kitchen tble is not worn down plte fter plte spghetti. Most unsettlg is wll tht divides our side house our neighbor. It seems o th when he drks stumbles up stirs. He is kd unplesnt mn doesn t cre if he keeps up t night, even though re student. Momm is strong, though, promises keep him quiet. My fr doesn t hve house. He lives smll room t my uncle s New Hmpshire, content with beg fr old white house tht is overgrown with memories well-kept by its new owners. Lu Street burns his ngue. He wnts house us kids g, he sys. But I would rr live out boonies I ws with thouss frogs o-slow Internet thn go bck redy tht house. move on We lwys buy houses on left side street. My fr sys it brgs electricity us fster, but I thk he s just scred chnge. house on North Street ws on left. Momm bought house on left side o 105 Lu Street. Even when my fr s hold on Momm is gone, it keeps her cycle. I sked her why, when nothg goes right. She tells me I smile. Mybe left is where we belong now. But thg bout lefts is tht if keep tkg m, end up right bck where strted. F snick by Amy Crors, Cpe Corl, FL I like feel. snick snick. I like sound. snick snick. A smll butn my key flips out snick I cn pretend it s pocketknife. I cn pretend it will lock guts one would try mke me feel smll. snick snick. I m gint my clws re out. I cn see strs night I wlk unfrid. snick key is flippg becuse I like it better motion. When it is withdrwn I m nked I m pnic I m child I m prey, when it s flicked out I m overwhelmed how smll how wek how useless. It s just cr key. But process slidg, s ice floods my ves s I grit moon my teeth s metl crves ir, I cn pretend. I m rmed I m gint I m ll thgs cn never tke me. I wlk down street t night feel eyes. snick F Art by Mel Thde, Solo, Indonesi 8 Comment on ny rticle t TeenInk.com Teen Ink MAY 15

9 Ayden Jmes by Corre, Wlker, LA Freshmn yer ws by fr most stressful emotionl yer my high school creer. My mom dd s divorce still felt new me, especilly sce it ws not flized until tht summer, two yers fter y split. Our new stepfr helped my sisters me cope; I ws thrilled when he ld me tht he ws plnng propose my mom. followg dy, while I ws visitg my dd, my phone buzzed. It ws my mom. How would feel bout new bror or sister? She n nnounced tht she ws engged pregnnt. We chtted hours over preprtions my new siblg s rrivl. I lredy hd two nger sisters, we did not hve enough room house or cr new bby. Our fmily would flly hve fresh strt leve behd dredful yers with my dd. On first dy school, I ws ecsttic tell my friends news. At first ultrsound, docr discovered re ws more mniotic fluid thn norml surroundg fetus. My mom s docr ordered n mniocentesis procedure dignose chromosoml errors possible fections. We were ld not buy nythg bby until we knew more. We got results one long month lter. specilist st cross my mom, with my sister me crowded beside her. He ld us tht unborn bby hd mosic trisomy eighteen, lso known s Edwrd s syndrome. This chromosoml error could cuse mjor medicl problems, such s low birth weight, hert defects, bnormlities orgns, cleft feet, smll hed or jw mouth, overlppg fgers, clenched fists if bby lived. My mor would hve hve weekly ultrsounds monir bby. She ws ld repetedly, It s not r fult It could hve hppened nyone, but tht s not how she felt. re ws less thn 5% chnce he d survive Tht dy we lso discovered tht he ws boy. I hd never experienced wht it ws like hve bror. But becuse specilist ld us it ws unlikely tht he would live, excitement this news ws drowned with sorrow. Sttistics showed re ws less thn 5 percent chnce he would survive pst birth, followg tht, 5 10 percent chnce he would mke it his first birthdy. Although his chnces were slim, we still prepred his rrivl. We spped lookg t houses strted lookg dy cre centers tht could ccommodte children with specil needs. y were hrd fd, so my mom ld her boss be prepred replce her when bby ws born. n ll we could do ws wit. Often, I would close my eyes wish thgs were esy. I ten thought, Thgs like this don t hppen fmilies like me, but I ws wrong. re ws no longer excitement. Only friends I ld t begng yer knew my mom s pregnncy, sce I rrely spoke bout it now. I ttended severl ultrsounds with my mom. I wtched bby develop grow slowly, but he grew. I wtched, I listened, I lerned ll bout Edwrd s syndrome. From ultrsounds, I could see his feet grow U-shpe, his lungs fill with fluid, his hs bll up, tumors m his neck, his weight slowly crese. I could her his unstedy hertbet see his fcil fetures. If he lived, he would never be ble wlk, spek, et, or do nythg himself; he d hve be constntly supervised would need hert monir, sce his hert could sp t ny moment. This bby would chnge my life. My fmily would never be sme. I would no longer hve countless hours bondg time with my mom. We would hve buy new vehicle new home ccommodte my siblg s needs, I would hve bror would never grow up. December 25, 2011, Christms Dy, I got Mom s cr redy compl bout Christms morng t my dd s, but I quickly lerned tht my mom s lbor hd begun. Presents never crossed my md g tht Christms dy. She ws only six hlf months pregnnt; it ws not time yet. I felt excited, nervous, upset, ngry ll t once. We rushed house pck, only thgs I grbbed were thick book some comtble clos. At hospitl, my fmily wited hours. Flly my stepfr ppered with silence streked cross his fce, we followed. We knew wht he wnted sy without him spekg word. My mom hd decided nme bby Ayden Jmes. He rrived on Christms night, four mutes bee midnight, sk wrkled, wrm, purple, two pounds, seven ounces, 14 ches long. docrs did not know exct time his hert spped, only tht it ws betg when we rrived t hospitl. Ayden ws pssed round room delictely so we could ll see our new fmily member first lst time. Oh, ws he beutiful. After Ayden s birth, I spent two dys hospitl with my mom stepfr. When we rrived bck home, we opened Christms gifts n ttempt brg smiles everyone s fces. Wht we did not know ws how frgile my mom ws. When she opened my sisters my gift her necklce with chrms represent ech us, cludg Ayden her fce flushed with emotion she wept wht seemed like ever. I never knew I could love someone so much when I hd never even hd chnce meet him. Tht Christms, I lerned pprecite life I hve. Christms is now remder this loss bror I never knew. F memoirs Girls by Spencer Cooper, Westmister, CO I knew I ws different n erly ge. Around 6 or 7, I wnted Brbie sted G.I. Joe. It didn t relly mtter eir wy which one I got. I wnted ply with clos; doll ws simply n ccessory. Cn I ply ws my most frequent le durg my erly school yers. Cn guess question s typicl endg? A. with? B. with tht when re done? C. over re? D. All but A. If guessed D, re correct. Needless sy, I didn t hve mny friends though not lck eft. I ws lwys tryg mke friends, but I wsn t very successful until I met Girls. You re likely wonderg why I cpitlized Girls. nswer is simple: y re importnt me. y were, fter ll, first friends I ever hd. Would ever hve. You see, it strted with guys. When I I didn t hve mny friends ws ng, I ws rmented by group boys liked nothg better thn pick on me. It wsn t ll tht bd; y weren t smrt enough come up with ny decent sults, just silly ones tht relly didn t hve n effect. So I went on with my life, crg little wht y sid. Girls noticed this unusully quickly. I ws lwys plyg by myself. I hd smll section plyground I hd crved out, complete with grvel drivewy smll bush house whtever I brought school sometimes doll, but ten I would just brg drwg becuse I knew boys would tke my stuff. I d just drw somethg tht I thought looked good I would ply with tht dy. Ag, Girls noticed this quickly. Soon I noticed y were copyg some my dy--dy ctivities, such s ignorg boys brgg thgs y didn t cre bout school mke sure boys wouldn t do ny rel dmge. Eventully, I used my signture le. Cn I ply Surprisgly, y sid yes. At first, y kept ir distnce bit. Eventully, y wrmed up me, I m. boys ok notice this. y tried hrder get rection out us with sults nme-cllg. At first, we just contued on like nothg ws hppeng. n boys chnged ir tctics. Up this pot y hd only mde fun ys I brought school. Now y strted noticg everythg I did. My clos, not girlish per se, were defitely not mscule like or boys. My speech ws more st dilogue thn loud chntg yellg. And unlike ll or boys, were lwys strg t girls y liked, I ws lwys strg t boy I liked. y mde sure put extr pressure on tht lst Art by Hiley Dmschroder, Fort Myers, FL one. y strted cllg me nmes clss, front everyone. It didn t mtter me; I didn t hve ny rel friends my clss. Girls were room next door. y were ones consoled me fterwrds, but y knew I would be fe. I lwys ws. F Lk r TeenInk.com ccount Fcebook MAY 15 Teen Ink 9

10 prents Fmilir Strnger by Lur Shu, Livgsn, NJ Be good, ll right? Help r mom with r sister. Don t get do r homework. Go sleep erlier. Don t drk o much cfee. Oky, oky, I reply wkwrdly. I get it. I hve go or I ll get stuck trffic. I ll cll when I get home. See soon. I love. Six hundred thirty-two miles my home is Florence, South Crol. Tht s where he works. Tht s where he lives. He s fr wy, lwys out rech some wy. At midnight, I sit t my desk ttempt concentrte on my homework. I rub my dry eyes, ywn, stretch s I glre t my biology textbook. He my not be home, but he still wnts help me ny wy he cn. On phone, Pho by Mri Alvrez, Bechwood, OH he s witg my questions. Gulpg down lump my throt tht prevents me syg wht I feel, I choke out tht it s lte he should go sleep. He s drivg home Florence morng. Yet he sists on styg on phone. Don t worry bout me, he sys. You do r homework. I ll wit just cse re confused bout nythg. It turns out tht I do hve questions, he nswers m enthusisticlly, like he s hd five cups cfee, until I flly her sttic-filled ywn. Ag I tell him go sleep. I tell him I won t be done until lte, he replies, I ll sty wke until re done. A wve grtitude rushes through me, but I open my mouth only close it g. It would be strnge if I sid somethg cheesy. It s my work, nywy, I flly snp fter long puse. On or side, I her long crek chir s he lens bck, but he doesn t sy nythg. How do I sy thnk? I cn her cr drivewy fter his 10-hour drive. He s styg night, morrow he leves Bosn. My sister I run door greet him. Outside, cr door opens out pop two huge suitcses. He sees us smiles brightly, despite his exhustion. My nger sister hs no hesittion; once I help her with her shoes, she runs greet him with hug. Wo de bo bei, my precious tresure, he sys, pickg Why cn t I just ccept his help? her up spng her round. How re? I wnt do just wht my sister did, but I m teenger, shows ffection re embrrssg. I restr myself. My boots re on, my jcket is zipped, I should go grb one his suitcses. Insted I sp t doorwy, concrete smile frozen on my fce. How do I sy hello? I m shovg messy bders, enormous textbooks, lunch box my bg while tryg crm hot piece st my mouth. grge door opens. He s home this week visit, so he cn drive me school. I grb my jcket slip it on. When I turn bck round, I relize my bckpck is gone. I don t need go grge know tht he hs it, but I run downstirs get it nywy, try get hold it. He pulls it wy. It s o hevy, he sys simply, esily liftg it with one h. I crry it every dy. I don t wnt get hurt. I bite my lip, but I hstily grb bg s soon s he puts it on set cr. I cn t tell, becuse cr is strtg, but I thk he sighs. Why cn t I just ccept his help? Help me fold lundry, he sys. I wnt smile. I love smell clen clos just out dryer. Fe, I grumble, like it s biggest hrdship my life, trudge up stirs with him. Fltten, fold, plce, repet. Fltten, fold, plce, repet. Bee he left, it ws fltten, lugh, fold, tlk, repet. I would tell him sries school, he would tell me nerdy mth science jokes. re s n necdote on tip my ngue, but I bite my lip look down t clos. Fltten, fold, plce, repet. It s sme feelg tryg tlk r best friend fter fight. Awkwrd. Hey, he strts with gr, I brce myself. It s snowg outside, so if re cold, go corner. It s 90 degrees! I m bout smile, he looks plesed. He s been tryg relly hrd, unlike me. But I suddenly sneeze, tht relpse slips bck present, where he hs del with sullen, stressed dughter. I cknowledge joke with nod, n tke my clos my room. I cn feel his eyes borg holes bck my hed s I lock door. Why cn t we get long like we used? All right, I hve go or I ll get stuck trffic. I ll cll when I get home. See soon. I love. He sps re sted openg cr door wits expectntly. I don t rect. Bye would sound terse uncrg, wy I hve been ctg. Goodbye is o ml, o fl. Tke cre sounds cheesy. So long seems rude. Well, see, he flly sys disppotedly, gets cr bee I cn sy word. enge revs lmost ngrily s he drives wy. I st doorwy until he s fr, fr wy. Bye-bye, I whisper, with ty wve. Ters roll down my fce. I love o, Dddy. F Wonder Womn by Zoe Mson, Reno, NV She whips down nrrow mountside tril, pumpg h brke, twistg round corners with precision grce. At bse, she dismounts mud-specked mount bike, her ned muscles ripplg, swet stremg over her popped-out ves, n exhilrted smile on her fce. Meet my mom s she ws four yers go. Physiclly impervious. Mentlly determed. She ruled courtrooms s lwyer, trils s biker, rods s trveler, clssrooms s techer. Able spek three lnguges nvigte ny sitution, re ws nothg she couldn t do. In my md, she ws superhero. And n my every perception her ws chllenged. Lte summer 2013, I went somewhere I hdn t been 16 yers. hospitl. I ws gog visit my mom. This ws oncology wg, where nurses glnced t me with pityg smiles sd puppy-dog eyes. One directed me my mom s room. I couldn t brg myself wlk right wy, so I st on floor by her door. For few mutes I felt overwhelmed by nuse. I needed be strong her; I couldn t let her know how Only true mircle could sve her scred I ws. Flly I ced myself go. I sw, disrted by my ters, tubes her nose oxygen IV les pumpg her full morphe blood. She looked so smll. She hd lost even more weight sce she d been put on hospice cre erlier yer. She hd pulled through tht time, but now she hd gone downhill g. Her fce ws gunt. Her sk, which hd once been beutifully tn, ws ple gry. She looked like deth. cncer hd tken over. Only true mircle could sve her now, I d pretty much lost fith mircles. My mom ws lookg up t me with smile, but her eyes were full p. Never hd I seen her so broken. All I wnted ws wrp my rms round her cry her shoulder like when I ws little. But when I tried give her gentle hug, she cried p. I couldn t comt her. It never got esier or ny less pful see my mom this wy. She ws hospitl over month. She ws ld she would lwys need wheelchir. y didn t thk she would ever get f pkillers. y didn t thk she would live much longer eir. Eventully she ws moved nursg home. y fed her terrible food, she ws surrounded by dyg people t lest 30 yers her senior, she ws p. I thought she would be stuck tht horrible plce until her deth. It ws furitg tht I couldn t tke her home, cook her wonderful mels, tlk her every dy. But somehow she strted wlkg short distnces with wlker, y let her go home. She found little prtment by my school tht suited her perfectly. doors were wide enough her wheelchir, she hd porch where she could sit sun. cncer ws re, but she wsn t dyg nymore. She hd cheted deth second time. She hs been livg little blue prtment months now. We hd Thnksgivg re Christms o. Just this week we celebrted her 45th birthdy. She wlked with cne greet us, nerly p-free f pkillers. docrs re sunded by how well she is dog. y sy tht she s mircle. y sy she will be helthy g. y sy she will live. After everythg tht hs hppened, I m convced tht she my not be superhero, but tht she is much more. She s my mircle my spirtion. F 10 Comment on ny rticle t TeenInk.com Teen Ink MAY 15

11 Pho by Ethn Li, Belmont, MA rt gllery Art by Grce J, Pittsburgh, PA Pho by Elizbeth Erler, Lexgn, MA Pho by Dn Kechnie, Jonesport, ME Art by Csey Wng, McDonough, GA Art by Jolijn Schilder, De Weere, Nerls Pho by Aidn Surl, Mohrsville, PA Drw Pt Phogrph Crete! n send it us see pge 3 detils Art by Krl Amdor, Esley, SC Pho by Nicole Knebel, Fort Colls, CO MAY 15 Teen Ink 11

12 prents Mom s Scrves by André Wheeler, Mnhttn, NY I sit dentist s chir with my mouth pried open like plundered grve. I tp my foot long Tylor Swift s I Knew You Were Trouble, which is wekly comg overhed speker. lughg gs is crwlg like n fnt round side my ves. My mom s voice hs hevy echo s she provides entertment dentl stff. Three dentl ssistnts re crowded round her, dmirg hmde scrves she s brought show f sell se strngers even though it s middle June 90 degrees out. Oh, I love this red one, one women sys, wrppg glittery scrf round her neck. re s rel we wonder her voice, s if my mom hs just rubbed two sticks ger discovered how mke fire. How do mke m? she sks. It s lot work, Mom sys proudly. re s cert technique. I cn show. My mom reches side lrge lime green bg tht s filled Hope by Sr Diz, Buen Prk, CA Mny people live worlds where odds re stcked gst m. Lots times, hope just doesn t live res where people suffer poverty, discrimtion, negtive expecttions. However, it is very possible hope thrive, even rocky soil. I know this experience. I would not be here if not persistent hope tht chrcterized my dd, even t hrdest pots his life. My dd grew up rurl Mexico. closest wn ws not very close t ll, closest city ws hours wy his fmily s smll frm. Dys were long. When kids weren t workg rocky fields, y were strugglg complete bsic elementry eduction t ty villge school. Most didn t mke it pst fifth grde. expecttion my dd, his brors, or kids Ls Bocs, Zctecs, ws tht y would contue trditions subsistence frmg lcoholism typicl ir smll wn s culture. However, my dd hoped escpe tht cycle crete somethg more himself, even t very ng ge. For this reson, he immigrted Los Angeles Mexico t 14, lone without knowg word English. His I wish she d focus her energy on somethg else My dd emigrted Mexico t 14, lone with crochet hooks yrn, tkes out scrf tht s progress. women ooh hh s Mom structs m. As I brek out lugh, my ngue pushes dentist s cold implement. He thks I m embrrssg, my mom mutters. dentl ssistnts ll lugh. How long re bck? dentist whispers me when my mom returns structg women. Too long, I respond, but becuse ll stuff my mouth, it comes out s Ooo ong. Surprisgly, he understs; ptient gibberish must be lnguge requirement dentl school. He lughs. You ll miss it when get older. Trust me. Mphm, I sy with n eye roll. Mom sells dentl ssistnts two scrves $15. It s first sle she s mde, I know this is only gog flte her Mcy s-dy-prdeblloon-sized ego encourge her mke more. You d thk she ws crochetg Versce scrves, wy hope wht he clled better life motivted him lern English, get best eduction possible, pick up numerous jobs support himself. This hope motivted my dd become first his fmily grdute. It ws not esy. My dd fced discrimtion, n eduction system tht neglected English lerners, mny or setbcks. But his hope never fded, mny wys, he chieved Americn Drem, complete with two-sry house white picket fence. My dd is now fifth-grde techer Los Angeles. He works t school on notso-nice side wn, mostly becuse he wishes pss hope on his. He seems be dog good job t it. A few months go, one his first cme bck visit. She hd just grduted Hrvrd Medicl School wnted thnk my dd motivtg her. My dd hsn t just motivted mny he s tught pst 20 yers. He s lso pssed on his hope his little girl. Even durg my most discourged frustrted moments I hve tht hope fll bck on. From my dd s sry guidnce, I ve lerned tht I o cn work hrd lwys hope more. F she shows m f. I feel png guilt thkg this, but lughg gs quickly helps it fde wy. See, reson Mom strted mkg scrves is becuse she hs so much free time. She tkes cre n old white womn 24 hours dy, Mondy through Thursdy. And becuse we re blck, it s like Mom is one women Help. Most time it s her old ldy sittg wtchg TV. Or womn s or old white friends will come over y ll sit drk chmpgne while musicin plys m on gr pino. So Mom psses time mkg scrves. Every Fridy t noon, Mom comes home werg smile libertion. She wnts go everywhere do everythg, while I just wnt crsh lternte between nppg, scrollg through Tumblr, wtchg TV shows onle. But I go with Mom becuse she likes tke me on shoppg sprees. She feels bd levg me by myself house four dys week. Little does she know tht I do thgs like go Brody s plce prty. Or hve Kyl her boyfriend, Peyn, come over hook ir gmg system my livg room TV. I mke cfee us ll t midnight so we cn keep yellg scremg t ech or s if it ws noon. I even let Kyl Peyn crsh our guest bedroom once. You just hve leve by ten, I ld m, becuse my mom will be here t eleven. And d better not fool round this bed. next dy Mom found rom bord gme struction booklet livg room. Wht s this? she sked. It must hve fllen out Kyl s bg. Nothg, I sid csully. I strted wlkg wy. I know probbly hve rel prty up here when I m gone. No, I don t, I sid s I wlked stirs. Turn round sy tht me. I wsn t born lst night. I ld. I don t hve ny friends! I yelled s I rn up stirs, silently lughg. So lest I cn do is let Mom hve her scrves. You cn give one r friend tht visited Clini, Mom sid s we drove dentist. Wht s her nme? Rchel? And her mom o. Tht d be nice thnk- gift, Art by Tylor Duncn, Wynesboro, VA don t thk? I looked out wdow t rows fst food resturnts. Yeh. Oky, ws ll I sid. And n, like jerk, I tilted my phone wy Mom texted Rchel: My mom wnts send one her hute couture scrves BAHAHAHA. I m n wful son. She even gve my cous Mrvell bg m when she cme visit. You cn sell m New York, Mom ld Vell. We cn mke busess it. You wer one when r friends sk where got it, tell m Gurl, I cn get one twenty dollrs. Cn t bet tht. Oky, Auntie Audrey, my cous sid, lughg. When we got bck droppg Vell f t irport, Mom went guest bedroom strighten up. I went my room tke my usul fternoon np, but Mom cme soon fter, holdg plstic bg scrves. Look t this, Mom whed. I pried open my eyes. Vell didn t tke scrves with her. Why would she leve m? I ly my hed bck down. She probbly didn t hve enough room her luggge, I lied Vell. I closed my eyes let Mom know converstion ws over. Lst time I give her somethg, Mom muttered s she wlked out. I don t know why scrves re so importnt her. And I don t know why I cn t just let her hve m s source hppess. Mybe it s becuse I wish she d focus her energy on somethg else, like flly gog nursg school or flly gettg tht phlebomy job she s been tlkg bout sce I ws 10. If she cn fd wy sell scrves middle summer, go night school, work, send me f, divorce my stepfr, fd wy support us ll on her own, I know tht she cn ccomplish nythg she sets her md. F 12 Comment on ny rticle t TeenInk.com Teen Ink MAY 15

13 Ferris Wheels Pistchios by Cele Wng, Newport Bech, CA It ws Hlloween, which is big del when re four. I ws sittg on couch my Sleepg Beuty costume, egerly witg my dd come home so he could tke me trick-ortretg. He hd been wy ll week on busess trip Sgpore. He ws supposed return erlier tht dy, but now it ws night here I ws, still witg. Flly I nodded f, n ctul sleepg prcess. He didn t come home t ll tht night. next morng I begged my mom let me keep my costume on him. She greed, probbly becuse she lredy knew somethg tht I wouldn t fd out nor couple dys. By n, I ws no longer prcess. It ws my dd hd new identity: plne crsh survivor. He ld us bout it lter. It hd been rg hrd s he got on plne home. pilot ws clered tkef on one runwy but turned little o fr ended up tkg f on nor runwy, one tht ws closed. Becuse r, pilot couldn t see hevy construction equipment blockg closed runwy, he crshed right it. plne ws gog 170 miles per hour, hlf ir hlf on ground, when it blew up. left wg ws rn f, fuselge split two, fire shot through middle plne. Nerly hlf pssengers died, but mzgly, my dd ws completely unhurt. After crsh, he couldn t bre becuse smoke fumes, so he rn wrd exit. When plne wreckge flly skidded sp, my dd simply wlked out. When I ws older, he expled how stressed he d been dy flight. As plne ok f When plne crshed, his first thoughts were us Mm s Pie Hs by Mddy Reid, Slt Lke City, UT Morhood hs rendered her hs rough but gentle, ughened by vegr wter stened with bby s cries sick-kid nights. Tody those hs re tcklg rt pie mkg. Eight.m. Thnksgivg 2006, she s gettg n erly strt, pluckg butter flour ir plces with nimble fgers. I prop myself up on counter. Cn I help? Cn I mke pie this yer? She pushes four cubes butter cross counter. You cn cut butter, hun. She demonstrtes, pushg her plms on p shimmerg chef s knife, lettg it sk cube like my feet lst month s mud. I never uch knife. Her hs flit bout kitchen, speed mtchg her smile s she heps flour, drizzles wter, pches slt, sprkles sugr. I look down t my seven-clendr hs. Susge fgers round plms could never mke tht mgic kitchen. I beg lern wrestle dough msterpiece. Her eyes sy I love but I m gettg little imptient s her long-fgered hs, supple s ng brnches, r tht dy, he ws worryg bout money how keep everyone he worked with hppy. He felt like he ws filg. When plne crshed, his first thoughts were us, his fmily. As sd s he felt t thought dyg never seeg us g, he lso felt sense relief tht ll his busess fncil worries would be over. When he survived, he sw it s second chnce but not kd where give up everythg. Dd sold his busess strted new one. crsh mde him relize how short life is how we only hve so much time crm everythg we wnt do. I m so proud my dd this, his experience hs mde me strive hrder ll I do becuse I know we won t be this world ever. But this lso mens he s very busy. I ve never hd dd ttended fmily dner more ten thn not, wsn t lwys eir somewhere on busess trip or preprg go on one. When I ws kid, qulity time with my dd ws precious, sce it hppened so rrely. I ll never get when we went hikg through Gr Cnyon. Even though my dd hd bck foot problems ws probbly p, he kept up with me le wy. I ws lwys fscted by tht plne crsh; it might sound morbid, but I ws desperte ny scrps mtion. I wnted underst effect crsh hd on my dd ws. I wish I could remember wy he ws bee, but I ws o ng. I wondered how ten he thought bout it, wher he hd drems or nightmres bout it. He didn t seem trumtized. When he tlked bout it, he sounded distnced s though he were tellg sry tht hd hppened someone else. guide me on rollg p. Up over out over up bck out. Too hrd. I let her Sn Frncisco wd hs fish, fog rollg with my jelousy. Eight.m. on Thnksgivg Cn I help? Cn I mke pie this yer? Her experienced, thous-pie hs gesture t butter flour stg t ttention on counter. Yours re better thn me. F Art by Annik Roll, Brewster, NY Art by Iren Yng, Ok Prk, CA n one dy, when I ws ne, I threw tl fit t mll. A Ferris wheel hd been set up re, I ld my dd I wouldn t leve until I got ride it. My dd flly gve. We climbed crrige. Ferris wheel ws simple one. It wsn t very high, sets didn t rock bck th. As we begn climb higher, I looked over sw tht my dd ws tightly clenchg br cross our wists. I sked him wht ws wrong he expled he ws frid heights. I felt so foolish not relizg this erlier. I wondered if he d been frid heights bee crsh. I ws so smll, third-grder, but I wnted comt him somehow. I put my h over his ld him everythg ws gog be oky. He looked t me tried smile. We rode le ride like tht, when we were bck on ground, he thnked me helpg him. It ws one few times I lerned wht ws behd his cool, collected exterior. It mde me feel closer him. wy we spend time ger hs chnged s we ve both grown older, but our qulity moments re still just s importnt me. Both us re quiet people, so we enjoy simply wtchg movie ger. We don t even hve tlk tht s sometimes lucky thg. Our stubborn personlities re so strikgly similr tht we ten get mengless rguments tht lst hours. Once disgreement is done, we relize how silly it ws lugh bout it, but when we re middle it, we re both dedly serious. For exmple, we both dore etg out but ten rgue bout where go. We rgue so long tht by time we decide, we re strvg. We lso know how show our love subtle wys. My dd I re both ddicted pistchios, so we lwys keep bg hy when we need get our blood sugr levels up post-rgument. Sometimes I ll pull bg out s pece ferg. Sometimes he will. It s little gesture goodwill, mybe even surrender our own personl olive brnch. Some my fvorite memories re two us sittg t kitchen counter etg hfuls pistchios lte t night when ll lights outside re dim even trees seem sleep. house is quiet only sound is crck shells. F prents Lk r TeenInk.com ccount Fcebook MAY 15 Teen Ink 13

14 prents Mmmy Snt Mn by Mddie Hellwig, So. Psden, CA It ws probbly two thousth time I hd seen crowded streets Zhengzhou, fmilir scents morng bkery gsole enveloped me s I heded my elementry school. A couple older girls spped me, cmers redy. ir English tripped over collidg syllbles. Let s picture. Mke picture with we? I swllowed n urge screm. I ws neir free exhibition nor chrcter option DremSelfie with Celebrity! I wnted revel tht I spoke Mr o, but my courge deflted upon relizg tht pek my hed only reched bse girls necks. Look t this xiolowi. Is she Mongolin? tller girl sked her friend Mr. No wy. Look t her nose. She s defitely Europen or mybe Irnin, she replied. Unble st it ny longer, I Art by Mddie Hellwig, So. Psden, CA mumbled n pology similrly broken English, jostlg pst m ir dignnt expressions. I kept runng even fter rechg gtes my school, not pusg until I ws front my second-grde clssroom. Oh, look is erly! Good morng, Xiolowi! Mr. He greeted me. I crged. Xiolowi, colloquil term little eigner, ws word I encountered lmost every dy. It ws term people used jokgly ten without mlice. But me, phrse I felt s Chese s ny or person on street only furr poted out tht I didn t belong. Ironiclly, I felt s Chese s ny or person on street. At my school, every student ws required lern English, begng second grde. Like my dumbfounded clssmtes, I thought it bsurd tht those delicious red fruits would be clled strw-berries, tht ech ction ok different m verb dependg on its tense. Swim. Swm. Swum. Swn? Wit, wht? My clssmtes lwys stred t my English exm scores with disbelief. How could I, with flesh those ntive English spekers, fil score higher thn C? I met ir disillusionment with htred, I begn condemng lnguge, English techer, everyone looked t me like eigner. It didn t help tht my English techer, Ms. Zhng, found new hobby publicly lmentg my test scores. A sixty-eight percent? Aren t Americn, honey? Did come Ch becuse r English wsn t good enough? I couldn t nswer. Why ws I livg Ch? No mtter how well I knew rods Zhengzhou s smll shops vendors, cutious eyes greeted me. Americ s imge s country welth freedom evitbly mde me object ssumptions, shllow dmirtion, condescension, envy. Bck on eleventh floor our condomium, I sked Mm through puffy eyes snot-filled nose why I didn t look like her or Bb or nyone t my school. Why did strngers spek me or lnguges, why did Ms. Zhng mock me? Why ws I tgged s xiolowi? Mm ld me it ws becuse I ws n ethniclly mixed Americn livg Ch. sttement ws strightwrd, yet it nswered nothg. More questions popped up s my life re contued. In spn couple yers, I received love confessions, fought with my Chese couss, crushed on two boys, strred ply, mde friends prk while ice sktg. I lso trnsferred out Ms. Zhng s clss. My neighbors, friends, clssmtes hd lerned ccept my differences, few even becme my best friends. Just when I ws flly begng fit, I ws ced leve my home Ch. I ws ne yers old when lrgest white person I hd ever seen rrived t our home. mn hd jolly, round fce, like Snt, but pk flesh his mouth ws ten scrunched up midble scowl. This grumpy Snt troduced himself s my biologicl fr, I clled him lir. His scowl deepened when Mm trnslted. You re my dughter, mn s voice boomed. I m r fr. For resons I ll never underst, I begn lughg hystericlly. n I escped comedy shut myself my room, blockg out rude guest tried cll himself my bb. I hve only one Bb, I thought, he s not, Snt Mn. I tried everythg I could prevent our deprture Americ scremg, destroyg thgs, escpg, glrg, throwg out Bb s expensive cigrs, self-hrmg but plne ticket hd lredy been purchsed. Honey, re only styg Clini summer. We wnt see Disneyl! Mm ssured me. You ll come bck next school yer see ll r friends g. n cn bost bout meetg mermid Ariel! Her words got me irport, but y were lies, fcde tht hid desperte sdness mor bout lose her child. Even sweet Bb, hted lyg lwys spoiled me, mnged crooked smile s he cheerfully sid See g English. But I wsn t fooled. As I crossed le tht spped loved ones ccompnyg trvelers ny furr, my ers cught strngled wil broken pretense, followed by hert-wrenchg sobs. It ws my Bb. I did not return Ch when summer ended. Insted, I ws enrolled n elementry school Clini. My biologicl mor (m I clled Mmmy order differentite her Mm) ws strg rem nice. I undersod her imptience; child she d given birth refused see her s mor ntgonized her t every opportunity. I found flws everythg Mmmy did. I hted her cookg, which ws bl ugly, her brupt bursts nger. She refused spek Mr ld me tht if I didn t spek more ten Snt Mn, I would not be ble phone Mm Bb nymore. bsurdity le sitution ws worse thn spicy Indin curry, I could not tke it ny longer. I hte! You re not my mor! I scremed bee shuttg myself my room. My first lst yer t my new I hte! You re not my mor! I scremed elementry school ws epime misery. I felt like m chrcter bitter Shkesperen frce. Ch ws my home, but with ple sk white fetures, I ws no different eign urists Zhengzhou. In Clini I fit physiclly but couldn t spek ntive lnguge. irony ws plpble. Every pge my untelligible homework ws sted by ters. At home I vented my frustrtion room tht remed shut order void womn climed be my mor. At school I st n uncomtbly clen clssroom full scrily outgog kids se nmes I could not pronounce. Nostlgi hit me when I sw Chese chrcters locl supermrkets, I ws remded clssrooms Zhengzhou, with ir chipped desks, blck chlkbords, kids I knew loved despite ir prejudices. My lck socil terction with ors pushed Mmmy fd me my first friend, Susn. I clung her, never dred stry her side. In unfmilir world strnge slurs unpronounceble R s, I ws ngue-tied. Only Susn sved me bsolute confusion. But even s I pretended not notice her growg imptience, her smll sults crved wideng scrs my secure clgy self. Bd memories hd lwys been more memorble thn good ones, I never got fhed comments friend. Why cn t spell schedule correctly? Mmmy sid, her hs lcertg ir with frustrtion. We ve gone over this five times lredy! Are stupid? Summers Clini were drier thn rice pper. re ws no ir conditioner our smll prtment. Copy it ten more times! Mmmy commed. Her scremg left buzz my ers. In this plce I now clled home, violent comptibility esclted between Mmmy me. Sometimes dys would pss without rel converstion. Only scremg. And cllg brekfst, lunch, dner, which we te seprte rooms. When Mmmy found me escpg world onle gmg, she threw out computer. My English ws ugly, she bluntly ld me. I needed prctice. This prompted new m dily escpe cool snctury public librry. I cn never thnk her enough tht decision. It ws depressg tht I hd no socil life, but time 14 Comment on ny rticle t TeenInk.com Teen Ink MAY 15

15 Cfee morngs belonged me Dddy. I d rise well bee sun, my smll voice would pierce silence. Dddy would her it come lift me my wrm blnkets. He d crry me livg room, we d sit big rocker. n we wited. We wited sun rise until its glow hd brightened enough fde out red light on stereo. I wtched tht red light le time while witg. It ws constnt, lwys on but only visible shdowy drkness tht slept our livg room. n, when light hd broken through shdes, it ws time mke cfee. Dddy would first mke me cup chocolte milk. I d sip tht s he got out bg cfee bens poured m grder. He would hold my smll fgers over butn until bens were fely ground. Smell, he d sy, I d let rich rom fill my nose. He d help me mesure cfee pour wter over it. We would wit it fish brewg, pour two cups Perhps I m Dd s lrm clock by Frncesc Girde, Syrcuse, NY out stir crem sugr, usg color mesure. first time I sipped tht bitter liquid he lughed t my shocked fce ters surprise. It tstes different how it smells, he mnged sy through his lughter. I vowed I would never drk it g. Now I relize tht cfee, s beverge enjoyed universlly, unites us. My cfee ficiondo dd spent lot time tryg tech me tht. Sometimes, when we cnnot see eye eye, I know tht we cn lwys return cfee brewg. It s impossible hold grudge tht erly morng. Even though I m high school now, I still rise erly. Dd hers my footsteps plod downstirs ssumes tht it s time him mke cfee. Perhps I m his lrm clock, s I ws s ddler. While I groggily et my cerel, shiverg chilly kitchen, he brews cfee. He doesn t ctully hve open his eyes perm this ritul, but he does nywy, smilg t me while I swirl my soggy cerel. n he pours me cup, I dump crem sugr. pot will rem full ll dy nyone needs pick-me-up or tste simple luxury. Hbit is comt, somethg tht envelops us, remder sfety crzy world where we live. It s somethg we don t hve stretch ourselves mt but cn simply chieve by beg we re. It s hbit tht grounds us when we wnt fly o high, hbit tht bds me my dd. F Dd s Cot by Sophie Ezzell, Knoxville, TN I don t know why I m lwys wrmer Dd s cot. Mybe it s just wrm cot, or mybe it s beg embrced by scent his scentless sop. Every Christms Eve my childhood my prents drgged me Will (my stly big bror once conned me out $10) our slowly declg Episcopl church 11 p.m. service. I would wer poy dress tht mimicked costume Disney prcess I d never idolize, long with sprkly red dress shoes tht I clicked ger when I wished go home. Will would sport pt-sized nvy jcket with gold butns shimmery red clip-on tie tht clshed with his stupid ornge hir. Will would lwys mke n eft sty wke revel birth Christ. Not me. I knew Snt ws witg me fll sleep, ne-def choir s rendition Silent Night ws not worth styg up. It wouldn t be long bee I ws slumped over my Dddy s shoulder, strokg his Homer Simpson Christms tie with my four-yer-old fgers. Dddy would pick me up wrp me his snzzy blck velvet jcket (he only wers it on Christms Eve, tht s how snzzy it is) ly me bck down scuffed mple pew, where my nose would dispper silk lg. I would sleep with my hed crdled on Dddy s lp, only my eyelshes peekg through his cot, until choir burst Joy World. Even now, when I m supposed hte my fr with door-slmmg pssion, I cn t help but fd wrmth side his cot. Once my rm slides wy-o-big sleeve, shivers stntly cese goosebumps recede bck my ple, freckled sk. I m never cold Dd s cot. I m frid will be frigid without it. F Pho by Emm Mortellro, Grnville, OH prents spent librry helped me shed lst trces my Chese ccent spn one summer. As fifth-grder, however, I hted Mmmy cg me study ll time. I thought Mm her outgog smiles. I remembered our shoppg dventures Beijg hide-seek gmes drk. Mmmy hted shoppg. For yers, Mmmy I were mere co-hbitnts. I did wht she wnted, she provided me with food shelter. But she spped pyg phone clls Ch, tellg me it ws best. She yelled when I got bd grdes threw fits if I didn t et two orgnic eggs dy. I didn t relize it n, but this ws love. Mmmy rrely shred othy smiles like Mm hd, but her feelgs me were eqully strong. It ws love. Tough love. But I ws bullet tr runng one event next, my childish hste blded me person behd my mor s iron msk wrth. Mmmy ws pic my reserch project my nth grde honors English clss. I plnned just throw rom snippets my knowledge her ger dd extrneous text round out word count. But I didn t even know enough fill hlf pge, double spced. womn hd rised me s sgle mor durg my most rebellious yers ws blnk pge me. In moment rsh contempltion, I sked Mmmy bout her life. She chided me, How potless. You hve fish r homework still. Don t wste time thkg bout thgs won t underst. It s school project, Mmmy. We were drivg home my weekly rt clss, both tired Sturdy Lk r TeenInk.com ccount Fcebook womn d rised me ws blnk pge me filled with work. Herg I needed her sries n English pper, Mmmy willgly re-lived segments horrors hidden culturl revolution her pst s ng pressor t Pekg University Beijg. Her clloused hs swept ir s she ld her sry. Her tle ws spirg trgic, but it ws not cuse stgg ters my eyes. It ws sudden reliztion tht womn front me hd scrificed so much received so little but still remed loyl dughter filed pprecite her. I didn t deserve mor like her. I hid my ters Mmmy tht night becuse I ws embrrssed. I ws 14, I hd spent five yers my life lmentg my own trgedies. I pitied myself llowed senseless bitterness build up, but not once hd I tried underst womn I hd been livg with. Sce n, I hve lerned pprecite my irscible mor. Mmmy is not esy love, her cookg still hsn t improved. She contues hte shoppg trvelg, but now I vlue moments when she compls my shoppg plns while scvengg her room coupons money. Our reltionship is rich, bittersweet prdox. Ever sce I llowed myself enjoy sweetness behd my seemgly dysfunctionl fmily, hisry future hve lked mselves, mendg broken pieces between. It s been seven yers sce I ve seen Mm or Bb, but our lk hs not broken. itil experience chngg prents movg Americ left me pieces, but I hve come pprecite this bitterness tht concels gret tune: I hve been lucky enough be prt two worlds with two sets prents love me. F MAY 15 Teen Ink 15

16 prents Fishg with You by Terri, Hwley, PA It s probbly my fvorite memory. It s one I thk whenever I try remember thgs tht didn t f--k up. It s bittersweet, course, but everythg bout is. But even though weren t perfect, were my dd bck n, my rel dd. re ws no wrtime PTSD chngg r demenor dy dy. You were imperfect, but were my dddy, still liked spend time with me. It would lwys be extremely erly morng, wy o erly wter s dy, especilly n 8-yerold, but it ws my choice go. You would be grumpy becuse would hve liked hed out much erlier, but still wited me get little more sleep. Tht s prt I like remember. Your irrittion would be gone soon fter we got cr nywy. I would get dressed clos picked out me, my long rtty hir unbrushed but hidden under one r fvorite fishg hts, one ones tht smelled like. You would get bot rods redy, if hdn t done it night bee, while I te brekfst. You were lwys rush go, but were lwys rush nywy, so it didn t bor me much. Flly we would be redy, would help me up tll green truck tht lwys smelled like smoke hd cy wrppers stuck shtrys. You were lwys md bout tht, even fter we spped stuffg m re. I cried when sold truck, but now I m gld it s gone. It s just one those thgs tht cuses me cute discomt whenever I thk bout it, discomt tht lies low my smch hides behd my ter Pho by Jde Green, Cmeron, WI ducts, feelg I cn t quite expl. You would hoist me front set. I cn t remember if I ws ctully big enough ride front t tht pot or just thought I ws. You d triple check mke sure I ws belted belted correctly. We d pull out drivewy slowly, crefully, bot w. I remember feelg guilty holdg up; I ws frid tht se extr mutes would excerbte r nger pot mkg give up just sty home, n we wouldn t spend time ger. You wited me get little more sleep We would be flyg down rod soon fter, rdio would be plyg low enough us tlk, if eir us hd nythg sy. We were never very good t cr converstion. I know thk we used cht like old friends, but side months followg r deployments, when I tlked endlessly loudly just mke sure didn t get me, we were never good t smll tlk. I thk I ws just o we, or o hurt shmed life I hd. I m still not sure, be honest. n would come my fvorite prt trip. We would pull convenience sre grb sods sncks. You would let me pick out whtever I wnted, usully Goldfish or cn Prgles, would get cfee. I would tg long, sncks h. You would get me biggest cup hot coco. I remember would let me press butn, I would st on my es do it. My md gives smile t this pot, but I m sure re were times frowned. I prefer remember smile perfectly stright, f-white teeth, crklg round r eyes. It s n imge tht will never leve my md, even if I don t see it ten nymore. You would put lid on me, sce I could never get it on correctly. We would go py our stuff, I would vert my eyes cshier, shy s I ws. You would tuck me front set g, I would hold hot chocolte. It ws wrm gst my ty fgers tht were o, o cold on this wter s morng. senstion seepg het burned delighted me, I would bre scent chocolte. I would blow on cup few times, eir sge my ngue or wit. Eir wy, would buckle rself, tke ferless sip r cfee, n bck out sre. And n we would be f dy fishg me sokg up r hppess, thg sweeter thn hot chocolte ever could be. F You Are Your Mor by Ntlie Mitten, St. Louis, MO She will sk me be home hlf hour bee our scheduled mor-dughter bondg time. I ll rrive n hour erly fd her still fst sleep. I ll wke her 45 mutes bee scheduled deprture, she ll spend 40 m plyg gmes on her computer, still her pjms. I ll come downstirs t designted time, redy go. She still won t hve fed or dressed herself. We leve 15 mutes lte. She s typg on her phone s she drives; she doesn t know ddress our desttion. She is swervg out her lne, I hve fer, s I do every time she drives, nvigte her. She refuses, I must sternly request tht she not use her phone while drivg. It s dys like dy when I wish I hd nyone else mom, when I wonder how thgs would be different if this bll snity wsn t one I hd turn when I m lost. It s dys like dy when I believe tht she s lost o, like she s usg mp plce tht ws destroyed yers go. We rrive t n event food shelter West County, politicin sp, s she clls it. Her voice booms through smll wrehouse; it is not cll, but dem ttention. She mnges, perplexgly enough, be both domtg congenil. She excitedly discusses ides collbortion with food bnk leders, troduces me n old friend hers lw school. Dys like dy I wish I hd nyone else mom She greets gggle th, superficil-lookg women morphs n upper-clss snobbish chrcter I don t recognize or underst. y tke couple pictures ger. My mor tries despertely pper s though she fits, but people hve seen vibrnt imges her life hs pted on her cn recognize flsity her demenor. We leve, f our sewg clss. We re, course, five mutes lte, though tuntely not lst rrive. strucr begs lecturg. My mor cnnot help but notice tht thred I ve been given is blue, my fbric, bold pttern reds, ornges, yellows. She looks round room distrctedly or colors trde. Just sme s with ny or tsk, she becomes unble follow structure or respect tended use spce, becuse her focus hs become life-ordeth mtter. clss cnnot go on until she hs found me thred tht is gog mtch. I whisper her tht we cn solve problem lter, when we strt sewg, or not t ll. threds re likely go unseen; we will only sew on side soon-be bg. Plus, I wouldn t md hvg contrst. Blue wouldn t necessrily look bd with se colors, I sist. lecture contues, but Mom terrupts my ttention every five mutes. She sks me if I underst wht s gog on, s if I need her help, s if I m cpble comprehendg or skg questions if I hve m. I whisper, Yes, Mom, I get it. Lter on, ese her nxiety, I sk her clrifyg questions (s if I don t know tht I hve hle on mteril beg tught). We get through clss with miml fightg, fet tht couldn t hve been ccomplished months go. I ve hd fe-tune my ptience meet her dynmite temper. ride home holds less tension, roles flly switch s she listens me pseudo-compl bout my friends silly shennigns, how frustrtg vigortg it is be high school, how I m still feelg bit lone sometimes but I ll fd some wy get through this growg up thg. I wish I could count ll times I ve been ld, You re r mor. words brg bout stgg feelg somewhere neurons tht process url mtion, ll frustrtions we ve hd with ech or rush wrd. Relly, I just hte thk tht we could ever be sme. Most time I resent her, but sometimes I guess it s not so bd be ld tke fter high school dropout with grdute degree. I guess it s not so bd her re like womn s lwys been ble spek her md md tht is shockgly cretive, nlyticl, thorough, usully right. On dys like dy, when I hve someone remd me tht I m not so crzy, I guess You re r mor sounds lmost like compliment me. F 16 Comment on ny rticle t TeenInk.com Teen Ink MAY 15

17 Becuse We Love You by Vlerie Trpp, Wter Prk, FL I ws six yers old when everythg chnged. Mmi y yo decidimos que dos nos vmos mudr los Estdos Unidos. It s funny how ll it tkes hold r life upside down by nkles shke it up rel bd is one sentence. And trust me, shk t nothg ply with. Oh no, life does it Jmes Potter vs. Severus Snpe style. And know wht Nightlight she hd never liked sleepg. when lights every house cross street blked f like eyes tht hd seen o much, re she ws, wke, listeng world bre. she wore socks bed. fuzzy socks, blue green purple like ones her mor wore. like se, if it were friendlier. she pushed m f with her es t end night when she knew monsters wouldn t gobble her feet. she envied drkness. she loved wy it smelled summer, when mgnoli hd long sce bloomed r fell just right. she loved glow streetlight outside her wdow how it snked between brod leves pt her wd-kissed cheeks with silver. she ws wiser t night. she collected drems like grs s glss, relly she swept m her rms built cstles ones tht mde her smile. she herd echoes strs. wishes were her nightlight, silent pryers her lullby. she styed like this, creture night, ghost herself, until her questions grew be o much her consciousness. sleep covered her like second blnket, her strry eyes got wht y hd lerned. by Grce Coberly, Ok Prk, IL I ws thrust n English-spekg school weirdest prt is? Sometimes shkg isn t ll tht bd. I ws born quite meltg pot fmily (hence, it is given tht we enjoy cheese fondue every Tuesdy night). My mor is luscious Cribben isl Domicn Republic. My fr cme be frmls Germny. Two worlds. Two cultures. One desttion. Americ. Until unripe ge six, I lived my life Domicn Republic, complete with flurry beches hols big I cnnot emphsize this enough big fmilies. Suddenly, my eight-yerold bror I were thrust n English-spekg school, spekg not drop English. Suddenly, ll se loud couss sssy grms were plne ride wy. It ws just us four Trpps gst world. Suddenly, life ws this thrillg excitg ever-scry thg. Suddenly, question Wht will hppen next? couldn t be nswered. I used ply gme with myself when I ws ng. I would thk, Oky, when re t bllet this fternoon, thk word lettuce. So I would be re dog tendues, thkg bout lettuce tht moment when I thought thk lettuce. It ws my own mi version time-trvelg: knowg wht ws gog hppen bee it did. I yerned this knowledge. My six-yer-old self hungered this control. future ws mystery now, but present ws promise. I hd three people I loved most right beside me, gog future simultneously. I didn t need some silly lettuce. One dy I sked my mom why we hd left Domicn Republic. She nswered simply, Becuse I love. n tht confused me more. If tht were true, why would she wish me struggle school? Why would she yern my filure communicte with my peers? Why did she wnt me work so hrd lern so much never, ever compl? One lerns exmple. I observed my dd s he trveled tryg mke money his fmily. I sw ters tht he didn t wnt us see but couldn t hold bck s y rolled slowly, snekily down his stubbly ch. I sw his reluctnce s he kissed my mor good-bye every Mondy morng, knowg he would miss precious moments with his fmily until he could return on Fridy. One dy I sked my dd why he put himself through this if he hted it so much. He smiled his wtery smile replied, Becuse I love. I wtched my strong, dependent mor mke plce herself this new country, never tkg no n nswer. I dmired her s she juggled her children her mbitions her husb this strnge plce. I observed s she strted her own preschool, impressg vesrs her ccented English. All I could do ws stre, mzed, s she ws recognized s Direcr Yer her school Center Yer. Noneless, I couldn t get bd times. I remember first time our Green Crd ppliction ws denied. My prents hd spent lst yer workg wrd pyg necessry fee, suddenly, ir efts were nught. Tht dy I sw my mom cryg, her hed her hs. I sked my dd why Mommy ws upset. He simply sid, Becuse she loves. Trpp fmily mot is Never give up. Our fmily crest is duck, but tht s beside pot. When our permnent residency ws denied, my prents shook ir heds pplied g. And Pho by Joy Prevost, Puer Plt, Domicn Republic Our fmily mot is Never give up know wht? y got it. Menwhile I worked my six-yer-old butt f n ttempt underst this eign ngue. four us were sme bot, mispronouncg words lughg t our mistkes. And oh, re were lots mistkes. My personl fvorite is my bror s sixth-grde trumpet strucr. poor mn ws christened Mr. Beute, but such multiculturl fmily, we were t loss s how it should be pronounced. Beuty? Boot? Buddy? Oh, Beute Enigm. Noneless, my fr clled him one eveng expl my bror s bsence due fever, greeted him, syg, Hello, Mr. Booty? He still hsn t lived tht one down. Becuse we love. Only now do I relly underst. My mom ws hppy Domicn Republic, surrounded by her crg fmily. My fr ws content not beg ced trvel so much, livg with those he loved. So why did y put mselves through ll this? And n I flly undersod. y did it me. future ws mystery, but isn t it lwys? By reloctg, y gve our futures n opportunity, chnce, glimmer hope unrvel wondrous tpestry tht would hve been unfthomble hd we styed with our little isl mds our little isl schools dremg little isl drems. My mom ld me once, When put shrk little tnk, shrk stys little. When plce it big tnk, it cn become big. My prents gve us chnce big tnk. And it s scry big tnk. re re moebs pirnhs le btch flesh-etg lemurs. (I hve n describble fer lemurs. Long sry.) Noneless, this big tnk, we hve chnce become big shrks. re s no gurntee we will. re re no promises mde future tht cn be kept. But re re endless possibilities. Love ws once defed s puttg someone else s needs bee r own. My vlint prents, my courgeous heroes, got mselves ir hopes fdg life us. I pledge honor ir work, ir lbor, ir ters swet disppotments only wy I cn lookg blurry vision future mkg pvement myself words love y hve tught me with. I love, Mom Dd. F prents Lk r TeenInk.com ccount Fcebook MAY 15 Teen Ink 17

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Pepper Pike, OH Newmn Newmn Hll, Hll, Kgsn, Kgsn, RIRI02881 RI Ler Pepper Pike, OH XXX VQC QJś FEV r Newmn Hll, Kgsn, RI Ler Rd. Pepper Pike, OHOH Ler Ler Rd. Rd. Pepper Pepper Pike, Pike, OH Newmn Hll, Kgsn, RI XXX VQC QJś FEV r XXX VQC QJś FEV r XXX VQC QJś FEV r URSULINE uri.edu/rtsci/writg/ uri.edu/rtsci/writg/ URSULINE Ler Rd. Pepper Pike, OH Brdd, PA XXX VQC QJś FEV r Ler Rd. Pepper Pike, OH Brdd, PA XXX VQC QJś FEV r URSULINE uri.edu/rtsci/writg/ URSULINE URSULINE uri.edu/rtsci/writg/ uri.edu/rtsci/writg/ Brdd, PA Brdd, Brdd, PA PA URSULINE uri.edu/rtsci/writg/ URSULINE uri.edu/rtsci/writg/ Brdd,PA PA Brdd, go go go go go go go Prcen Prcen Prcen Prcen Prcen Prcen University University University University University University Prcen simultneously strives be one Prcen simultneously strives be one Tlent teches tlent Prtt s writg Tlent teches tlent Prtt s Prtt s writg Tlent Tlent teches tlent tlent Prtt s writg writg BFA teches spirg ng writers. Tlent teches tlent Prtt s writg Prcen simultneously simultneously strives strives be one be one Tlent teches tlent Prtt s writg BFA spirg spirg ng writers. Prcen ledg reserch universities BFA BFA spirg ng ng writers. writers. Weekly discussions by guest writers Prcen simultneously strives be one Prcen simultneously strives be one BFA spirg ng writers. ledg reserch universities most ledg ledg reserch reserch universities universities BFA spirg ng writers. Weekly discussions byguest guest writers outstg undergrdute colweekly Weekly discussions discussions by by guest writers writers edirs. Ntionlly recognized ledg reserch universities ledg reserch universities Weekly discussions by guest writers most outstg undergrdute col most most outstg outstg undergrdute undergrdute colweekly discussions by guest writers edirs. Ntionlly recognized lege outstg world. We provide col-col edirs. edirs. Ntionlly Ntionlly recognized recognized rts. Beutiful residen most undergrdute most outstg undergrdute col edirs. Ntionlly recognized lege world. We provide lege lege world. world. We provide We provide edirs. recognized Ntionlly rts.rts. Beutiful residencdemic, extrcurriculr or rts. Beutiful Beutiful residenresiden- with til cmpus mutes Mnhttn. lege world. world. Weprovide provide lege cdemic, We rts.beutiful Beutiful residenwith extrcurriculr or with with cdemic, cdemic, extrcurriculr extrcurriculr or or rts. residentil cmpus mutes Mnhttn. resources, residentil community til cmpus til cmpus mutes mutes Mnhttn. Mnhttn. with cdemic, extrcurriculr or or with cdemic, tilcmpus cmpus mutes Mnhttn. resources, residentil community resources, resources, extrcurriculr residentil residentil community community til mutes Mnhttn. committed diversity. 200 Willoughby Avenue resources, residentil community resources, committed residentil community committed diversity. 200 Willoughby Avenue committed diversity. diversity Willoughby Willoughby Avenue Avenue Brooklyn, NY committed diversity. diversity. 200 Willoughby Avenue committed 200 Willoughby Avenue Brooklyn, NY Prcen, NJ Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY NY Brooklyn, NY NY Brooklyn, emil: jron@prtt.edu emil: jron@prtt.edu emil: emil: jron@prtt.edu jron@prtt.edu emil: jron@prtt.edu emil: jron@prtt.edu Prcen, NJ Prcen, Prcen, NJ NJ (609) Prcen, NJ Prcen, NJ (609) (609) (609) (609) (609) SWARTHMORE SWARTHMORE SWARTHMORE SWARTHMORE SWARTHMORE SWARTHMORE A distguished fculty, n Adistguished distguished fculty, n n A A distguished fculty, fculty, n novtive curriculum Adistguished distguished fculty, n A fculty, n novtive curriculum novtive novtive curriculum curriculum outstg undergrdutes fer novtive curriculum novtive curriculum outstg undergrdutes fer outstg outstg undergrdutes undergrdutes fer fer unprlleled opportunities outstg undergrdutes fer outstg undergrdutes fer unprlleled opportunities unprlleled unprlleled opportunities opportunities tellectul growth on beutiful unprlleled opportunities unprlleled opportunities tellectul growth onon beutiful beutiful tellectul tellectul growth growth on beutiful Clini cmpus. tellectul growth on beutiful tellectul growth on beutiful Clini cmpus. Clini Clini cmpus. cmpus. Clinicmpus. cmpus. Clini Mongtg Hll 355 Glves St. Mongtg Hll 355 Glves Mongtg Mongtg Hll Hll 355 Glves 355 Glves St.St. St. Stnd, CA Mongtg Hll GlvesSt.St. Mongtg Hll Glves Stnd, CA94305 Stnd, Stnd, CA CA Stnd, CA Stnd, CA Locted Loctedbeutiful beutifulnorstern norstern Locted beutiful norstern Locted Locted beutiful Wilkes beutiful norstern norstern Pennsylvni, isisn Pennsylvni, Wilkes ndependent dependent Locted beutiful norstern Locted dedicted beutiful norstern Pennsylvni, Wilkes iscdemic n dependent Pennsylvni, Pennsylvni, Wilkes Wilkes iscdemic n isdependent n dependent stitution excellence, stitution dedicted excellence, Pennsylvni, Wilkes is ndependent dependent Pennsylvni, Wilkes iscdemic n stitution dedicted cdemic excellence, stitution stitution dedicted dedicted cdemic excellence, excellence, menrg hs-on lerng. Wilkes menrgdedicted hs-on lerng. Wilkes stitution cdemic excellence, stitution dedicted cdemic excellence, menrg hs-on lerng. Wilkes menrg menrg hs-on hs-on lerng. lerng. Wilkes Wilkes fers more thn 36 progrms phrmcy, fers more thn 36 progrms phrmcy, menrg hs-on lerng. Wilkes menrg hs-on lerng. Wilkes fers more thn 36progrms progrms phrmcy, fers fers more more thn thn phrmcy, phrmcy, liberl rts sciences, sciences, liberl rtsprogrms busess. busess. fers more thn 36 progrms phrmcy, fers more thn 36 progrms phrmcy, sciences, sciences, liberl rts busess. sciences, liberl liberl rts rts busess. busess. sciences, liberlrts rts busess. busess. Check out sciences, liberl Check outwww.becolonel.com. Check out Check Check out out Check outwww.becolonel.com Check out West South Street 84 West South Street 84 West South Street 84 West 84 West South South Street StreetI I1-800-WILKES-U Wilkes-Brre, PA WILKES-U Wilkes-Brre, PA West South Street 84 West SouthPA Street Wilkes-Brre, PA WILKES-U Wilkes-Brre, Wilkes-Brre, PA I I1-800-WILKES-U I WILKES-U Wilkes-Brre,PA PA I I1-800-WILKES-U WILKES-U Wilkes-Brre, A liberl rts 1,500 liberl rts 1,500 AAliberl A liberl rts rts 1,500 1,500 ner Phildelphi, Swrthmore liberl rts 1,500 AAliberl rts 1,500 ner Phildelphi, Swrthmore ner ner Phildelphi, Phildelphi, Swrthmore Swrthmore is recognized terntionlly its nerphildelphi, Phildelphi, Swrthmore Swrthmore recognized terntionlly its its isisrecognized is ner recognized terntionlly terntionlly its climte cdemic excitement is recognized terntionlly its is recognized terntionlly its climte cdemic excitement climte climte cdemic cdemic excitement excitement commitment betterg world. climtecdemic cdemic excitement climte excitement commitment betterg world. commitment commitment betterg betterg world. world. A unlike ny or. commitment unlike betterg world. world. commitment unlike betterg nyor. or. AA A unlike ny ny or. unlike unlikeny nyor. or. AA 500 College Ave College Ave. 500 College College Ave. Swrthmore, PAAve College College Ave. 500 Ave. Swrthmore, PA Swrthmore, Swrthmore, PA PA Swrthmore, PA Swrthmore, PA Yle College, undergrdute body YleUniversity, College, undergrdute body Yle Yle College, College, undergrdute body body Yle is undergrdute highly selective liberl YleCollege, College, undergrdute body Yle undergrdute body Yle University, is highly selective liberl Yle Yle University, University, is highly is highly selective selective liberl rtsuniversity, enrollg 5,200 liberl Yle University, is highly highly selective liberl Yle isenrollg selective liberl rts enrollg 5,200 rts rts enrollg 5,200 5,200 over 70 mjorenrollg progrms. Residentil life rts enrollg 5,200 rts 5,200 is over 70 mjor progrms. Residentil life is is over over 70 mjor 70 mjor progrms. progrms. Residentil Residentil life islife orgnized round Residentil Colleges over 70mjor mjor progrms. Residentil lifeisis over 70 progrms. Residentil life orgnized round Residentil Colleges orgnized orgnized round round Residentil Residentil Colleges Colleges whereround live et. orgnized round Residentil Colleges orgnized Residentil Colleges where livelive et. where where live et. et. where live et. et. where live P.O. Box P.O. BoxBox P.O. P.O. Box New Hven, CT P.O. Box P.O. Box New Hven, CTCT New New Hven, Hven, CT New Hven, CT New Hven, CT MEET THE BULLY, THE BULLIED, AND THE BYSTANDER. MEET THE BULLY, THE BULLIED, AND THE BYSTANDER. MEET MEET THE THE BULLY, BULLY, THE THE BULLIED, BULLIED, AND AND THE THE BYSTANDER. MEET THE BULLY, THE BULLIED, AND THE BYSTANDER. MEET THE BULLY, THE BULLIED, AND THE BYSTANDER. BYSTANDER. Victim: Victim: Victim: Victim: Victim: I wsvictim: girl got clled ft every sgle dy. girl k n I n Tee ive ws girlgirl gotgot clled ftft every sgle dy. girlgirl I I Iws I ws got clled clled ft every sgle sgle dy. dy. girl ws girl girl gotby clled ftevery every sgle dy. girl I ws girl got clled ft every sgle girl cmouflged her p lughg relly hrddy. tlkg o cmouflged her p byby lughg relly hrd tlkg oo cmouflged cmouflged her her p p by lughg relly relly hrd hrd tlkg tlkg o cmouflged her p bylughg lughg relly hrd tlkg o cmouflged lughg relly hrd o loud, drowngher outp by demeng comments. tlkg girl fightg loud, drowng ouut demeng comments. girlgirl fightg loud, loud, drowng drowng out demeng demeng comments. comments. girl fightg fightg loud, drowng out demeng demeng comments. girl girlevery fightg loud, drowng comments. fightg n ternl bttleout get up, get redy, go school nn ternl bttle get getget up,up, getget redy, gogo school school every n ternl ternl bttle bttle up, get redy, redy, go school every every nternl ternl bttleget getup, up,get getredy, redy, go goschool schoolevery every n morng... bttle morng morng morng morng morng.. Elizbeth Ditty Elizbeth Ditty Elizbeth Elizbeth Ditty Ditty Elizbeth Ditty Elizbeth Ditty t e r c e s e s onl s cl g n i t wri r e m m u si IIused is beg bully doesn t sve meme or bullies. used beg.. beg bully bully doesn t doesn t sve sve me or or bullies. I used hbullies. t beg bully doesn t sve me or bullies. used s.. thk beg bully doesn t sve me or bullies. I used s tht, somehow, rmentg ors would grnt me l c thk tht, somehow, rmentg ors would grnt meme thk thk tht, tht, somehow, somehow, rmentg rmentg ors ors would would grnt grnt me e k thk tht, somehow, rmentg ors would grnt me 5 thk tht, somehow, rmentg ors would grnt me 1 T 0 immunity beg rmented. It didn t. Becuse beg bully 2 y l immunity beg rmented. Itdidn t. didn t. Becuse beg bully immunity immunity beg beg rmented. rmented. It It didn t. Becuse Becuse beg beg bully bully u J immunity beg rmented. It didn t. Becuse beg bully & immunity beg rmented. It didn t. Becuse beg bully e doesn t mke scry; it n mkes worthless. u Jscry; doesn t mke scry; mkes worthless. doesn t doesn t mke mke scry; itititmkes it mkes worthless. worthless. r doesn t mke scry; mkes worthless. doesn t mke scry; it mkes worthless. one ye Wow. only book Wow. only book Wow. Wow. only only book book Wow. only book bout problem Wow. only book bout problem bout bout problem problem bout problem bullyg entirely written bout problem bullyg entirely written bullyg bullyg entirely entirely written written bullyg entirely written by teengers. I know ir bullyg entirely written by teengers. I know ir by by teengers. teengers. I know I know ir ir byteengers. teengers. know ir personl sries will move by I Iknow ir personl sries will move personl personl sries sries will will move move personl sries will move, nger, spire personl sries will move, nger, spire,, nger nger,, spire spire,nger ngerscre,spire spire even.,, even scre. even even scre scre. evenscre scre.. even. R.L. Ste, uthor R.L. Ste, uthor R.L. R.L. Ste, Ste, uthor uthor R.L. Ste, uthor Ste, uthor R.L. Goosebumps series Goosebumps series Goosebumps Goosebumps series series Goosebumps Goosebumpsseries series Bully: Bully: Bully: Bully: Bully: Bully:... beg bully doesn t sve me or bullies. I used Ortiz ee Michel fr Michel Michel Ortiz e Michel Ortiz v i e c e. Michel e zortiz Michel Ortiz Ortiz lr g l i w m s t k In Byster: Studen o Teen t Byster: Byster: Byster: n o i t ible. Byster: Byster: rip is difficult even re elig bscbully Sometimes chngg But u -19 impossible. s 3 1 s e Sometimes chngg bully is difficult even impossible. But Sometimes Sometimes chngg chngg bully bully is difficult is difficult even even impossible. impossible. But But g gers Sometimes chngg bully is even impossible. But difficult ndifficult chngg Onbully isbullied even impossible. But tee if Sometimes don t try, those will never know how much lyre don t try,try, those rere bullied willwill never know how much ififif if don t don t try, those those re bullied bullied will never never know know how how much much don t try, those rebullied bullied willnever never know how much if don t try, those re will know how much cre, those bully will contue thk ir ctions cre, those bully willwill contue thk thk ir ctions cre, cre, those those bully bully will contue contue thk ir ir ctions ctions cceptble. cre, those those bullywill will contue thk thk irctions ctions cre, bully ir re Youteenk.com/writgclsses.com cn choose contue rem silent byster, or Go rere cceptble. You cn choose rem silent byster, oror re cceptble. cceptble. You You cn cn choose choose rem rem silent silent byster, byster, or re cceptble. You cn choose rem silent byster, or re cceptble. You cn chooseors. rem silent byster, or cn tke cll st defend It s up. or cn tke st defend ors. It s up. cn cn tke tke st st defend defend ors. ors. It s It s up up.. Enrolled lso receive ors. free cn cntke tkewill st st defend ors.it s It s up.. defend Rey Enrolled willwill lso receive free Enrolled Enrolled will lso receive receive free free up Bridgette one-yer subscription Teen Ink mgze. Bridgette Rey Enrolled willlso lso receive free Bridgette Bridgette Rey Rey Enrolled will lso receive free Bridgette Rey one-yer subscription Teen Ink mgze. one-yer one-yer subscription subscription Teen Ink mgze. mgze. Bridgette Rey one-yer subscription Teen Teen InkInk mgze. one-yer subscription Teen Ink mgze. 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20 reviews Drexel U N I V E R S I T Y Phildelphi, PA: I hve yet visit tht I dislike. From Connecticut New York City Pennsylvni, ech I ur hs its own unique fergs tht mke up ny potentil flws. Drexel University is one mny I visited on my gr Norstern ur, but it ws one most memorble. Drexel is fst-pced cdemic stitution hert Phildelphi, n utterly chrmg city. Its student body comprises over 26,000, cludg 14,800 undergrdutes, 4,600 grdutes, 5,000 onle. It is huge, thrivg urbn university with pproximtely 200 degree progrms. Almost every mjor under sun is vilble, but school is most well known its science engeerg progrms. Drexel especilly emphsizes student prticiption scientific reserch. Over $110 million sponsor support is donted ech yer wrd reserch. This is just one highlights university s fergs. Drexel fers p-notch cdemic progrms tht provide with hs-on lerng outside clssroom. Perhps Drexel s most notble progrm (which encourged me visit university) is co-op, n ternship vilble exclusively Drexel. co-op cn be pid or unpid, dependg on specifictions compny where student terns. All re required prticipte this progrm, which extends trditionl four yers five. I fd tht this is ultimte eductionl experience, especilly someone is lookg network help fd job fter grdution. co-op typiclly perts student s mjor. For exmple, pre-lw student spent her first yer terng Jils Jobs, pro bono service tht helps mer prisoners look employment. My ur guide, ws studyg crimology, ws tken by co-op progrm provides vluble firsth experience her pressors grisly crime scenes (à l CSI ), murder trils, even jil. After tht firsth experience, she trded crimology much less ghstly mjor communictions. This hs-on experience is dispensble helpg decide wher or not mjor or creer is right m. It is this direct experience tht urged me pply. re re myrid subjects study t Drexel University with 15 dividul s. I found tht Drexel s cdemics were comprehensive diverse. Just imge cross section people will meet uncontrollble spred ides tht will flow between or! possibilities re endless. Accordg Insider s Guide Colleges, Drexel fers 136 extrcurriculr ctivities. Most volve fe rts, such s b, orchestr, dnce, musicl ter. Music, ter, dnce re fered only s mors. But don t let tht stifle r cretivity! Drexel s extrcurriculr musicl ter progrm is quite distguished goes well beyond level. Accordg my ur guide, most sports fered t Drexel re t n trmurl rr thn ntionl level. Drexel does not hve university footbll tem, but it does hve most or sports, cludg cheerledg, bsketbll, rowg. Athletics is not s emphsized here s t mny s. cmpus is not spectculr. re is no unifyg style rchitecture. biology buildg is bsolutely stunng, however! It is new, very contemporry, fetures wooden spirl stircse modeled fter shpe DNA. Durg my ur, I hd my first ever opportunity visit dorm room, which ws certly eye-openg. I hd no picture my hed wht dorm looked like, so I ws mzed by how smll it ws. Roommtes my be grouped by mjor. room I visited ws honors. It ws skyscrper-like buildg tht provided fntstic views Phildelphi. Overll, I felt tht dorms were very bsic. showers were smll, ctul room ws ty. But I do underst tht this is ll prt livg, I ll rem open-mded. Despite its few drwbcks, I like Drexel. I believe tht ir cdemics re p-notch will provide me with ols I need become registered dietitin. I like ide co-op progrm vluble firsth experience tht I cn g outside clssroom. Drexel is solid ll becuse re is somethg everyone. You cn defitely go bove beyond with Drexel eduction. For more mtion, visit F by Dnielle Green, Westbury, NY Pho by Angel Bentley, New York, NY U N I V E R S I T Y O F Wshgn Settle, WA: Although I m still ng be thkg bout, I ve hd my eye on University Wshgn Settle while now. Sce I m competitive gymnst, my serch begn t end eighth grde, hopes erng scholrship. Gymnstics is sport tht recruits thletes s ng s 13, so s result, I strted visitg schools much erlier thn most. Settle is 3,000 miles New Jersey long wy home my prents origlly lughed t prospect me gog school so fr wy. I eventully convced m tke me visit on one condition: if I did end up enrollg re, I would move bck Est Cost fter I grduted. After flight six hours, we rrived Settle begn explore. I m huge fn Grey s Anmy, which is set Settle, so it hs lwys been my drem visit city. We ok elevr up Spce Needle sw unique view city frmed by snow-cpped mounts crystl cler wter. n we visited University Wshgn cmpus, home purple gold Huskies. We were dropped f front Husky Stdium, overlookg Lke Wshgn Cscde Mounts. stdium hs beutiful lke behd it where people tilgte bee footbll gmes. I lredy strted imge myself s future Husky. Rnked 14th globlly by U.S. News World Report, University Wshgn is public stitution. Undergrdute enrollment t Settle cmpus is pproximtely 30,000. After my visit, I completely underst why school is so ppelg. Not only does it hve credible Division 1 sports, University Wshgn s cdemics re very prestigious. Students tke cdemics thletics very seriously Acdemics re significnt prt, but culture gymnstics progrm is eqully s importnt me, s I would be spendg 20 hours per week with tem coches. After just one dy with coches, I felt very comtble round m. It ws esy imge myself trustg m becuse ir wrm personlities, love sport, honesty. I found strong blnce t UW. It is cler tht tke both cdemics thletics very seriously exctly wht I ws lookg. All fcilities re stte rt, dorms re super clen br-new. It hs feel cmpus school, but mzg city Settle is nerby s well. I completely fell love with school; even herg bout ry wer Settle couldn t mke me love it less. I left University Wshgn with nothg negtive report, except mybe distnce home. My prents I figured it would be good experience me live out West few yers escpe hustle livg ner New York City. Just few weeks lter, my drem prticiptg Division 1 thletics cme closer relity when I received ccepted verbl commitment University Wshgn. College is still few yers wy, but I cn t wit be prt such n mzg plce. All positives mke up distnce I will hve trvel, I couldn t be ny hppier be ble sy tht I m gog be Husky gymnst Fd out more on ir website: F by Rchel Kpln, Frnkl Lkes, NJ 20 Comment on ny rticle t TeenInk.com Teen Ink MAY 15

21 Firy-Tle Fllcy by Kyl Mrtez, Meville, LA Once, twice, three times s well, durg specific time specific mde-up plce, re lived pretty girl not-so-pretty life. She st round despir becuse she could not go bll or leve wer or wke up her slumber until hsome prce cme sved her, n two sng little bit were mrried lmost stntneously. Why re firy tles so sexist? Why does prcess need help, nywy? Why is prce her truest love? Why is she lwys gorgeous slender? I d relly like see plus-sized prcess once! Why re se prcesses so open beg prizes men sve why re y ll stright? One thg tht bors me bout Disney movies, firy tles generl, is tht exterior beuty is Why does prcess need help, nywy? ten equted with beuty on side. Thk bout it: Ursul ( Little Art by Sr Grdner, Lke Stevens, WA Mermid ) ws hideous, Cruell ( 101 Dlmtins ) ws gruesome, we ll sw Rpunzel s wreck stepmom ( Tngled ). In relity, cn be gorgeous not skny or not-so-nice slim person becuse re is no mold rel beuty. Also, negtive people r life re not lwys unplesnt look t. I remember first time I sw pho Hitler. I ws expectg some gresy, grizzly, gross best depths hell, wht I sw ws n verge-lookg mn. Beuty outside hs nothg do with wht is with. I, one, would like see more prcesses fight with ir prents like Merid Brve, wke up droolg like Ann Frozen, re quisitive like Rpunzel Tngled, re dremers like Ariel Little Mermid, don t look perfect 99.9 percent time. I, one, would like see lesbin prcess, or Disney sry revolvg round n LGBT chrcter. It would be groundbrekg hve firy-tle world dmit tht love is love. I, one, would like see prcess mke mistkes, sy thgs she shouldn t, del with consequences without hvg be rescued. I, one, would like see spunky girl sve prce, sted or wy round. We re next genertion. We re ones will enter world hit it hrd. Do wnt r bby cous, or r bror, or r future children grow up world where it isn t enough be verge weight height, where y feel persecuted m y love? Do wnt this world rem bised? I don t. And I believe tht we cn chnge world get rid se stereotypes. F Thick, Curly, Big Thick, curly, big. Some see it s politicl sttement, ors side effect beg Africn Americn. Wht do I thk? I ccept my hir s nturl spect I m, but this ws not lwys cse. For most my life my mor used relxers tubs custic chemicls tht would strip my hir its nturl protes temporrily strighten my hir. I remember ll times I cried p gettg my hir relxed every two months. My mor would ssure me tht p ws worth beuty, I gve her, becuse my hir would look like everyone else s everyone beg my white clssmtes. relxer mde my hir long, stright, controlled. It ws presentble, fit be seen. My hir would blow wd could be brushed bck ponytil like my white clssmtes. And so I blended. I grew up believg tht werg my hir stright ws socilly cceptble thg do. Whenever I sw successful blck womn medi, she hd stright hir. I lehertedly believed tht if I wnted be like m, be ccepted, I would hve look like m succumb society s strds. As high school pproched, though, I decided try somethg new. I shved f ll my hir plnned let it grow bck nturlly. Untuntely, my mor did not gree with this decision. She ws I cried p gettg my hir relxed by She Omonijo, Owgs Mills, MD frid tht I would now be judged not only my sk color, but by my hir. This belief hs cused schism Africn Americn community. re re women relx ir hir those choose not. I hve hd people prise me my brve trnsition, but ors shme me, syg tht I look unpressionl, uneducted, very Africn. Well, I m Africn Nigerin, fct which mkes very Africn very ignornt sult. equlity tht Africn Americn girls with nturl hir fce is ppllg. re re girls hve been expelled ir schools werg ir hir nturlly. re re well-educted women re denied jobs becuse y were born with nturlly curly hir refuse fit socil norms. A femle s eduction creer cn be put jeoprdy if her hir doesn t fit Eurocentric strds. This is clerly rcism. only wy erdicte equlity is chnge wht it mens be norml pressionl. I, ors like me, m dire need Africn Americn women positions ledership power wer ir hir nturlly. Only n will ng Africn Americn girls feel tht it is possible be y re nturlly still be successful. If no one will rise up, I will. I will be successful, nturl-hired Africn Americn womn. F I Am Hero I shook dissolved bems pride p s Neiel Isrel spoke le existence: Every dy blck mn wlks He is like Jesus, Terrified crucifixion. He strides down Newbury Street respondg peripherl glnces His fellow humn begs with million-dollr smile. Fellow humn begs relte Him no or spect. Mrchg melody sirens signlg His evitble doom s mythicl cretures once did heroes. But He is neir Odysseus Ithc nor Achilles wrrior. It is not wr Troy we re fightg. He fers no Cyclops. His heel is secure. Yet He qukes shivers t sirens tht dissolve His Compn relese His Prcen s He struggles bury twng beneth His extensive vernculr. monsters, o rel mythology, tht shckle His flme with cuffs but cnnot remove rhythm his wlk. y stel his pride colonize his kd levg him with nothg but rhythm Holy God. And y leve us with broken And y leve us with power becuse He is still flwless. Jesus hngg, niled burden tht he hd built crried on his own bloody bck, rolled his hed wrd Hevens begged his Fr; To give m, y know not wht y do. by Kennie Etienne, Bosn, MA pride & prejudice Lk r TeenInk.com ccount Fcebook MAY 15 Teen Ink 21

22 pots view Deth Chivlry by Ann Sugrue, Phildelphi, PA term gentlemn, creted durg Middle Ages, origlly ment mn noble birth title. A gentlemn ws not expected be chivlrous, or even mible; chivlry honesty, fir tretment, gr respect ldies ws ssocited with knights. Upon extction knight, however, gentlemn dopted knights temperment. By Jne Austen s time, lte 18th- erly 19th-century Engl, gentlemn hd both high birth impeccble mnners. essence gentlemn, s John Rusk put it, is wht word sys, tht he comes pure gens [Lt fmily ], or is perfectly bred. After tht, gentleness sympthy, or kd disposition fe imgtion. Over centuries, this regrd gentlemnly mnners generl culture hs decresed. Tody, women ten compl tht chivlry is ded; however, tht is not quite cse. Chivlry is not ded, but rr suppressed by modern culturl imge msculity. In Jne Austen s time, men, gentlemen cluded, were leders ll spects life. Men owned busesses, ruled countries, supported fmily, drove crriges, butchered cows, mrried f ir dughters ir msculity ws ir power. ir power ws ir msculity. But, ls, sgle men did not hve power over sgle women, gentlemn s grce ws only wy chrm womn mrrige. With womn, gentlemn could secure full unbreched power. Beg mscule hs, course, lwys been tied not beg feme. In Jne Austen s time, difference between msculity femity ws much simpler thn it is dy. Pho by Tli Bernste, Aps, CA Men wore pnts; women wore dresses. Men pid bills; women bore children did needlework. Beg polite, courteous, grcious were trits expected men women like. n, t turn century, women begn evolve ir defition femity, msculity ws ced chnge with it. In 1919 women ged right vote. Rosie Riveter thouss or Americn women proved ir economic worth durg World Wr II. In 1960s, women strted regulrly werg pnts, birth control pill becme populr. Women fought power control ir own lives, y won. Tody, men do not hve nerly s much power s y once did. As women ged dependence, men lost control, y struggled defe ir msculity through or mens. Thus begn evolution modern mn. In 1960s, sexulity hd begun mke n ppernce medi. Men were troduced ide bchelor, Plyboy mgze ws published. With populriztion birth control pill, public begn ccept sexully ctive sgle womn. On cusp new er sexulity fcg stedy decle ir power, men replced gentlemnly mnners with bltntly sex-motivted seduction. Msculity becme bility convce womn tke f her clos. With ir control ebbg workce t home, men used sex s ol once g feel domnt, powerful, mscule. Along with bility seduce, modern msculity idelizes physicl strength s key ttrct, hold on, womn. In medievl er, knights used ir strength fight chivlrously. In Jne Austen s time, men used ir strength provide Gentlemnly mnners hve been pushed side ir fmilies. Tessterone hs lwys grced men with muscle growth physicl power, but until modern ge ugmenttion sex culture, how ned mn s body ws did not ffect his public or privte mscule identity. Gentlemnly mnners hve thus been pushed side by sexulity brute strength. If mn ttempts be gentlemnly now, women my tke fense. Femists begn see gentlemnly ctions like men openg doors women s ptronizg, s if womn could not open door herself. On or h, some dependent progressive ng women still expect men buy m flowers py bill on dte. culturl chnges over pst 200 yers hve confused gender roles, public expecttions gender-specific behvior hve become difficult comprehend. From knights Mr. Drcy Chnng Ttum, defitions msculity chivlry re lwys evolvg. Women dy my compl bout deth gentlemn; however, women, ir fluence on convoluted course gender evolution, my hve been killers. If chivlry is come bck life, its ssocitions with mle superiority must be discrded, s y hve no relevnce dy. Men women must disregrd old defitions gender simply show y enjoy compny ir compnions crete hppy stte gender hrmony. F Prom-blem by Mikyl Toce, Wersfield, CT Ah, prom, tht four-letter word tht somehow mnges drive ll teenge girls sne. dress. shoes. hir. dte! Why do we cre so much bout this one night? Sdly, teenge girls ttch lot our self-worth this event. Prom becomes wy show f. Girls ttend with dte feel superior those don t. It feels s though if ren t sked out, re unworthy will be lone rest Why do we cre so much bout this one night? r life. All teenge girls re beutiful specil ir own wy. I thk it is time tht we embrce unique trits tht mke us we re sp worryg bout wher we will get sked prom. So wht if don t get dte? Tht doesn t men cn t go prom hve just s much fun s everyone else. One option tht most people fil consider is gog prom with friends. I love my friends, we hve so much fun ger tht I cn t imge nyone I d rr get dressed up go dncg with. We her so much bout prom tht glorifies romntic spects, like proposls or tkg pictures with r dte. I blme socil medi this. Just few mutes go, I went on Instgrm sw bunch prom proposls by people I know. Did it mke me sd? Yes, becuse I wnt guy do tht me. And I know I m not lone. I m feelg tht time is runng out I ll never be sked. Sigh. But I hve keep remdg myself tht it s only one night. It doesn t reflect my worth or my future love life. It just reflects my desire fit with crowd need tht I wish I did not feel I needed. So I implore, don t let prom get down. Relly. I know I hven t met, but believe me, re beutiful, re unique, hve so mny good thgs gog. Femles supportg or femles is very importnt. We ll my not like ech or, but we ll generlly go through sme thgs. I hope go prom enjoy it wher it s with r best buds or with someone re dtg. Just remember it s only one night. F Pho by Michell Beecher, Dvie, FL 22 Comment on ny rticle t TeenInk.com Teen Ink MAY 15

23 Ashmed Be Americn? by Delney Dvis, Grpeve, TX Americn culture is obsessed with ptriotism. Most this is completely nocent imges Americn flg, bsebll, pple pie, iconic bld egle. Yet se symbols Americn pride re mskg somethg more sister. Our egocentrism blds us fct tht we re not gretest country world, but rr one with mny problems tht need be fixed. For exmple, some Americns hve yet relize tht our country is still extremely rcist. Mny seem believe tht when President Johnson signed Civil Rights Act 1964, rcism mgiclly ended long with segregtion s if ll tht ws needed erse centuries tension ws mere signture. But 2015, rcism is still prevlent our society. Mike Brown, Eric Grdner, Tmir Rice cses clerly demonstrte tht our lw encement system is corrupt with not only brutlity but prejudice. I hve blck friends re petrified werg hoodies t night becuse y re frid beg lbeled thugs beg ttcked by police. A clssmte ld sry bout how police cr would follow her fr every morng while he jogged through his neighborhood. Prejudice isn t just confed police, however. One my techers once climed tht rivl school hd better test scores becuse it hd more white. When someone ws tlkg bout teenge girl ws pregnnt, nor replied, Well, she is Mexicn. I once overherd group people, people I considered friends, mkg joke bout Muslim girl hidg bomb her hijb. Sdly, rcist Islmophobic comments like se re commonplce Americ. Anor kd prejudice tht runs rmpnt Americn society is sexism. It is ten gotten tht women only ged right vote hundred yers go. Until 1993, it ws completely legl husbs rpe ir wives without beg punished. Tody, women re still treted s lesser thn men. In 2013, women erned 78 cents compred every dollr men erned. Accordg Institute Ptriotic imges msk somethg more sister Women s Policy Reserch, women will rech py prity with men Our genertion will be nerg retirement by n! Our helth cre decisions re lso subject opions our lwmkers mostly rich, white men will never experience ny women-specific helth issues. In fct, women mke up only 19.4 percent Congress. At nnul ceremony durg which my school outles rules yer, 20 mutes multiple PowerPot slides were dedicted school dress code. Sexul hrssment punishments, however, only got mesly prgrph. This problem is just sympm rpe culture Americ hs dopted women s clothg choices become n issue rpe llegtions. Often first question girl is sked when she revels tht she ws rped is Wht were werg? In Americ, short skirt high heels re viewed s n vittion rpe. A boy t my school sid tht his fvorite Disney prcess ws Ariel becuse she ws hlf-nked pssed out. Is rpe relly somethg joke bout? While LGBT rights hve mde substntil gs recent yers, homophobi is yet nor issue plgug l free. Only 14 sttes hve not mde move wrd mrrige equlity, but tht doesn t men homophobi hs been erdicted. Gy men still fce stigm when dontg blood due popultion s high risk AIDS. Trnsgender teens re still denied right exist openly n issue tht ged ntionl ttention with trgic suicide Leelh Alcorn, 17-yer-old trnsgender teen Ohio. Sex eduction still bltntly ignores gender, levg teens my not fit trditionl gender lbels confused vulnerble. Given se issues which re sdly only tip iceberg, becuse I ve filed mention immigrtion, gun control, helth cre, or pressg problems I feel uncomtble proclimg loudly tht I m proud be n Americn! How cn I press unbridled love my country when I m sickened by its ternl problems? Of course, I m wre tht I m extremely privileged hve freedoms tht I hve, I m not tkg m grnted. But I m not overflowg with pride be n Americn. I m different my ntionlity. It is simply fct bout me, like my blonde hir green eyes. When Americ collectively mkes conscious eft fix long list problems we hve, I will never sp tlkg bout how proud I m be n Americn. F Americn Steerg Wheels Justice is joke this isn t l free our flg bsiclly mens nothg me. People ren t us sy thgs hve chnged, tht I dvise sty r lne. It s esy mesure wht s not flicted on. Americ s lies re only thgs tht re true. A boy sme ge, height, dresses like me ws shot multiple times left ded street. His killer swore serve protect. Isn t it scry thk tht I could be next? Insted curg problem we try cure ALS. Murderg unrmed blck teens needs be lid rest. But Americ, we re problem cops re murderers o. Why would I cll em? You re sick me tlkg it? Try livg it. Becuse not much hs chnged sce civil rights period. Insted trustg justice system, we fer it. Becuse wrong wy is where Americ hs been steer. by Kmeron Brown, Council Bluffs, IA pots view Bikis Are Exhustg by Lex Ellenthl, Old Greenwich, CT re s somethg very tirg me bout bikis. Get pst ir typiclly cute ppernce ve got some strnge little scrps fbric. re s medley resons why I fd bikis exhustg. Mly, it s werg m. Like mny clos mde women, bikis re not designed comt or utility. While certly better those respects thn swimmg costumes women wore hundred yers go, y re not idel swimwer. Look t bthg suits designed by Vicri s Secret see wht I men. y re beutiful, but y ve got thgs hngg f m pieces metl eir no pddg t ll or n bsurd mount it. se thgs re designed not comt werer or mke swimmg esier, but mke women look decortive. I m tired stiff discomt feelg like Puttg on biki cn be serious crobtic fet fish out wter. I m tired needg cert kd bthg suit be ble feel confident. I m tired it not beg remotely esy fd biki my size, becuse girls my size ren t supposed be werg somethg so revelg. I once hd cutest biki ever. It ws fire enge red with white polk dots, it ws ll kds strppy. But it ws next impossible put on. I thk I only wore it three times becuse it required wrdrobe crew help me get it on. It mde me wery. By time suit ws on, I no longer felt like gog bech or pool. I felt like wtchg TV or tkg np. It mkes me ngry tht swimsuits, ll thgs, re so exhustg. And I m tired beg ngry. Women re not decortions. We re humn begs. Shoppg bikis, especilly if re curvy, wipes girl out. Puttg on biki cn be serious crobtic fet. I don t wnt spend ll my energy gettg redy swim. I wnt spend my energy swimmg dog or summertime ctivities. Plus, once I m werg biki, I get relly self-conscious wntg people tell me I look good, but not wntg be objectified t sme time which is possibly s sigh-ducg s hlg lrge group smll children. I don t like tht I feel relieved when I flly chnge out biki. I don t thk it should be like tht. When guys tke f ir swim trunks, do y exhle slump, gld be llowed chnce rest? Somehow, I doubt it. Mybe it s just me, but I feel like this issue isn t just bout bikis. Too mny clos designed women re tiresome mde decortive purposes. And I don t even hve energy be ngry bout it. F Lk r TeenInk.com ccount Fcebook MAY 15 Teen Ink 23

24 helth Medittion Schools by Molly, Blcklick, OH schedule Americn teenger drowns us. Accordg Americn Psychologicl Assocition, ng dults re now most stressed ge group. This stress not only hrsses our dys, it lso trudes upon snctury our slumber; ten report sleepless nights. problem is not wht our eduction system is dog, but wht it is not dog. High schools do not tech how revive ir overctive mds, bodies, spirits. This cn only be done through ncient prctice medittion. Medittion should be required high schools becuse it reduces Pho by Joey Rushfield, Rockville, MD stress levels, leds restful sleep, improves br functions tht help chieve cdemic success. Envision this: You rise bed bee sun hstily rush f school, where struggle sleepily through clsses coursework. A quick moment is llowed socilizg, n drg r body f extrcurriculr ctivities tht promise rounded trnscript. Homework, homework, homework. n, suddenly, re under sheets, ttemptg sleep. Sound fmilir? This is typicl dy n Americn teenger, sprt through hours reps stress. As most nxiety comes cdemics, it is responsibility high schools fer some relief. Medittion is best ol relieve stress. Accordg Chopr Center, Medittion mitigtes effects fight-or-flight response, decresg production stress hormones, such s cortisol drenle. High schools should provide time dy relx body md, brek poisonous monony stred schedule. For medittion be effective, it needs lst just 15 mutes dy. process is simple: sit cler r md negtive thoughts. Lck sleep is nor unhelthy spect teen life tht cn be esed with medittion. Accordg process is simple: sit cler r md University Texs, Teens don t get enough sleep re four times s likely s well-rested teens develop mjor depressive disorder. Medittion works by sweepg out xic thoughts trg br let go worries. When lern control troubled thkg, y will be ble snooze comtbly. This cretes more nourished md tht is redy tckle tests busy dys. Flly, medittion is wonderful wy improve high school experience overll. Vrious stressors lked with socil life, such s peer pressure desire cceptnce, become more lerble through medittion. Chopr Center sys tht medittion fers refuge pful, ferful, or ngry thoughts provides greter self-understg. This is prticulrly useful re begng serch process. Incresed tuitive powers, improved bility concentrte, exped consciousness re just few benefits medittion. People meditte lso hve lower blood pressure. It is surprisg tht medittion is not lredy mry prt school. Schools re msters implntg good hbits ng people; it is time tht y encourge cusm tht will replenish teengers help m hle chllenges rigorous school dy. F More thn Little Nervous by Violet, Mes, AZ As I pproched yet nor one my high school techers with hope weselg out presenttion, I crefully prepred my rgument my md. By this time I ws ll o fmilir with credulous remrks techers ten mde when fced with se requests. Everyone gets nervous bout clss presenttions. You ll be fe. You re just workg rself up bout it. As I pleded my usul clims I hve severe nxiety I hve pssed out bee, I couldn t fd trce empthy on her fce. My hert filled not with disppotment but with rge rge tht overflowed surged pnic ttck. Nobody undersod my nxiety. It ws complex, sister, control. I could feel my gut wrenchg, my plms tglg. My chest ched, I gsped breth between desperte uncontrollble sobs. My hert rced filled with worry fer. I begn shke. My br reeled with thoughts thgs evil tuntg until I thought I might vomit. se re sympms pnic ttck, common sidekick nxiety. If ve never hd one, experience cn be described s beg held t gunpot, except r br is gun. Your own md is workg gst, threteng cuse p until h over relief its oppressor, fer. Wht is fered is different ech nxiety sufferer; me it ws ny socil sitution, cockroches, ocen, needles, heights, cold, spekg front lrge groups. My nxiety held me hostge every dy. I cowered my wy through life, hopg tht I wouldn t cross pths with trigger tht would set my nxiety f. Despite this disorder s beg very rel, only time my nxiety cme f s plusible my techers ws when my docr wrote note expressg his concern bout me hvg mke clss presenttions my senior yer high school. This note ws huge relief me but lso set me up filure future. Once this white flg ws tken down s I entered, my nxiety surged once g when I stepped my first Humn Event clss. I sw circle desks immeditely remembered Socrtic semrs high school mythology clss. socil nxiety gun ws cocked loded s my pressor tlked bout prticiption pots dily discussions clss. Spekg. Out loud. In front entire clss. Expressg my opion. trigger ws pulled ll hell broke loose side me. sympms I ws ll o fmilir with ok control my body once more. Flly fed up with beg prisoner my own md, I found psychitrist dignosed me with nxiety. Now tht obvious ws documented, I relly wnted chnge. I needed chnge. best My nxiety held me hostge every dy tretment ws counselg mediction tht would lter wy my br worked. mediction would ultimtely replce wht I ws missg seron, neurotrnsmitter tht helps suppress feelgs fer nxiety. Ironiclly, I ws terrified tke my first dose; even ide tkg pill help my nxiety mde me nxious. After gruelg months weird side effects, I reched full dosge, gunmen my md slowly begn surrender. first time I remember conquerg my nxiety ws when I ws fced with group presenttion biology clss. Wkg t 7.m. lb period, I could feel nxiety risg my smch. As I st clss nticiptg my group s turn, I rn through my prt presenttion over over my hed. When we were clled up, my md flooded with worry, wipg my br cler my portion presenttion. I begn pplyg some relxtion techniques my counselor tught me. I focused my md on source nxiety sted ferg it pretendg not feel its presence. I thought, I m control. This is my body I don t wnt feel like this. At lst! I hd ged control my thoughts, I felt liberted. From n on, whenever I would feel distnt presence nxiety creep bck Art by Du Anjum, Jhelum, Pkistn snek ttck, I employed my new techniques subdue it. I couldn t believe results. This is wht norml feels like. This is control. Anxiety will never be completely bsent my life. I will contue fight my demons, I hope contue improvg my skills with id counselg mediction. People believe tht nxiety is not rel serious problem need step shoes those us constntly suffer its effects. Only n will y underst impct it hs on lives. F 24 Comment on ny rticle t TeenInk.com Teen Ink MAY 15

25 Animl Rights Activist Interviewed by Luren Kerney, Burgs, Bulgri Rchel Atcheson is Humne Legue s Phildelphi direcr. I wnted terview her she light on her credible work s n niml rights ctivist, hopefully, encourge spire teens tke ction on behlf nimls. Why did decide become n niml rights dvocte? I decided help nimls becuse y re most underrepresented group begs dy s society. Some might thk tht nimls get sufficient ttention, but cts dogs receive bulk it. When we her horder with 100 cts none m sufficiently nourished, we empthize with those cts. But frm nimls re sufferg every dy fcry frms we rrely her ir sries. I decided help frm nimls becuse y need louder voice. How did thk would be ble mke difference? I didn t strt out thkg I could mke much difference. I begn volunteerg with locl niml protection group ( group I work now, Humne Legue), but I hd no ide ripple effect my ctivism would hve world. With help mny menrs, I ve been ble hone my ctivism skills fluence mny people be more volved ctivism. Frm nimls re sufferg every dy Hs r life chnged sce strted helpg nimls? My life hs chnged drmticlly. I hve become more compssionte more emptic wrd plight both humn non-humn nimls. I hve tken on role n ctivist I thk this is most importnt chnge my life, becuse now I underst tht no mtter how much person wnts chnge world, it s hrd work, elbow grese, tht relly cretes mengful chnge. Wht is m problem nimls fce right now? se issues confement mutiltion re common frm nimls everywhere. All fcry frms tret nimls s if y were commodities, property, this is, I believe, biggest problem fcg frmed nimls right now. I d love tell sry one niml prticulr. Buttercup is n egg-lyg hen hs lived her entire life cge smller thn piece pper. She hs never met her mor. Becuse her close confement with or chickens, Buttercup s bek ws sered f with hot blde soon fter she ws born so she wouldn t peck ny or chickens her cge. Ever sce she ws ng, Buttercup hs lived this bttery cge. She hs never been outside, never felt sun on her fers or grss beneth her feet. And she ll rem re her le life. Her feet might become mngled wire mesh she sts on. If she develops n fection, she will not receive veterry ttention. On typicl egg-lyg frm, re could be 500,000 chickens, so Buttercup is just one mny chickens will never see outside tht wrehouse. Wht does it tke become n effective ctivist? Be positive, set good exmple, red literture on effective ctivism, most ll, prctice. If wnt lern more bout niml ctivism, consider gettg volved with groups such s Humne Legue, Mercy Animls, or Compssion Over Killg. All se groups re very effective ir work. How cn we mke difference lives nimls? number-one wy cn mke difference lives nimls is cut bck on mount nimls et; consider tryg Metless Mondy. And if lredy do not consume much met, consider gog vegetrin. Are lredy vegetrin? Cut bck on mount eggs diry consume. And flly, try vegnism. While it my seem duntg do nythg this list, if tke it one step t time, one mel t time, ll fd it esy, excitg, fulfillg. We hve n opportunity mke difference lives nimls three times dy brekfst, lunch, dner with r help, we will see chnges frm nimls. F environment Superbd Superfunds by Angel Axelson, Littlen, CO Uncertty exists 1,200 sites cross ntion Lk r TeenInk.com ccount Fcebook sites re polluted res our country tht hve been designted s so xic tht y receive Superfund federl fundg clen m up. One such site, Rocky Flts, is just 16 miles Denver, Colordo. Sce Rocky Flts hs prticulrly drk hisry s nucler wepon production plnt, how cn we be sure it is sfe? A Denver Post rticle discusses new neighborhood beg constructed next Rocky Flts. Accordg rticle, ctivists re concerned tht ground disturbnces, such s September s floods, homebuildg, construction proposed Jefferson Prkwy on estern edge refuge, plnned development bikg hikg trils will kick up plunium-lced dust, cresg risk leukemi bone, lung, liver cncers those bre it. LeRoy Moore, PhD, hs been mkg people wre risks sce 1970s hs served on Federl Citizens Advisory Bord clenup Rocky Flts 13 yers. Citg study by Columbi University, he sid, One prticle plunium tken body cn hrm DNA end result might be cncer; it cn lso ffect r fsprg. Environmentl Protection Agency disgrees. Studies show tht this contmtion poses no thret humn helth environment, ccordg gency. But EPA s strds stte tht remedition process only hs clen six feet down. re is no limit on mount plunium tht my rem, sid Moore. In ddition, guideles cleng up hzrdous substnces re bsed on Reference Mn white mle weighg 154 pounds stg 5'7" tll. If re protectg tht person, re not protectg two-month-old fnt, Moore sid. Moore lso poted out tht problems t site extend ll res wste hs been moved. It is frnkly terrifyg tht this kd risk uncertty exists 1,200-plus Superfund sites cross this ntion. Reserch shows tht people ner Superfund sites get sick more ten. Also, xic sites poor res get less ttention thn ones welthier regions. While tht unfirness hs been recognized, reserch shows tht pln mke it more equitble, Executive Order 12898, hs not helped. Politicl pressure, ese cleng, cost lso hve n fluence on clenup sites. If Rocky Flts is n exmple or Superfund sites, re could be lot xic risks cross our country. nucler wste problem hsn t been solved t ll, Moore concluded. F Edn Strs Plgued with stripped memory limited mobility, Edn sought nturl beuty universe celestil skies tht omous cosmos her li body swyg grcefully xicted by openness ir fite possibilities she felt smll, yet present, neverless, s she gzed wrd flmg, enrgg, mnipultg blls stronomicl mtter which seemed so fittg midnight nvy sky. Edn pryed those very strs; tht sttic simplicity overwhelmg vstness renewed her soul. So it ws nture she thnked its grce sheer love, which seemed revive her whenever her disbility ttempted confe restr her one plce by Murice Huff, Chespeke, VA Art by Ky Love, Chler, AZ MAY 15 Teen Ink 25

26 trvel & culture Movg Out by Ujjwl Khnl, Kthmu, Nepl Every time I mention fct tht I live Nepl, my onle friends seem get stte mild hysteri, ten followed by bombrdment questions rngg Who, do guys ctully drk te? n occsionl Hve seen yeti yet? I don t md se questions. In fct, I love nswerg m s much s I love skg my own questions. After ll, lthough everybody hs herd United Sttes, re re detils bout Americn lifestyle tht we Neplis simply hve no ide bout. Of mny, mny surprisg thgs bout Americ tht I ve lerned discussions on Teen Ink ums, most shockg is concept movg out. Of course we move out our prents house once we grow up, my friend ld me. I men, we cn t sty with m ll our lives, right? Everybody moves out here Americ once y come ge. Anor user dded, Well, not everybody. I know couple people still sty with ir mors. y py rent, though. Py rent t r own home? I sked, more confused thn ever. Well, it s techniclly r prents home, she replied, we ll wnt be dependent. As we discussed this furr, this exotic prctice begn mke more sense me. I must dmit, I still fd it very hrd digest tht prents cn ccept rent ir own children, but ll ll, my friends were right; this system does mke We cn t sty with our prents ll our lives, right? Through Mexicn Eyes My life hs lwys been enveloped sweetness Mexicn culture. Even though my fmily hs not lwys lived Mexico, my prents hve kept our culturl roots deeply present wherever we re. As little girl I lwys felt belongg chilquiles Mom mde chocolte buelit (hot chocolte) tht wrmed cold dys. I cn feel it now my grmor s shen eyes s she fervidly tlks bout her nger dys ll colorful festivities like chocolte sprkles on dys our clendr. But Mexicn culture, ll its beuty glory, lso hs its drwbcks. I live society where re is sgle wy thkg tht everyone is expected shre. Hvg lived gret prt ir lives eign plces, my prents hve never relly fit. My mom hs lwys spoken us bout world outside enclosed piece sky tht is our society. Amid whispers night, she pted skies distnt plces, opened my brors me curiosity bout world. Becuse globl view my prents spired us, I cn now see flws my enclosed society. I see obnoxious wy which my peers hve been person emotionlly economiclly dependent. Children rised such environments cn clerly cope with life s hurdles better, it is not hrd underst why most Western Hemisphere follows this prctice. On or side Erth, however, we do complete opposite. Where I m, unless it s bsolutely necessry, children never leve ir prents home. In fct, we don t even cll it our prents home. If children do leve home, not only re y looked down upon, but le fmily is considered broken. Most fmilies on Indin subcontent, ree, re jot; more thn one mrried couple live under one ro shre sme tble. While middle-ged people re t work, oldest genertion looks fter children. Tht wy, ll our trditionl vlues morls re pssed down long genertionl ldder. children lso benefit beg brought up by ir unts uncles s well, exposg m wide rnge knowledge tht y might not hve received ir prents lone. Wht my friends I found terestg ws how one system s con is or s pro. While people West hve hrder time socilizg thn ir Estern counterprts do, y re dependent, trit tht we don t seem excel. If we could doctrted religion how none m questions wht y ve been tught believe, how y literlly cover ir ers when contrdicry ide is proposed. I m disturbed by lck confidence mbition my peers show; one s drem is everyone s drem. I m dismyed tht some my girlfriends degrde mselves, syg tht it doesn t mtter how much eft y put school mselves, becuse y ll end up beg housewives nywy. I wnt be cuse spirtion mbition. I wnt be emblem possibility. I wnt help my peers ors relize tht y cn live beyond wht y thk mselves cpble. My world hs brimmed with support cheers You cn do it. All my techers hve believed me hve chllenged me rech my full potentil. My prents hve shed ters pride love behd my every step; y hve unclod my unticity. I wnt brg th tht conviction self-worth ors. I yern see world exp my smll viewg glss. So, tkg chilquiles chocolte buelit by h, I will explore world brg bck bigger piece sky. F Art by Lilin Bollger, El Cjon, CA by Alejr Márquez, Monterrey, Mexico somehow tegrte se seemgly conflictg prctices, perhps we might hve perfect socil system. Until n, however, we should keep explorg cherishg se differences fter ll, knows wht we ll end up lerng? F Heven s Pennies grmm, tell me tell me bout summer dys When dnced streets El Slvdor pennies buy cy tell me bout rich mn on ptio would give pennies when wlked by how would keep wlkg by by And by tell me bout songs dnces how move my hips like un espñolit tell me why y don t grow chile ch buel dígme tell me bout dy she sked move Americ how shrugged r shoulders left next dy tell me bout bus ride bout three stright dys lt het with nothg but floppy ht some hope tell me bout El Slvdor dust tht bus left trilg behd not out neglect but necessity tell me bout r first dy l opportunity grmm, tell me tell me bout cookg cleng why I should et bens with every mel tell me bout r cfee how it got blcker s work got hrder tell me bout tequil men why I should void m both why El Slvdor is where beutiful people live why sy eres hermos niñ, eres bonit buelit dígme tell me bout bus ride heven under wrm lt het like river sls music dncg through r soul r hips s shke clp clnk r glss l cucrch, l cucrch grmm, tell me tell me if y grow chile heven cuse ye ye ye y don t ch tell me, ws r first step f bus beutiful? beutiful like eighteen couss lerng sls beutiful like fiests tmles besos y brzos beutiful like r strong spnish soul Abuelit, tell me tell me her my pryers tht know I miss grmm, tell me por fvor Does God give pennies heven? by Elise Dimick, Redwood City, CA 26 Comment on ny rticle t TeenInk.com Teen Ink MAY 15

27 Ceylon Te by Erye An, Kmpheng Phet, Thil lmost re! My fr s nnouncement stntly woke me. I We re wiped my drool setbelt stretched my neck see out wdow. It reveled mgnificent view brillint emerld green fields. I hled cool countryside ir. By time I hd settled bck my set, we hd rrived. Multiple Thi-style gzebos, with trcrs prked next m, sod out midst endless plnttions. I held my fr s h, we wlked on muddy pth pved by hevy trcrs. We rrived t gzebo, my fr I were welcomed by n entire community frmers te brewers. I ws overwhelmed by ttention. Every sgle person I wiied (wii is gesture Thi greetg where put r hs ger slightly bow r hed) held my hs kissed tips my fgers. Unccusmed such courtesy, I sod westruck. While I ws still recoverg, ldy trditionl Thi outfit tied rubber pron round me fered me pir Wellgn boots ugly militry kd. After I ws gered up, I looked like miture frmer, my fr looked like rel one. We were dressed perhps ugliest clos we hd ever worn, but we were stisfied. Tusporn, mnger plnttions, ok us on trcr, long with or workers, fr end plnttion structed us on wht we hd do. I ws gently hold on te plnt s stem, with quick, slight twist, ynk it right. first te lef detched perfectly. With gret cre, I plced it bsket. In very short time, however, work begn feel mononous rmentg. It felt s if yers As I drnk te, I felt my hert open hd pssed when we hd only been workg field n hour. sun ws betg down; my cheeks ehed were burng my bck ws drenched with swet. repetitive bendg hurt my bck, my fgers were swellg with blisters ynkg stems. I glnced round, only see my fr workg diligently though I could see drops swet tricklg down his fce weress che work gve him. How ws I gog do this four more hours? hours pssed by pfully slowly. I compled whed my fr, pledg with him brg me wter or tke me home. But silence ws his only response s he contued pluck leves. Truthfully, I wnted kick cry like child ce my fr tke me wy this horrid work. After third hour, I simply did not feel like humn nymore. My hs legs were numb core, I becme different het. I no longer bored stretch it only mde p worse. I simply trudged on, pluckg leves impssively. When sun hd lmost vnished below horizon, it ws time sp. My fr seemed be experiencg cthrsis s he smiled stretched fter work. But I ws feelg droopy, s if ll life side me hd been sucked out. We entered gzebo second time tht dy, though with hevier herts bodies thn bee but yet g, we were greeted with love ffection. This time it ws ccompnied by cold drks wftg smell spicy Thi cuise. workers, my fr, I st lrge circle on mts te comtble fmily tmosphere, wtchg sun set. Ni bpen Ch-Yen k. When dner hd fished, Tusporn sod up, her strong Sourn Thi ccent proudly troduced title her tresured, home-brewed te. She contued on expl ir trdition servg home-brewed te ir volunteer workers. Tusporn poured Ceylon te mug, plced it my cupped hs, nodded. mug ws hot, but my plms embrced tglg wrmth s it trveled beyond my sk reched my nerves. scent ws enthrllg spicy, bitter, sweet. I closed my eyes sipped. rw tste Ceylon seeped my tstebuds evoked swirl senstions. For first time tht dy, I ws thnkful ecsttic, despite long hours pluckg te leves swetg sun. As I drnk te, I felt my hert eyes open se people felt God still scere humility my hert, n ttribute I only thought I hd possessed bee tht dy. misty fog blockg my vision hd flly clered. It ws only n tht I sw true joy se people shred, pride y held ir work plnttions, wrkles on ir eheds clluses on ir feet hs, lives y lived. To this dy, Tusporn s words scent her Ceylon te re engrved on my hert. y hng on brnches my thoughts, witg me pluck m down whenever I need remder precious gift I received on my journey te plnttions Kmphengphet, Sourn Thil. Interctg with Thi te frmers experiencg ir life mde me feel shmed once seeg myself s better thn se people. I gzed down mug sw tender ripples cool eveng breeze. te now fered different reflection me. F trvel & culture Fr From Streets Rome by Ell Brett-Turner, Toron, ON, Cnd womn wers blck Wyfrer glsses. Her hed is covered by scrf her skirt just psses her clves. She holds bg one rm uses or push through rottg door. Her sk is gry, her hir blck, her skirt white. phogrph hs been psted silver frme next n rticle listg ll celebrities hve boxes disply stilets, silk gloves, Swiss wtches styed t this extrvgnt Itlin hotel. frme is hrshly modern gst ornte red wllpper Itlin mrble pillrs lobby. lobby leds hllwy where hlf dozen glss boxes st on sne pedestls. se disply stilets, silk gloves, ler bgs, Swiss wtches ll vilble purchse lobby. My snekers squek cross polished mrble floor. We wlk dg room. ceilgs re 20 feet high, hung with cheliers embossed with flowers cupids. Brss-colored tssels decorte red velvet curts, wdows show courtyrd scttered with glss-pped tbles tuxedo-werg witers. An old mn courtyrd wves us. He is dressed like Silicon Vlley executive, khkis white bsketbll shoes. Next him sits womn. She wers sls fnny pck sips te porcel cup. I smile t couple run cross Persin crpets through open door. y re my grprents. bck wll courtyrd is steep hill grden. Stirs run up hill trverse. Doors sttues re plnted cross wlkwy. My chir screeches cross tile s I sit. A menu, prted n elegnt font on thick pper with shrp edges, lies on p strched npk t my plce. menu is English. prices re not listed. A mn with thick Itlin ccent long pron tkes my order. I set my sunglsses on tble. y clk gst glss. How ws wlk? sks my grfr. Hot crowded, sys my fr. It s supposed be 100 degrees dy, fers my mor. My bror mons slumps his chir. y contue spekg. witer brgs my juice. It comes four-ch-tll bottle with blue lbel. Wht kd juice is tht? My grmor hs fished her te. Apricot. Could I try some? I pss her bottle wtch s she sips it tenttively. Tht s defitely not me o sweet. She lughs. I m gog order ornge juice; hopefully it ll tste more Americn. I lugh little. My grmor sits stright her chir, her hs delictely folded cross glss p. Behd her womn werg five-ch heels is wlkg through door, two children nnny trilg behd her. It is loud here; muffled converstions children s whes echo cross yrd. Shoes silverwre clck on glss sne. Pho by Arushi Kuchhl, Noid, Indi But I cnnot her streets Rome. Persin rugs mrble floors Swiss wtches block out shoutg trffic. Yes, street is very fr wy. F Lk r TeenInk.com ccount Fcebook MAY 15 Teen Ink 27

28 community service Little Miss Sunshe Crt by Alici Mrzolf, Cuperto, CA I ve known I wnted be nurse sce dy I ok my dd s stitches out. It ws erly eveng, Dd ws hunched over bthroom sk, shirtless, tryg v remove th blue sutures still-pk but heled gsh on his rm. I ws wtchg him, fscted. After few mutes unsuccessful snippg pullg, Dd hed muscule silver scissors me sked, Would help? His ehed ws shy with swet. Sure, I replied, bendg down gently slidg scissors between pk scr blue suture. Cutiously, I snipped n grbbed pir tweezers pluck stitch out. One down, four go. Dd smiled thnks. I ggerly removed lst four stitches, rubbed some Neospor on scr, gve Dd s rm pt. Stitches out, job well done. My desire enter helth cre field led my terest humn body. I spent hours hours porg over my dd s textbooks. Every spect physiology fscted me, I turned myself humn sponge, bsorbg everythg I red. However, I begn long hson experience diverse world helth cre. Lte My my freshmn yer high school, I pplied ws selected O Connor Hospitl Junior Volunteer progrm. I ws ssigned Sunshe Crt, which trveled ptient rooms h out iletries books. After five vcces, three trg sessions, two-hour ur lbyrthe hospitl, I ws redy strt. On my very first dy, I dropped my bsket iletries, ccidentlly bonked nurse with Sunshe Crt, untentionlly entered n isoltion room. Tht dy ws rough. I remember gettg f my shift sufferg smll identity crisis. Is helth cre me? I wondered. Am I fit this field? But volunteerg only got esier re. I becme n expert t nvigtg busy mzelike hllwys, jugglg iletry bskets books becme breeze. Most my visits with ptients were plesnt, I ws ten complimented on my bright smile. only persistent difficulty ws lnguge brrier. Most ptients spoke Spnish or Vietnmese; I spoke neir. I ws thnkful tht iletries re esy ct out: I poted my mouth othbrush, my hir shmpoo, my rmpit deodornt. One my most memorble experiences s Sunshe Crt volunteer ws with n elderly Filip ptient. As I entered her room begn troduce myself, she held up her ty, wrkled h. I will sg Nursg Home Helper by Mrin Prk, Sn Jose, CA Tick, tick, tick. Teeth brushed, school over, homework done. It ws Fridy, strtg dy, Fridys ment trip senior nursg home downwn. This prticulr nursg home ws specil. Centers Medicre Medicid Services Deprtment Helth Humn Services hd given it lowest rtg one str out five bsed on helth spections, qulity mesures, stffg. It seemed s if this nursg home needed help, but little did I know it would help me o. Durg my first visit I ws sked polish some femle residents nils. I d never uched nil polish bottle bee, but I tenttively rubbed f old color usg tissue dbbed with polish remover. As I pplied new color glitter, one womn sked me strem questions. Where re? Wht school do go? Do hve ny siblgs? After she ws stisfied with my nswers, she strted shre some her hidden nguishes, Pho by Alyss Hll, Yelm, WA I longed hs-on experience helth cre deths her husb second son one item she wnted most: cmer. By listeng her empthizg with her loneless, I relized I hd ctully helped her; she looked relieved, unburdened some her pst ps. When she ws fished, she ld me somethg tht spired me visit nursg home every week. She sid, You re only person I ws ble tell this. or ldies re o busy listen me, or residents don t cre. You ll come bck next week, right? After gently blowg on her newly coted nils, I smiled promised, Yes, I ll see next Fridy t three o clock. As I reflected on her bittersweet remiscences, I left nursg home tht dy glddened by fct tht I hd helped somebody. An ction s simple s listeng becme somethg much more. Durg every second I spent nursg home, I relized how much difference my ctions could hve on lives ors; I found energy vigor plce not typiclly known it. Every week, I wlked round dg hll, one resident fter nor motioned me sit down tlk. One womn, hppily commented tht we shred sme first nme, confided her opions, strtg most her sentences with words To me Anor proudly showed me birthdy crd her children hd sent her. Of course, not ll converstions were lighrted. When one elderly womn tlked me bout how her 13-yer-old dughter would be grdutg middle school this yer, I didn t know wht do but nod listen, knowg tht her dughter must hve grduted middle school decdes go. I found energy vigor plce not known it song! she exclimed, clerg her throt. I love, For sentimentl resons. I hope believe me, I give my word. Tht s very good, I complimented her. She bemed expled, When I ws 17 comg on bot Philippes meet my husb Americ, tht song plyed s I ws wlkg f bot. I never got it. She grbbed my h. You re very pretty girl, she ld me. I squeezed her smll h bee hedg bck work, I cn still feel its wrmth. Despite mny chllenges beg Sunshe Crt volunteer, I wouldn t trde this opportunity nythg. Not only does it provide me with hs-on experience world helth cre, it mkes me feel good. re is nothg better thn ptient smilg exclimg, You mde my dy! F Although I could not dd more yers lives se elderly residents or fer m chnce return pst, I knew I could give m somethg simple tht s ten overlooked our society. Through our converstions, I gve m ssurnce tht this fst-pced world, y were not gotten tht members nger genertions still cred bout m were re m. By spendg severl moments ech week just listeng tlkg, nyone, like me dults, cn lift burden f someone, uch listen herts ors, live through m. It s not just limited tlkg, however. It cn come homemde crd or sgle greetg. I cnnot ply ny complex compositions by Beethoven or Chop, but I cn rech out spek residents nursg home through music by plyg Yirum s Kiss R Pul Ank s My Wy. It seems tht most troublg spect livg nursg home is tht it breks humn connection between those dy s society nursg home residents, brely even noticed ech or until wheelchir blocked ir pth. Ech is isolted, wrpped tightly ir own nguish pst. Every moment I spend chttg is n opportunity tie tht connection g, unwrp ir troubles, llevite p, shpe someone s life. In turn, tht moment lso shpes me. I not only lern bout life experiences outside school, but lso receive gift beg prt this process this connection between humns. Those moments shrg listeng re mgicl both giver receiver. Tick, tick, tick. A converstion strts, smile is exchnged, nor life is chnged. F 28 Comment on ny rticle t TeenInk.com Teen Ink MAY 15

29 Chemistry John Dickson High School Robert Krch by Csey Dower, Wilmgn, DE My sophomore yer ws rough. I lost my grfr dy fter my birthdy, I ws strugglg every clss. I hd no ide how get hold on my life. Every dy I dreded gog school becuse it ws just one more remder tht I ws filg ws s worthless s I felt. All I wnted ws someone help me. My grfr died while I ws spendg my birthdy Disney World. He hd been fightg cncer two yers, so I ws expectg it, but I still wsn t prepred. This ws hertbrekg me. All my techers knew; my mor hd ld m. But only one pproched me dy I returned ld me how sorry he ws ws Dr. Krch. He mde me feel like I ment somethg Dr. Krch s honors chemistry room ws only clssroom tht hd ir conditiong on ll yer, it ws lwys bright enough mke New York City look dim. I cn remember excitement tht would bubble my smch s I weved my wy through hordes groggy teengers get tht room, only techer mde me feel like I ment somethg durg this drk time my life. Dr. Krch ws type techer wrote everythg on whitebord lwys blue mrker, becuse it ws his fvorite. He would give us notes durg prt clss becuse he didn t wnt overlod us with mtion. But he ws lso only techer mde me feel like he undersod. We would hve long converstions bout nythg else I wnted know bout. At end our converstions, he lwys sid, Anythg need, ll hve do is sk. This might not seem like lot, but me, it felt like someone ws givg me chnce. After tht, I worked hrd mke him proud. I wnted him see tht he wsn t wstg his time on me. Thnk, Dr. Krch, botm my hert. Gettg through sophomore yer would hve been impossible without r support knowg believed me. Thnk helpg me decide wht I wnt do with my life shpg me s person. I my hve only been r clss ne months, but those dys when I would sit r freezg, over-bright room were some best my ng life. Thnk everythg. I ll never, ever get. F Pho by Cloey Robertson, Oxd, AL Educr Yer Contest Wners will be nnounced next month! Lk r TeenInk.com ccount Fcebook English Lhore Grmmr School Sundoss Shd by Emil Hsn, Lhore, Pkistn After redg Rold Dhl s Mtild, I begn drem homeroom techer ws just like Miss Honey: sweet, lovg, crg. It s every student s drem get techer doesn t just tech but trets like her own. In nth grde I met such techer, I wished she were not only my Lnguge techer, but lso my homeroom techer. (I know, I sk o much.) She ws like Miss Honey, only ten times better. She wsn t someone would tech clss kids ir ABCs just becuse she got pid; rr, she ws someone put her hert soul wht she did, she loved every one her. Wht mkes her st out every or techer I hve hd is pl fct tht she teches us vriety thgs, ll n hour thirty mutes. Those lessons re enjoyble, terestg, esy remember. We d be redg comprehension rticle on grve robbers, she d expl entire hisry, science, logic behd ctions chrcter. She s like n encyclopedi Everyone hs one clss on ir schedule tht mkes m grimce. For me, tht clss used be AP Sttistics. thought workg with numbers hours mde me crge. Not mny people enjoy clss where r clculr is r best friend. But little did I know tht one techer ws bout chnge my perspective on numbers. My first clss senior yer ws AP Sttistics. I ws first student room. I ws greeted by short, slim mn with smll gr on his fce. It ws type gr see on children s y enter cy sre. I soon noticed tht his never went wy. This mn is my AP Sttistics techer, Mr. Olenchek. Durg my first week, I relized this clss would not be my lest fvorite but rr my fvorite. With every problem, he would mke pun. When clcultg verges, he would sy, Wow, tht ws very mengful sttistic. Sometimes when student got n nswer wrong he would sy, Tke tht bck or I will see my room hlf n hour bee school such trecherous nswer. Although somewht cheesy, his humor defitely grew on us mkes clss terestg. Also, Mr. O does thgs differently. Rr thn yellg over rowdy, like most techers, Mr. Olenchek uses different We d hve ttempt n essy, she d lk it rel life. She s like n encyclopedi she knows everythg bout everythg, I relly men it. And wht she teches us doesn t just sleep our brs, it mkes us thk wonder bout world. Techers re only successful when ir wnt lern more fter beg clss. And I swer, I lwys wonder bout reserch wht she tells us. I m so impressed tht I wnt be like her when I grow up. She s techer with m cn tlk bout nythg: r grdes, r essy, wht goes on r br, celebrities, or even ltest Disney movie (she loves Frozen ). I hve grown so ttched her, it s like we re n extended fmily. She s techer tught my friends me be better. She isn t just techer; she s friend. And I m lucky hve such techer. So, course, I ws jumpg with joy on first dy tenth grde when she ld us she ws our homeroom techer. F Sttistics Arrowhed High School Dve Olenchek by Brett Brester, Pewukee, WI Cll me crzy, but I cn t wit work with numbers educr yer method. If hve ever seen golf on TV, notice ficils holdg signs tht sy, QUIET. Mr. O strives be like m. He sits corner room risg his sign until silence fills room. Along with this technique, he hs fmous tble deth. If Mr. O ctches on r phone, he comms put device on tble deth. n, s wlk bck r set, he lughs t s tke wht he clls wlk shme. se little quirks my not seem importnt, but y mke clss enjoyble. Flly, Mr. Olenchek chnged wy I look t list numbers. Bee, y were just numbers. Now, I underst importnce ppliction se borg numbers. Enterg my junior yer, I ws constntly sked wht I wnted do when I grew up. I lwys responded tht I hd no ide. But now I know exctly wht I wnt do. I m gog mjor cturil science become n ctury. In this job, numbers re r second best friend second only clculr. Cll me crzy, but I cn t wit work with numbers. Mr. O chnged my view mth. He turned numbers mengful sttistics tught me how use m everydy life. He is different but gret wy. And this is why Mr. Olenchek is my Educr Yer. F MAY 15 Teen Ink 29

30 sports Beyond Tutu by Allison Liu, Prcen, NJ I ws re when her creer ended. begng end hppened like this: She leped ir with her feet poted knees stright, rms bove her hed. Time slowed, n spped. Everyone studio drew breth, unble look wy. n, suddenly, she ws fllg. re ws crck. If r body is r strument, wht hppens if it fils? re ws n gonized wil: sound end nor bller s creer. When people thk sports, y thk footbll, soccer, bsebll. Bllet dnce is ten overlooked viewed s hobby little girls frilly pk skirts. Bllet is not hobby. It is sport n rt m. It is pssion n ddiction. It is wy express emotion without words. Dnce is poetry soul. However, bllet is chllenge tht not mny dre tke. p is very rel, dncers need immense strength, both physicl mentl. wdows fog up het room. Swet strems down everyone s fces bodies. Toes re wrpped tped wrpped tped. Bloody bges re thrown out exchnged new ones. Pote shoes re dipped ros bnged on ground. Criticism echoes through room. Those feet re trocious! Where re r rms? Bllet is ten viewed s hobby little girls Your leg isn t high enough! If do r turns like tht, ll never be gret! tension is plpble. All round room, dncers silently judge compete with ech or. prctice room is where dncers spend most ir time. It is not esy. y do not sit pretty. Dncers work. mount energy it tkes dnce full bllet is equl wht s needed run 18 miles. Everythg must be precise. Legs re lifted pst shoulders hyper-extended; feet re poted, slicg through ir. Not one muscle, not one bone cn be out le, yet dncers re not stiff. y glide cross floor with n erel grce tht is brethtkg. Beneth priste tutus, sprklg tirs, st pk pote shoes re wery muscles chg bones supported, time beg, by drenle. hours hours prctice will eir py f end or be wsted. Hundreds bllet dncers tr become pressionls, but few succeed. bllet world is very competitive, with few spots vilble. Dncers hve be mentlly strong survive constnt judgment competition. Bllet dnce is not wek. It my seem tht bllet consists merely silly ribbons prncg girls, but it is so much more. Dncers re thletes rtists t sme time. We put our entire body weight on our es, though our muscles cry out p, we rem grceful light. We contue dnce even s our bones twist muscles ter, even s swet pours down our bodies blisters m on our feet. It is n endless cycle, but it is one we do not wish escpe, reson we dnce is becuse it is closest thg re is flyg. F Pho by Tdll Hutchson, Florence, SC A Wonderful Dy t Se by Luke Czrnik, Royl Ok, MI My fmily I lwys go Albm sprg brek. My fvorite thg do re is fish mckerel. One recent summer, my dd, my friend Zck, I heded down Albm Stte Fishg Pier. Zck I rn hed, rcg ech or see could get his le wter first. While we were settg up, I couldn t help but notice sunset. It looked like somethg would see on postcrd. pier smelled like fresh fish se ir. Segulls pelicns were fightg over scrps fish, old guys were rgug over se fish ws bigger. I lened on rilg. breeze ws whisperg me like kid sits next clss. I could see tht fish were bitg; everyone round me ws pullg mckerel. But I wsn t even gettg nibble. Thirty mutes lter, strngest thg hppened. I sw mn strugglg pull somethg up over rilg, so I rn over see wht it ws. He hd hooked pelicn. mn ws cllg help, so my dd s friend rn over with hoop net get pelicn out wter. Once we pulled it up on pier, huge bird spped fightg us, s though it relized we were tryg help. When my dd s friend got it unhooked, pelicn flew f, lookg relieved be free. As tht ws hppeng, I ws flly brgg Everyone round me ws pullg mckerel up Spnish mckerel. But I ws so distrcted tht when I grbbed fish, it freked out I lost my grip. three-pronged hook went right through my fger. Quickly, I cut hook lure so fish couldn t shke mke it worse. When I relized hook ws sunk pst brb, I thought, This is gog hurt! While everyone else ws frekg out, I tried sty clm figure out how get hook out without needg stitches. I ld myself, Just do it, n pulled hook stright out my h, brb ll. Afterwrd, my dd sid I turned s white s ghost, but I pushed on contued fishg despite my bleedg, throbbg fger. I ws not gog go home without big fish. On very next cst I hooked kg mckerel. It ws strtg tke out lot le, I hd run down pier, lmost pushg people out wy. When it spped fightg tkg out le, I returned my spot. hoop net ws o smll get fish out wter, so we hd gff it. We pulled it up, it ended up beg 40 pounds. It looked like somethg prehisric, with very little color blue stripes. You cn only imge how big smile ws on my fce. n we went home, clened mckerel, swm ocen rest dy. F I Run by Tylor Smith, Pris, IL When I run, I m runng my life. dirt under my shoes is trmpole, propellg me onwrd like jellyfish on steroids. smell n oncomg srm, sun risg over trees, coch tellg me go, go, go, GO! I go. I go like it is ll I hve. I not only give it ll I hve, I give more thn ll my opponents combed. I m drgon, y re horrified pesnts. I m jgur, y re gzelles. swet pools burns my eyes, but I do not wipe it wy, becuse it is my trophy. When I run, electricity flows through my fgertips s wd blows my fce, ttemptg hold me bck ptic ttempt. Electricity flows like blood my ves, keepg me brethg, holdg me tct. It is my oxygen. When I run, I feel sfe. All my troubles re left behd, becuse y cnnot ctch me. I run over river through woods through plce where troubles melt like lemon drops high bove chimney ps, but tht is not where ll fd me, becuse I ve lredy pssed it. When I run, I m Trzn jungle, I m Billy Elliot his bllet shoes, I m Docr TARDIS, I m Mtild with book, I m Spider-Mn on his web. When I run, I see fish le. It is s close me s bond between mor child. I come lst plce. I sid I run. I never sid I ws good. F 30 Comment on ny rticle t TeenInk.com Teen Ink MAY 15

31 ANDROID, ios Monument Vlley utterly gorgeous cptivtg mobile gme Monument Vlley ws relesed 2014 by UsTwo. pot--view chrcter is silent prcess wers through impossible structures opticl illusions surrel drem world. It is r responsibility guide her through this chllengg environment. A rve review this gme piqued my curiosity enough try it out myself. A few mutes plyg, I begn undersod why this gme trigued me. Its impeccble, geometric design ws not nythg I hd ever seen bee. gme itself is bright conts brethtkg soundtrck tht goes well with wht s hppeng different levels. Monument Vlley is not only beutiful, it is complex. You re ble mnipulte gmeply by drggg, rottg, or turng cert prts colorful bckground structures on stge. gme is entirely mde up puzzles chllenges tht mke thk hrder thn usully do on dily bsis, cg tke on different Pure cretivity pot view. Every level is work rt. Despite fct tht it is clled be sgle-plyer gme, Monument Vlley is lot better enjoy with friends. pp grnts gift seeg m struggle s y try mneuver mselves round squwkg crows tht ptrol levels. Although gme is mostly silent, receive occsionl dilogue tht helps led through plot, but hve piece thgs ger crefully becuse dilogue is riddle mt. Inspired by M.C. Escher s wonderfully bold rtwork, this gme is n outstg portryl pure cretivity which is sure leve its plyers wonder-struck. If re worried bout price ($3.99), don t be discourged. It might sound like lot two hours entertment, but though it is quite short, Monument Vlley is gme worth experiencg. F by Melnie Moctezum, Gr Pririe, TX ANDROID, ios, PC Five Nights t Freddy s You st smll room; its wlls re covered with posters imges rngg n nimtronic b cupckes. n turn on r cmers only relize tht one four nimtronic chrcters is missg. Frnticlly, flip through different views n her quiet scmper. You put down cmer re ttcked by robotic creture with demonic fce, lungg t with bloodcurdlg screech. Five Nights t Freddy s, developed by Scott Cwthon, is n bsolutely terrifyg horror gme. Workg s night wtch Chuck E. Cheese-esque pizzeri, r gol is survive five nights. Ech eveng, four nimtronic chrcters Bonnie Bunny, Chic Chicken, Foxy Fox, Freddy Fzber try cefully stuff Freddy Fzber suit. It my seem tht chrcters with such dorble nmes would not try hrm, but y will not sp until r life is ir hs. You re grnted set mount Truly petrifyg power, use it up by completg ctions such s lookg t r cmer, shuttg doors, or turng on lights. It becomes hrder survive s gme progresses. Ech night, her hilrious recordg mde by old gurd, gives mtion need know ply. re re very few negtives Five Nights t Freddy s, but one is grphics tht ren t gret. However, gme certly mkes up this with truly petrifyg udio. Footsteps, voices, eerie music dd its potency. controls re very simple; only use mouse. Once gmeply is completed, Five Nights t Freddy s cn get borg. However, cn spend lot time plyg it, bout $5, it s money well spent. Five Nights t Freddy s delivers serious scres. Remember, conserve r power, only close doors when bsolutely necessry. F by Erik Zilber, Brooklyn, NY video gme reviews ANDROID, ios, PC, PLAYSTATION, XBOX Wlkg Ded fell love with zombie genre I dy Telltle s Wlkg Ded gme cme my life. Bsed on Robert Kirkmn s comic book series, Wlkg Ded is msterpiece tht gurntees both gret gmeply perfect sry tht plys with r emotions tugs t r hertstrgs. This episodic terctive drm video gme llows r choices ctions ffect sry, levg stisfied or depressed over decisions mde. gme strts with convicted murderer, Lee Everest, on his wy prison. But bee he reches big house, zombie poclypse breks out. This ctstrophe brgs ry sunshe Lee s life little girl, Clemente, m he vows protect. Wlkg Ded consists five episodes tht hve some eye-wideng jw-droppg scenes full thrills suspense. y might mke r hs leve swety prts on r keybord. Bewre! re s good chnce beg trpped n old mnsion with zombies A roller coster with twists turns lurkg outside. Wht mkes Wlkg Ded remrkble is tht I hve protect Clemente, but our own wys. I might respond sitution by gog crook or gettg stemed, but might rem cool dude. However, endg will not be completely different; gme leds us sme conclusion but with different experiences. In lst episode, choices ve mde, thgs ve done sce first episode will repper, even if hd gotten m. gme llows experience dventure, cludg distrctg wlkers, givg helpg h, discoverg secrets people s weird ctions but wht will hppen when somebody comes know rs? All ll, Wlkg Ded is like roller coster with twists turns tht mke ponder hrsh relities. And endg is so ungettble tht it will leve crvg more. F by Hfs Ahmed, Krchi, Pkistn Lk r TeenInk.com ccount Fcebook 3DS Super Smsh Bros. Super Smsh Bros. hs been one Ntendo s most successful frnchises. Mshiro Skuri clerly hd hit with series, so he ok bold step by troducg it hheld. I m hppy report tht this gme s 3DS version hs exceeded my expecttions. trditionl Smsh is just s much fun s remember, with new mps long with some clssics. You strt f tryg kill enemies fd tresure chests g stt boosts items. n it comes down fl bttle, which could be nythg mtch with 300 percent strtg helth rce fish. Cusmiztion is better thn ever. You cn flly mke Mii chrcter, cusmize specil moves tht chrcters use, give m equipment mke m stronger, more defensive, or fster. You cn unlock se Smsh Run Trophy Rush, new mode which cn spend cos hve chnce t trophies cusm items. Best solo experience Smsh hisry or modes re net o. Clssic mode hs new brnchg pths, All-Str mode tkes through yers bttle everyone chronologiclly, Home-Run Derby is still n mzg mode. third-prty chrcters (Meg Mn, Pc-Mn, Sonic) give wve nostlgi, obscure chrcters re relly fun ply with. Its only downside is its wek onle multiplyer mode. Locl ply works fe, but one bd connection r le gme drops sgle-digit frme rte. Still, poor multiplyer shouldn t detrct best solo experience Smsh hisry. Wii-U version my hve fun multiplyer, but this is mustply ny Smsh fn. F by Jcob Kle, Pittsburgh, PA MAY 15 Teen Ink 31

32 movie & tv reviews TV DRAMA Birdmn Thnk film gods Birdmn! It is beutifully rtistic film, those pper cems only every so ten. This is n epic sry wrd outwrd effects ego on m chrcter Riggn Thomson (Michel Ken). His journey through this wr is sd yet beutiful experience. This could well be Ken s most outstg permnce yet. Riggn comes terms with truth bout his creer reputtion but risks it ll leve his soul on stge. His chrcter embodies struggle devotion one mn hs his rt, his udience, himself. This film is colored with dim lights shdows Brodwy, wrd mdness n cr, shg, beutiful ppluse tht comes fter it ll. It is brought life by most origl score, usg drumbets heighten energy emotions experienced by its chrcters. Direcr, producer, cowriter House Crds Actg its purest, most beutiful m Shockg, disturbg, rivetg Alejro G. Iñrritú mde n unusul much-needed film tht revives true power spirtion tht udiences hope. cst is best 2014, Birdmn shows ctg its purest, most beutiful m. Iñrritú is model true rtist filmmker. His ides bout rt film should spire nyone wtches this film. Birdmn received two Golden Globe Awrds Best Acr ( Ken s permnce) Best Screenply four Oscrs: Best Picture, Best Direcr, Best Origl Screenply, Best Cemgrphy. Wtch support this brillint film enjoy cretive thoughts it will leve with! F by Tbith Bvos, W. Plm Bech, FL This film is rted R. Wshgn politics re tedious. Filibusters, pigeonholg, stgntion bsed on prtisnship re norm Congress. So if I ld tht House Crds, bsed on this dy--dy monony, is one most shockg, disturbg, rivetg shows dy, would believe me? No? Well, clerly hven t met Rep. Frncis Underwood. House Crds, which strems exclusively on Netflix, with entire sesons relesed t time, begs on New Yer s Eve, Frnk (Kev Spcey) his wife, Clire (Rob Wright), re t bll lso ttended by recent president-elect, Grrett Wlker (Michel Gill). Frnk briefly expls cmer how, despite his dislike mn, he sensed wner ttched himself Wlker, ssistg gretly his presidentil vicry. In return, Frnk expects see fvor reciprocted with nomtion Secretry Stte, prestigious step his current position s House mjority whip. When president goes gst pln revokes his unficil endorsement t lst mute, Frnk is tken bck by betryl. Privtely, he Clire seek vengence,, multg pln be crried out over course show, y prove ir cunng s well s ir ruthlessness. Frnk s obsession with power leves us, eqully improbbly, pullg him ccomplish his twisted, sociopthic gols, even though process he rus lives mny more morl, symptic, not fundmentlly deceptive people, words one Frnk s mny vnquished collegues Congress. overrchg plot this series is truly ludicrous, yet ech dividul episode mkes feel tht relistic, urgent, thret-presentg mtter needs be ddressed by r hero, or vill, dependg on how come view Frnk. visul elements show re mzg; cmer work, sets, wrdrobes ll leve thkg re relly seeg congressmn on his wy crucil meetg West Wg White House. With regrd sry, one might only wish truly chllengg rivl emerge someone Frnk is not cpble esily outmneuverg. Without consistently midble opponent, he hs, despite some brief setbcks, remed undefeted his politicl personl bttles. Frnk s Mcbeth-like rise power seems suggest Mcbeth-like end. We cn only hope he Clire contue ir brutish power climb s fr s ir rrely detectble consciences cn ber. F by Cole Heisner, Boulder, CO This series is rted TV-MA. ACTION Mn Steel wnted love direcr Zck Snyder s Mn Steel, I relly I did. mn understs ction, he knows how frme scene, he cn tell sry. problems tht generlly plgue his work re wek cstg signture brekneck pce tht doesn t leve room vest ny sort emotionl stkes proceedgs. But Mn Steel, Snyder works script creted by Dvid S. Goyer sry co-creted by Chrispher Noln emotionl stkes, check his cst cludes Amy Adms, Dine Lne, Kev Costner, Lurence Fishburne, Michel Shnnon, Russell Crowe. Stronger cstg, double check. Goyer, Noln, Snyder hve gone ll-out complete overhul Supermn mythology do mny, mny compellg thgs with it. Here Clrk Kent (Henry Cvill) gets his power not sun but djustment Erth Krypn. He is referred s Supermn only twice durg entire film. In ddition, Krypnite is notbly bsent s Kl-El s source wekness re s more rigid scientific explntion. re is n extended (o extended, fct) openg sequence on Krypn tht is visully brethtkg does n dmirble job providg us with necessry bck-sry bout circumstnces Kl-El s cretion. y mke Zod (Shnnon) Supermn II compellg, lyered vill. Amy Adms lso gives senstionl permnce s Lois Lne, written s n telligent, cpble, funny womn is entirely wre Clrk Kent/Supermn dulity chnge. Gone is goy, period-specific Americn origl film series sted, Mn Steel, s superhero movies should, reflects sociopoliticl climte its time with diligence doesn t shy wy big, loud set pieces gurnteed stisfy. While chnges Supermn mythos script is ftlly wek re truly compellg, script tht conts m is ftlly wek. It scrtches surfce sight numerous times without brekg sk. Worse, this is n ction movie tht hs never herd pcg. It mnges be both o long undercooked, refusg tie up n credible number loose ends tht don t resurfce t lest n hour. After openg sequence on Krypn, sted showg us Kl-El s rrivl on Erth subsequent comg ge, Mn Steel trets us fully grown deeply rtured Clrk recllg his childhood flshbcks. se re successful well directed. Untuntely, Goyer s nrrtive technique mkes it impossible vest se moments. non-ler srytellg undercuts job se scenes first plce: it s difficult ctully cre bout boy meet t ge 7, 11, 14 few mutes t consistent tervls. It s shme, becuse Henry Cvill is cpble newcomer, it s cler tht he could comm screen with grvits. Snyder rems so gleefully committed showg udience wht destruction must be wrought by two super-begs t wr (Supermn fces Zod numerous or Krypnin semi-fscists) tht he goes overbord ends up cretg noisy bore. In fct, noise nrrtive literl is movie s biggest problem. Nerly 45 mutes ll-out destruction beg blend ger, ech time new gint set piece is troduced it becomes more exhustg. Hns Zimmermn s defeng ssult score doesn t help. flws this orig sry don t entirely overshdow its vlue s piece populr entertment. A hong its overblown ction sequences would render m md-bendg. A fleshg-out chrcter development script could complement brethtkg visuls. And some its ides most notbly tht Supermn s no kill rule rem rich. ttempt synsize serious gr gives Mn Steel defite nl identity se fux-clever, neless, ssembly-le superhero films. As it sts, it s n occsionlly rivetg, emotionlly shky, dmirbly flwed first step wht could be strt gret frnchise. F by Conner Reed, Bnks, OR 32 Comment on ny rticle t TeenInk.com Teen Ink MAY 15

33 EXPERIMENTAL Tyrnny Julin Csblncs & Voidz Julin Csblncs doesn t ply by rules nymore. Upon first listen, his new lbum Tyrnny my sound like md scientist s cretion. It s bizrre, mysterious, outside--box brrge sounds tht mix ger m n lbum like no or. Trditionl song structures smooth production re boned fvor rw relese. Vocls melt behd powerful riffs blsts ccophony. Tyrnny is truly n dventure no mn s l, s Csblncs puts it, protest record gst mstrem society. Csblncs, now 36, hs lwys hd nostlgic side. This is evident his clssic rock n roll dys with Strokes his 80s-fluenced solo lbum Phrzes Young. In Tyrnny, he flly steps outside his comt zone fully releses his cretivity. Actg s bckg b re Voidz, n ssemblge musicins hve fully bought Csblncs new style. use unconventionl sounds brgs tremendous flvor lbum. Numerous culturl fluences, cludg sounds Arbi Lt Americ, come ger well with ctchy guitr electronic vibes. Ambitious INDIE ROCK Sounds like md scientist s cretion Young Gint Young Gint Americn die rock b Young Gint cme on scene 2004, tkg public by surprise with ir mellow tunes. Led sger Smeer Gdhi, guitrists Jcob Tilley Eric Cnnt, bss guitrist Pym Doostzdeh, drummer Frnçois Comis crete cptivtg music tht genuely wrms r soul. ir hit lbum Young Gint is 51 mutes silk blowg wd. It s breeze rhythmic tervls trvelg gentle strong tempos. YTG opens with Aprtment, filled with hypnotic guitr chord progressions occsionl riffs tht tke by surprise. upbet trck reels, gets r hed bobbg, leves wntg more. YTG s most populr song, My Body, follows. This brillint hit hs been fetured ds populr TV show Teen Wolf, commercils Mount Dew Michelob Ultr. My Body hs stedy bss le bet tht gets r body movg r feet tppg. reltble chorus My body tells me no, but I won t quit becuse I wnt more cn be pplied number rel-life situtions; wher it be love, life, or simply on dnce floor, everyone cn relte. Cleverly spired, y pt personl connection with ir words. YTG contues ir upbet lively pce with next trck, I Got. Gdhi s smooth voice mkes swy s guitr riffs, however, re wht truly fuel lbum. y re especilly strong Dre I Cre John Von Bronx. Csblncs lso shows f extensive power rnge his vocls, with high-pitched flsets deep growls, hs tken strides lyriclly s well. Every trck brgs somethg different tble. With spcey, Dft Punk-fluenced Tke Me Your Army, tropicl vibe Fr Electricity, sounds revolution Mutully Assured Destruction, gently pulsg Xerox, it s plesntly diverse lbum. Tyrnny s fest trck my be Humn Sdness, n 11-mute collge emotions melodies. Only not-so-gr-fle, Off Wr, disppots. It cn be sid tht Tyrnny is msterpiece rebels. It s fr beyond comprehension mstrem pop. In fct, music fds itself void, but Julin Csblncs Voidz hve found life energy this unknown. If this truly is sound future, we re one heck ride. F by Aln Brown, Mnhttn, KS Lk r TeenInk.com ccount Fcebook POP 1989 Tylor Swift Just jolt tht pop music needed if settg sil on wrm summer dy. guys n grb listener s ttention by openg ir next song, Cough Syrup, with mesmerizg cello undernes fetured throughout piece. repetition lyric Life s o short even cre t ll tries convce tht worryg is potless pushes believe tht somethg better is on horizon. Cough Syrup, when tken responsibly correct dosge, cn defitely id helg. YTG slows it down with God Mde Mn. It mts lid-bck feel but ctches f gurd with sudden burst energy when tempo picks up midwy through. For lst two mutes Tylor Swift shook pop world with relese Her loyl b Swifties were thrown swirl turmoil. Some fns were overjoyed t opportunity dd yet nor lbum ir collection. Some mourned loss old Tylor, sng ir diries through reltble bllds on her previous lbums Ferless, Spek Now, Red. Even non-swifties turned curious er new relese. Some mrveled with grudgg pprovl t record-brekg sles. Some just looked t her reputtion s blonde seril dter groned wrdly, mutterg mselves disgustedly bout music this genertion. It s shme tht ll se people re missg pot isn t just nor mishmsh hertfelt country, jumble mengless lyrics, or melodic rry soulful R&B. It s breth fresh ir modern pop, teemg with mixture upbet tempo clrifyg honesty tht hs never been seen bee music dustry. It s becon light mid foggy clutter repetitive bubblegum bets dubstep tht fests our rdio sttions is delightful mix bllds tged with bckground drums ( Clen ), feisty dnce tunes ( Shke It Off ), sssy, stiricl messges ( Blnk Spce ). Swift dbbles hir-miss world electropop with I Know Plces Wildest Drems, resultg novel mixture piercg lyrics huntg flset. But most defg trit this lbum is nocent honesty tht won Swift legions fns her previous lbums. In 1989 she sets it free, lettg her truthful lyrics tumble through new terr pop tempos until y she brighter thn ny her previous endevors. hidden p seemgly crefree song Welcome New York rers its hed with les And cn wnt wnt/boys boys girls girls by revelg prejudice tht hunts world. bittersweet melody But come bck wht need This Love hides deeper, drker resentment reltble ll those with broken herts. With 1989, Swift declres world tht her tlent srytellg isn t confed soothg guitr strgs country music. In fct, when pired with upbet percussion dy s pop, her musicl tegrity cuts deeper thn ever. Swift my be newly ducted pop rtist, but her messge hs never been clerer. This lbum is just jolt tht pop music needed. And if re still not convced, well, I guess Tylor sid it best: hters gonn hte, hte, hte, hte, hte. F by Annie Lu, Cms, WA Tlented ng b with n esy listeng style MAY 15 Teen Ink music reviews nerly five-mute-long song, Gdhi sgs his hert out, despertely tryg figure out why God mde mn, his reson. b returns its more typicl, mellowed-out style next three songs. n y hit with Grs. It strts with militnt drumbet tht is soon ccompnied by domnt guitr melody. lyrics spek someone stg up wht he believes, which turn llows him grow personlly. subject this trck is bttle where he flls down, gets bck up, keeps fightg with his broken bones muddy shoes. It s cler tht even though he hs been betryed by ones y trust, wht he is dog is right; orwise, it wouldn t feel so fmilir. Next, St. Wlker opens with ctchy guitr slide. Gdhi mimics guitr s led by mnipultg his voice high low. bet rhythm lyrics grip r h wlk down street on brisk, cler night. YTG goes upbet St. Wlker much clmer Isls, consistg primrily Gdhi s wispy voice lyered over smooth guitr strummg ft drum tppg. YTG concludes lbum with uthority. y re somehow ble compile emotions ll previous trcks ir fle, Guns Out. Mgiclly, it s st svory yet edgy persistent. YTG is truly tlented ng b se esy listeng style is enticg ll ges genders. y cpture r soul jump hold until ride slows stisfyg but unwnted end. F by Sidney Cmeron, McDonough, GA 33

34 book reviews NOVEL Book Thief Mrkus Zusk Book Thief floted round my mentl, n digitl, book lists yers. In elementry school, librrins recommended it. Once I even checked it out my public librry but never red it. So I put it f yers yers until one dy I ws t Brnes & Noble picked it up g. movie hd come out months erlier, but I hdn t seen it. I hd cert expecttions this book kd unconscious ssumptions tht build up bee red book. In some cses, book flls short. Not this one. I expected sd. I expected terestg, good sry. Surpssed my highest expecttions Book Thief didn t fil me re, but surpssed my highest expecttions. I didn t expect trgic, thought-provokg musgs or ctul hppess World Wr II book but this is complete beutiful sry. Mrkus Zusk s writg my be best I ever encounter. His frequent yet lstg imgery thorough chrcter-buildg gives his words power tht Liesel Memger sought so despertely. Book Thief follows four yers Liesel s life durg which she lives with foster prents Ros Hns Hubermnn. She runs streets with Rudy, boy with lemon-colored hir, Hns teches her red. y hrbor Germn Jewish mn shres Liesel s love words. All while, Deth nrrtes ir tumultuous frgile lives World Wr II Germny. Zusk perfectly blnces ction with ction. re re spurts fer, loss, dventure, but neverless, everydy moments re frequent. se re sweet, uchg, sometimes funny. Ech moment this book dems be pprecited felt strongly so. Mybe it s due settg, Deth s nrrtion, or fct tht Liesel s sry begs with loss. Mybe it s ll those. It s life, isn t it? We know our end might be comg ny dy, but we contue livg nywy. We keep lughg cryg mkg friends. Deth himself remds reder this ten. It is esy, especilly durg wr, blme Deth tkg Liesel s bror first chpter. But if this book tells us nythg, it is tht Deth is not evil humns re. y re lso heroes. F by Aubrey Juel, St. Pul Prk, MN AUTOBIOGRAPHY I Am Mll Mll Yousfzi Am Mll is n spirg ubiogrphy tht teches reders I ll ges importnce stg up wht y believe. At ge 11, Mll Yousfzi becme ng blogger ctivist girls eduction Pkistn. She her writg becme fmous. n, when she ws on her wy school 2012, Tlibn gunmn srmed on her bus shot her three times. Mll woke up hospitl Engl. As she heled, she wrote this book explg wht she or women hve hd experience. This brve girl won Nobel Pece Prize ll she ccomplished. Mll grew up under lws Tlibn. She followed footsteps her fr, Ziudd, gret mn with much sy tech. His sry overcomg bd stutter becomg gret public speker gve her hope tht chnge ws possible her o. Mll speks girls cnnot spek mselves Mll wnts chnge how people view women her society so tht one dy ll girls cn go school get eduction y deserve. Becuse horrible cident Mll endured, world becme wre her sry. She cn now show world her sry spek girls cnnot spek mselves. Throughout this ubiogrphy, reders will lern horrible oppression women children endure under Tlibn s rule. more people become wre se sries, more y will tke st. Eye-openg events cn help chnge world mke it better plce everyone. Becuse Mll her credible sry, we re gettg closer closer mkg mny drems relity. F by Andromed Vetsch, Richfield, MN CLASSIC Lord Flies Willim Goldg Are humns herently good or evil? Willim Goldg s Lord Flies is rw look t horrid depths wht hppens humn nture when societl governmentl controls dispper. It tkes plce on Pcific isl where plne full British boys hs crsh-led. You meet Rlph, democrtic leder brgs boys ger; Piggy, se lrge body reflects expnses his brillint md; Jck, is uch peeved t lck fvor his ledership; Simon, shy crg one provides littluns with fruit kdness. At first, boys seem estblish functiong systemtic society. But thgs chnge s Jck s tribe begs huntg, terrors bestie hunt boys, mds order on isl beg unrvel. Rescue, rtionlity, order You ll crge, gsp, weep beg lose ir importnce mong boys s svgery, violence, thirst killg plgue m. You will crge, gsp, weep longside chrcters s end nocence drkness mn s hert is exposed. A wrng us ll, Lord Flies isn t necessrily plesnt red, but it is n importnt one. F by Alici Mrzolf, Cuperto, CA NOVEL Out Rech Crrie Arcos Wht do do when someone love hs n ddiction? Do let m be, mke m sp cold turkey, or tke m rehb pressionl help? Does r loved one even wnt be helped? In Out Rech, it is up Rchel help her bror, wher she likes it or not. Rchel is used beg known s Mich s little sister, title met with scowls or smiles techers. Rchel Mich bond over lyg ir prents wtchg ech or s bck. But her bror hs secret tht even Rchel feels bd keepg: he hs strted usg meth. When his ddiction gets relly bd, ir prents send him rehb. n Mich runs wy. With her bror missg her reltionship Mny loose ends with her boyfriend brekg up, Rchel s life is gog downhill. When she gets n nonymous e-mil syg tht Mich is trouble, she decides serch him with Tyler, his best friend. This le book tkes plce durg dy hlf Rchel Tyler re tryg fd Mich. Out Rech is Crrie Arcos s debut novel ws flist Ntionl Book Awrd. I personlly did not fd it very excitg. Rchel s chrcter is not terestg. sd, unfished endg did not mke me hppy eir. Arcos left so mny loose ends tht it mkes it feel like re my be sequel comg. This is not bd book, but I would not red it g. F by Megn Ansems, Kentville, NS, Cnd 34 Comment on ny rticle t TeenInk.com Teen Ink MAY 15

35 Mrked by Grcie Gill, West Monroe, LA re s rustlg noise f my left, I look up my grden. It s probbly just nor remed criml nerby community s cut himself come lookg my help. A mn round my ge erly twenties pushes through trees tht le pth house I shre with my dd. He comes view sps, hunched over, pntg clutchg his right rm. Long, shggy blck hir covers his fce, but I cn still see ve tto. It s red. Why is it red? Is he n escpee? He looks up t me, I cn t help but gsp t ll those ves, ll those leves. Not only is his tto still red, but he s mss murderer. ve begs just bove his collrbone curls up end t his eyebrow. brnches cover hlf his neck most his right cheek. Countless leves dot ves. I look his pnicked green eyes. re s blood runng down his rm. He s bdly hurt, I cn help him. Wht should I do? Plese, help me, he begs st voice. If it weren t murderers hd served ir time, Dd wouldn t be live. Mybe I cn help him, n cll Encers while he s restg. Yes, I sy. Relief wshes over his fce. I wrp his unjured rm over my shoulders guide him my house. I cn t sp glncg t his tto. So mny lost lives. Why would someone kill so mny? I wnt sk him, but tht would be rude vsive. He glnces my wy out corner his eye. I never killed nyone, if tht s wht re thkg, he sys. I ws set up. Me few ors. Wht do I sy tht? Why would he hve been set up if he hdn t done nythg wrong? He seems notice my lck words. My nme is Rhydin, by wy. Tht s n esy sttement. I cn reply tht one. Me s Shelby, I sy. He doesn t sy nythg response, which is relief. I m not sure I could hle nor bomb like I m mrked mss murderer, but I never killed nyone. I help Rhydin chir, n go f serch my first id kit. When I return, his eyes re closed. If he s sleep, tht s oky. It ll mke it lot esier bge him n cll Encers. I settle down next him on couch gently beg rollg up his sleeve. He wces opens his eyes. I thk bullet is still my rm, he mumbles. I couldn t fd n exit wound. I sp, stunned. A gun? He s climg hve been shot with gun? Tht doesn t mke ny sense, but when I look closely, I cn see sliver steel embedded wound. Why would Encers use guns? Nobody uses those thgs nymore. Becuse electronets don t work on me, he replies crypticlly. I puse my cleng. Why not? electricity nets tht s supposed stun people only mkes me stronger. I sp cleng his wound. Wht crp? This dy just keeps gettg strnger strnger. How could electricity mke someone stronger? This is ll He s murderg luntic, I ve let him my house just o impossible o sne. He s crzy. Tht must be it. He s murderg luntic, I ve let him my house. Oky. Stick pln. Ptch him up, give him sedtive, n phone Encers while he s out. Simple s tht. Just need ct clm. You don t believe me, do? No, I do, I lie s clmly s I cn mnge. He looks relieved lens his hed gst bck couch. I fish cleng wound h him some guze press gst his rm. When I come bck with syrge h, Rhydin stiffens. Wht is tht? It s just somethg numb r rm while I sew up, I reply. He relxes bit but still seems wry. Did he hve some kd trumtic episode with Heler s child? re re so mny thgs bout him tht don t dd up. He pulls guze wy his rm, I shove his shirt sleeve up. Here, let me do this, he sys. I pull my h bck s Rhydin begs unbutng his shirt. He gently wiggles his rm out sleeve, my eyes widen. Scrs le his chest. One stretches his sternum spce between his collrbones, dictive open hert surgery. Anor begs hlfwy up his bicep ends just below his shoulder. A third rests on one his lower ribs. Wht on erth? I bre. Rhydin clenches his jw. Biopsies tests prison lbs. Wht? Mybe y re self-flicted becuse he s luntic. But y were obviously mde usg surgicl precision. only or time I ve seen cuts like tht is clss. I do only thg I cn thk : I push needle his rm. It only tkes second sedtive tke effect. Rhydin s eyes slip shut, his hed lolls side. I sigh beg crefully sewg wound. After it s bged, I go fd my phone. This le sitution is buggg me. He sounds like he s strk rvg md, but re re thgs tht pot his sry beg true. I don t know wht thk. My converstion with Encers is short. y should be here soon. I wlk bck couch sit. Rhydin hs two or scrs round his wrists. Those re lot rougher mke me thk relly bd rope burns. I shke my hed. I need sp thkg bout ll this snity. Rhydin stirs, I jump. How cn he lredy be wkg up? sedtive should hve kept him out while. He opens his eyes lifts his hed, obviously groggy. Wh-wht hppened? he mumbles. re s knock on door, I jump my feet. Encers re here. y tip ir hts t me s y enter. Rhydin sees m struggles his feet, eyes wide. I suddenly feel like I ve done somethg horribly wrong. Rhydin reches out wrd electronet on n Encer s belt. My hert sps s electricity rcs through ir wrd Rhydin s fgers. One Encers rises somethg like gun shoots him shoulder. electricity dissiptes ir s Rhydin collpses, unconscious. Sorry disturbnce, m m, one Encer sys. We ll get out r hir. As y crry Rhydin out, re s only one thought my md. He ws tellg truth. F Grnted Art by Leh Choe, Burke, VA by Pul Amezquit, Wsn Slem, NC jr kitchen keeps dust probbly r broken bones. I once tried open it; sid money ws us. I wondered if us consisted more r secondh outfits. jr kitchen keeps dust, r broken bones, probbly r lipstick sts. I used sit on s wdow ws lwys open. men kept grbbg, slowly I thk y broke r body. jr kitchen keeps dust, r broken bones, r lipstick sts, probbly me. I lughed when we pid rent ger, thought it ws gog become route. You sid we hd comes now. jr kitchen keeps dust, r broken bones, r lipstick sts, me, probbly r ters. I didn t come out room when y ok police cr, not even when y sid I ws sfe. jr kitchen keeps dust, r broken bones, r lipstick sts, me, r ters, probbly solitude. It ok me seven dys content relize gve r ll. It ok me seven dys imprisonment relize money sved tuition ws my bnk ccount. It ok me seven dys nostlgi relize opened wdow so I didn t boil side. It ok me seven dys grtitude relize ld me jokes so I d got everythg we didn t hve. It ok me 18 yers 11 months relize were re when I ws not. jr kitchen keeps dust, r broken bones, r lipstick sts, me, r ters, solitude, not n ounce re. F fiction Lk r TeenInk.com ccount Fcebook MAY 15 Teen Ink 35

36 fiction Onions Butter by Rchel Seiler, De Pere, WI Six hours. 360 mutes. 21,600 seconds strg t one textbook one pge notes. Mybe biochemistry isn t my thg. I don t thk it ever ws. It s more my dd s sort thg. Well, he s not sittg here my sun-like dorm room crmmg course, now is he? He s probbly bck t home untuckg his shirt hvg glss we with his fincée. Lucky jerk. I sigh loudly enough my neighbors question my ctivities. I don t relly know m t ll, so it doesn t mtter. I m not one be my room very ten. Even bck t home I didn t enjoy it. Sick microscopic mtter thgs cn t see with nked eye, I grb my bckpck cot hed out door. moment I step out dormiry, unrelentg wd smcks me. Oh, yeh. Clsses were cnceled dy becuse it. For moment my swety room seems temptg, but my textbook is still plottg my deth bck t my desk, so I ll ugh it out. wlk through cmpus is cruel, but t lest my biochemistry stress is whisked wy by wd. I m probbly only idiot outside right now, but I know plce tht will remove ny ll my worries. Hopefully it s open on this frigid eveng. le wy re I stre down t my numb feet skirtg long frozen sidewlk. I ve mde this trek cross cmpus enough times tht I cn fd my wy re by crcks crnnies sidewlk. A moldy swich on curb congrtultes me on my rrivl t my desttion. It s been re three weeks. Purple Onion Cfé s lights greet me s I step through glss door. It s open. I quickly step up counter plce my order. re s no le. re s no one here but me stff. usul, I sy confidently witer, but it s just hbit. I m not confident. He rises his eyebrow. It ll be right up. I tke set t center tble. I would usully sit corner, but no one s here, so it doesn t mtter. I grb my gint hedphones my bckpck let New York Symphony Orchestr strg ir viols my er. One lrge cfee, plte onions, side melted butter. Py whenever re redy. witer slps down my order. I know. It s weird. I stre t my unique mel. It remds me o much her. I cn t tke it nymore usul, I sy confidently witer ters strt. But it s not becuse onions. y re just n excuse. If ever remember nythg I tech, she sid with sly smile, it s lwys use condom, lwys order mel resturnt is nmed fter. Tht mens it s ir best dish. Yes, Mommy. I didn t know wht condom ws t five yers old. But or prt mde sense. Jim s Burgers hd best burgers. I liked m with extr pickles. She smiled her huge smile. It used remd me whitecps on wdy dy t bech. Her smile stretched cross her entire fce her eyes. As I got older, though, her smile strted end t her lips, not ble mke journey her deep green irises. I knew somethg ws wrong. She never relly cried front me, but her empty-eyed smiles didn t fool me. Just get over it, he d whispered her kitchen. Just don t feel tht wy. It ws lte, I ws supposed be bed. You don t thk I ve tried? ws her muffled response. She didn t hve energy be hostile, but I thk she would hve been. I would hve been I still m now. My dd plced his wrkled ehed his hs. It ged quicker thn rest his body. Probbly ll frustrtion he experienced with humn emotion. I wish she hdn t tried. Tryg o hrd mke her sdness go wy mde her go wy. And my dd didn t try enough. Mybe if he hd, my mom wouldn t hve hd try so hrd on her own. Mybe I should hve tried hrder o. But beg eight yers old doesn t llow help dults. Excuse me. smll voice brgs me bck sight my brely uched bulbs buttered vegetbles. Are oky, sir? I m fe, I tell witer, wipg wy strem snot ters my eyelshes. He wlks wy, glncg over his shoulder one lst time bee gog bck room. I m fe now, but I wonder if he is. I wonder if my fr untucked his shirt st down next his fincée, his rm slung cross her shoulder. I wonder if he thks her, remembers. Does his smile rech his eyes? I ve never noticed. Ten hlf yers. 92,041 hours. 5,522,460 mutes. Tht s how long she s been gone. Just cse were wonderg. F Rcot by Ayl Fudl, Eurek, CA Her dd hd given her rcot. It ws green on outside hd n rmy cmouflge pttern on side. He sid it hd been his, but now it ws her. Right now it ws tied by rms between two white pes, dog bd job keepg f r. Trcey hd mde cmp with thgs she brought house two blnkets cover ground, Cpri Sun drk, comic red, rcot s ro but she wished she d hd time brg more. blnkets were cold wet, wd kept blowg r under cot. Cpri Sun ws lmost empty, soon she would hve strt gg survive. She remembered wht Dd hd ld her she could et wtergreen berries chew ir leves, crush corns flour, et huckleberries when y were seson. But right now it ws lte fll, everythg ws ll shriveled up ded. Trcey thought longgly her st, wrm bed, her stuffed rbbit Jemim, ornge ct, Smson, sometimes curled up next her pillow. Mybe if she just went bck sid sorry, Mom would sy it ws ll right mke her hot coco pnckes like she used when she ws little y fought. But she couldn t. She didn t wnt Mom s pnckes. Fr wy, she could her her mom cllg She d rr live rest her life s svge woods etg corns thn go bck beg Mom let her. Mom hted Dd, now Dd ws gone becuse her. Trcey didn t cre wht Mom sid Dd hd done, why she kicked him out, becuse Mom ws lir. Dd hd ld her so lst month when y were cmpg. He hd sid, Trcey, r mor is gog tell some very men thgs bout me, but I wnt remember tht y re not true. Your mor is lir. wd ws blowg hrd now, rcot wsn t helpg t ll. Trcey s hs were numb, she couldn t sp shiverg. She tried red comic, but pges hd gotten dmp, words were ll bleedg ger. Fr wy, she could her her mom cllg her nme. Tryyy-seeee! Bby, where re? Trcey covered her ers, n uncovered m. Mom s voice ws bit closer now. Honey, I m so sorry. Plese come bck side. Trcey felt her eyes beg wter shivered. She strted terg little pieces f comic. n, bee she could sp herself, she ws bwlg, Mommy, I m here! I m here! rcot fell ground s Trcey jumped up strted runng bck wrd house, brmbles grew over it. F Art by Fjr Alm, Gujrnwl, Pkistn 36 Comment on ny rticle t TeenInk.com Teen Ink MAY 15

37 Wlls by Angie Jurek, Nperville, IL I ve been strg t ripples my ceilg t lest two hours. Mybe it s been four. Mybe it s only been hlf n hour. I cn t tell if I m witg someone knock on door or not. I know no one will come, though. Everyone s busy. I m busy o, know. re re lot circulr thoughts tht need trcg. A lot mde-up problems tht need mde-up solutions. I ll never follow through with m, course. I don t hve time tht nonsense. I m very busy person. On Sundy or mybe it ws Tuesdy wll my left strted lookg t me weird, cllg me lzy. Agitted, I med him he ws no plce judge. I ws very busy; didn t he know tht? I flipped over my right side, nuzzlg my fce mix gresy hir pillowcse. I hven t wshed my hir four dys, know, I sid right wll. Dedpn, he stred bck. I shower every dy ll; I m not complete cvemn. I just get o lzy rech shmpoo everythg, I clrified. Right Wll stred bck t me. Annoyed with both m, I rolled on my bck, returng ceilg. He never seemed judge like ors. sheets ruffle. I wriggle my es sigh. Proppg myself up on my elbows, I hve brief strg contest with lmp switch. He ws. Coverg my eyes, I flip switch. light leks through my fgers s I stumble door step hllwy. sweet smell corn grilled chicken dnces its wy up stircse. I follow it willgly kitchen. I pull chir out, its legs grte gst kitchen tile, signlg my presence cook. Al, honey, hve done tht pper yet? I ve been relly busy, M. Der, with wht? She sets mount food bee me. I men, I ssume re dog r work up re, but when re just down here wtchg TV. I m under lot stress, M. I push corn round my plte, bunchg it I ve been very busy. She doesn t get it. pile. het her gze burns my ehed. I look up. Her brows re furrowed. She stres t me expectntly. When I shrug my shoulders drop my hed bck my plte, she sighs udibly returns sve. Everybody tht school is under sme pressure s re. spoon scrpes pot rhythmiclly s she churns mshed potes. I don t see why hve mke such scene bout r ssignments. She looks bck t me expectntly exhles g. Her jw tenses, mkg it pper wiry; sk on her fce seems loose, tired. I wish wouldn t worry bout me, I try. I ve got everythg under control. No response. Dner rolls on. I return wlls. Sometimes y help me not thk so much. Sometimes y mke it worse, lettg my thoughts bounce echo f one nor, tesg me s my chest begs shudder. Who knows how much time psses bee my next episode. I try not keep trck time. I relize tht no mtter how chotic r thoughts re, beg cutely wre time re wstg only excerbtes sitution. Once or twice I ve sked Left Wll if he thks I should go tlk someone less emotionlly volved thn my mor, but he lwys ressures me tht I m givg my best. He understs tht I m under lot stress. One fternoon, tringle light dshes my room, splyg itself cross wlls. It grows rpidly round shdowy figure. Al, ve been here ll dy, figure sys. Your fr I hve been tlkg So now guys tlk bout me behd my bck? You thk I m slcker, I whisper Right Wll. Spek up, der. We re gettg concerned. I stre imlessly Right Wll s fce. He holds Art by Pm Best, Greenlwn, NY my gze promises me she s wrong. I ve been very busy. She doesn t underst. Wrm drops liquid slt hit my lips s I relize I m spekg. I just I don t cre. And it s true. I don t. I ve been tryg cre. I ve been crg enough do tht, hven t I, wlls? I ve been crg enough know I don t cre. But I m very busy. She doesn t get it. She s spekg, but her words re untelligible me now. wrm slt is sprtg down my cheeks. wlls re disppoted me. I ve let her. I let her. I brek down let my mor. I don t thk ters wy. I know now. I let her hold me s I cry. Her rms bsorb my sobs. Wlls don t hve rms, know. F fiction Mums Sun by Susnn Olson, Chrlotte, NC I rose with sun, but she ws lredy wke. I imged tht it ws Mums brought dy g. Every morng, s I ws fightg consciousness, my Mums would slip out horrible drkness. Hours lter I would wke up g, this time rel. A few rys light would stel through our dirty wdows just s my Mums returned, ll swety-smiley. I hd seen her run few times so, so fst. She ws only one fst enough run distnce ech morng. Out our crumblg neighborhood. Pst my hlf-broken school. All wy somewhere where it ws little less cold little less ngry. She would fd sun sleepg re. She would smile, kiss his cheek, tell him tht it relly ws time get out bed. Even on those dys when we styed up lte, workg on homework or chttg bout boy gve me flower, my Mums ws lwys up fetch sun morng. I imged tht sun rolled bck sky begged five more mutes. Sometimes he probbly didn t wnt wke up t ll. Who would wnt she down on such cruel world? Mums could cox him, though. Even on most horrible dys. She lwys hd perfect words spoken with cert stness tht mde most unbelievble thgs mke sense No one knew how importnt she ws most ridiculous jokes sound lmost kd funny. No one knew how importnt she ws. Not her dd, kicked her out becuse she ws o tll belong his church. (Tht s why she ld me he gve her boot. I never did quite believe tht sry.) guys she dted, one by one, y didn t know how importnt she ws. Or perhps y didn t like how she kissed sun. My techers compled cuse she couldn t give me wht I needed succeed. I needed books turs somethg clled tervention. Wht is tervention, Mums? It is when don t fit side ir underfunded boxes becuse r eyes re o bright. So y try buy nor box, but y don t relize tht r eyes re gonn she outt ny box y put, girl. It ws lwys tht wy. gret big world versus Mums me. Nobody knew how specil she ws, cept me sun. Tht s cuse we knew wht it felt like wke up her smiles. n she ws gone. y ld me she ws gone ever. Tht I should just get used wkg up broken miblds sted Mums smiles. But I knew y were lyg. I knew tht somehow, we hd still won. All I hd do ws look out wdow sy good morng bright, sleepy sun. F Lk r TeenInk.com ccount Fcebook MAY 15 Teen Ink 37

38 fiction Sweet Sorrow by Ysmeen Piper, Hrrisburg, PA Ten yers. Ten yers I ve been kept wy this plce. Ten yers I ve been dremg bout this moment. Now it s hppeng. My hert is betg so loud I m sure Eli cn her it. metl door opens. I see his eyes first. y re cler, lucid gry, just like Eli s. His smile stretches cross his fce when he sees us but flls bit when Eli doesn t greet him, preferrg stre t concrete floor. He slides bench cross us immeditely grbs my swety h. I cn t believe it. I m sittg fce fce with my fr. A ter slowly mkes its wy down his cheek dim prison light. I hold his h, ters threteng my eyes. Hi, I sy, my voice brely bove whisper. Hi. His voice is groggy deep. You look just like her. My mor. My grmor hs shown me pictures her my fr ger. She ws beutiful In fiction I cn ride drgon with blue scles horned til, Its fgernils mde silver tht is rrest l. drgon does not bre fire but throws up pixie glitter sted. I hve specil ridg bg with mgic spells little cretures impossible fet. In relity I ride my mom s white Ford. Yes, I hve my license, but I fer drivg becuse I could get hurt crsh. Tht my be smll possibility, but still I live fer. One dy tht could hppen me. cr is not specil. It goes pot A pot B. In fiction I live 19th-century brownsne with one thous bookcses, ten little cts, five little dogs, lrge bed just me. I hve Smrt Cr becuse I cre environment y re so cute street. My wrdrobe consists scrves, wedged boots, turtleneck sweters, skirts ll kds. In relity I live n prtment with my fmily shre bed with my little sister, is scred sleep lone. I hve only one bookcse, which will be out room soon, I hve nowhere put nor one. We don t hve pets becuse y cost o much money leve hir everywhere. Do still mke those cupckes? In Fiction by Tori Corpeng, Mrion, NC flwless, nothg like me. My dd lens bck. How ve been? Good, I sy, quick nswer, though I ve been nythg but. He lens wrd s if he hs secret tell. Do hve boyfriend? His fce is stern, but humor dnces his eyes. I shke my hed. Good. A smile. Do still mke those vnill cupckes? Every Sundy, Mom I would bke her world-fmous cupckes with secret gredient she shred only with me. Eli Dd would sg long Betles while we bked. I smile t memory. Of course. He looks t Eli. How re? Fe, I guess. Eli shrugs, glncg t Dd, n bck t ground. y cht, emotionless, Eli nswerg yes or no or shruggg. Mybe two mutes pss bee he sts mumbles, I hve pee, exits room. Nor do I hve cr, becuse I don t hve job. My closet is full, but it only hs swetshirts, jens, socks, music T-shirts, snekers. In fiction I fight my l. I cn bttle ny wizrd comes my wy. I cn shoot spells mgic w. I hve highest gility my kd. In relity I fight hold my ngue. I bttle with homework tht is due morrow. I cn mke smrtss comment like very short comedin. I hve shortest ttention spn tht I hve known. In fiction I m drgonslyer, n spirg novelist, sorceress with mzg power. In relity I m older sister with lovg fmily, teenger needg prt-time job, student tryg get by dy by dy. Both worlds collide when I hve my lpp out durg clss write whtever I like. y meet my dydrems fter tkg test. y msh ger when I red. I could not live without fiction But I could go few weeks my relity. F I hve problem. I len closer Dd. Aunt Lucille wnts put Eli psychitric hospitl, but he won t do well re. He needs sty with me. Dd squeezes his eyes shut second. Mybe Lucille is right. My hert feels like it s beg ripped out. How cn sy tht? He shkes his hed. It s not up me, Chrlie. Wht cn I sy? Look where I m. He s right. re is nothg he could sy Lucille. All right, people, police ficer brks, wrp it up. Dd glnces t door. Eli is still gone. He ll be fe, he sys. Doubt hs crept his voice. I hope so. I fidget. Mybe I cn come up g this summer. I wce, rememberg I cn t. My dd will be ded by n. Tell Eli I sid good-bye. And n, just like tht, he s gone. Wht s up with? I sk Eli bck vn. He flicks his cigrette sh out wdow, dismissg converstion with wve his h, but I m just gettg strted. I know wht Dd did ws wrong. But he s still our fr. His fce bems red ters beg surfce. He strts bngg his fists gst his hed, cigrette sh fllg ll over his clos. Eli. Pull over. I pull f highwy. As soon s cr sps, Eli slips out his white Vns tkes f grssy field. I follow, shovg keys my pocket, slidg out my flip-flops. We run. grss scrtches my nkles wd slps my ple sk. I hed wrd fuchsi sun until Eli suddenly crshes ground. I lie with him, our heds bck bck. He smells cigrette smoke. We sty silent while until I her sniffles. Eli? I did it. sniffles turn sobs. I didn t know guy. He hd his hs ll over her. I thought he ws hurtg her. I grbbed gun, but she got wy. I thought he ws gog hurt me, so. His words drift distnt hum. Eli did it. He killed our mor her lover. My fr is bout be executed somethg he didn t do. Eli wrps his rms round me, his hed gst my shoulder. His sobs dmpen my sweter. I m sorry. I m I run, lookg someone, nyone, cn sve my dd Art by Mis Stemetz, Boll, WA sorry. I m so sorry. We hve help him. I rce bck vn, Eli right behd me. I press on gs. It isn t hrd discover where governor works. I ssume tht if re is one person cn help us, it s him. I end up t lrge white buildg. Men suits mgle round steep mrble steps. I put vn prk run wrd steps, lookg someone, nyone, cn sve my dd. Chrlie! Eli sys, both shout ple. Bee I even look t him I cn tell he s cryg. I hdn t thought bout wht would hppen him when he confessed. Plese don t tell, he begs s he steps vn. I-I cn t lose. Plese. Aunt Lucille Uncle Greg plnned this. y re tryg brek us up. But it s right thg do. Plese, Chrlie. I-I don t know wht y re gog do me. Plese. Ters re stremg down his fce. I cn t imge world without my bror, but I grew up world without my fr. All I wnt is norml. Cn he give me norml? I look t buildg where governor works mn holds my fr s fte. n I see Eli. Although he s older thn me, he needs me more thn nythg world. night sky hs ppered. Eli sleeps, scrunched up pssenger set. He looks so nocent, so relxed. cool night ir blows through open wdow, keepg me wke. I grb Eli s h. Nothg could brg us closer thn somethg tht s terg us prt. I turn on rdio Betles She Loves You drifts ir. I nudge Eli wke. Hey. Wnn mke some cupckes? F 38 Comment on ny rticle t TeenInk.com Teen Ink MAY 15

39 A Teenger s Guide Prlysis by Evelyn Gilbert, Brookle, MA Sit cross tble him. Notice how he hs set plce her. Ignore it. Wtch him et. You will see slck noodle dnglg lifelessly his k. Mke him et. Exggerte r bites. Slurp s loudly s possible do not get chug r milk. Your ctions will drw his ttention wy empty set t hed tble. He will mimic, tryg ct norml. Remember he is r dd. He my not be ctg like it, but he is one only dd hve ever hd will ever get. Tell him tht wnt see her. Tht he should see her. Notice deep les permnently engrved his boyish fce. Your dd will clench his hs fists. Brce rself. He will tell tht s much s he wishes he could go, neir cn. Notice how he neglects mention blck ice outside. Do not sk him drive. If do, he will lose it lecture on how crs re not, never hve been, never will be sfe. Tell him re gog wlk. He will give wek smile sy oky. Leve. You must see her, he is defitely not gog tke. Be sure dress ppropritely. Put on r wter cot, ht, scrf, gloves. Do not get r trction boots. Cll let m know re comg. Step outside. Her cold wd whistlg through empty streets. Feel snow crunchg under r boots. Your foot will slide on some ice. Remember, it s just ice. Trudge corner where bus sps. Wtch s bus slowly rolls wrd, s wheels crush nythg ir pth. y re complete control. Tke comt tht. doors will snp open, witg enter. Your hert might skip bet. Remember tht buses re sfe one sfest ms trnsporttion. Get on quickly, becuse smll le will hve gred behd driver will beckon move. Step bus. Look up t enormous brick buildg tht looms over. Wtch s snow flurry dnces t edge ro, sprklg on. Relize tht cnnot feel snow. Your fce will be red numb with cold. You will hve been stg re seven mutes. Enter through revolvg door go up desk. Do not stroll up; wlk like hve purpose. You do hve purpose. Do everythg nurse tells. Follow her down hllwy, keepg up with her brisk pce. She will brief on r mom s condition, tellg wht expect. Nod solemnly, showg tht underst. Fold r hs behd r bck keep shkg showg. She will sk if cme with nyone dy. Simply nswer: no, it s just me. Tke deep breth compose rself, hidg r emotions. Plce one foot front or long spotless tile floor. Rise r eyes r mom on bed. You will notice tubes hooked up her useless wy her legs lie re. Rush her side, beg sure not step on or trip over ny mches surroundg her. relity sitution will hit ll r emotions will flood through r body. Keep rself check. Thk: she s live everythg is gog be oky. Push thought tht r le life will be ffected by this bck r md. Forget tht r dd is wllowg sorrow t home. She will smile t, but not with glow re used seeg. Your dd will clench his hs fists. Brce rself. Perch on edge bed hug kiss her. Do not cry. If cry, she will cry. She will fold her rms, whisperg not worry. Wit sy nythg until re positive tht r voice will not betry r feelgs. She will sk how r dy went. Answer: everythg s fe, Mom. Describe delicious rmen noodles tht Dd hd lunch. Be enthusistic. See brely uched try hospitl food t her bedside. Try remd her how good food is t home, but do not mke her feel like she s missg out; it is not her fult tht she is here. Tell her tht got n A on essy she helped with, wher or not it s true. She needs good news. She will whisper how proud she is. Avoid glncg t her useless legs. She will sk: wht re dog physics? Mumble somethg bout energy work. Sy lst night s homework ws hrd but were only one get problem 3b correct. If mention r lb on cr explosions it will be o soon. Wy o soon. She will try lift mood by tellg one her knock-knock jokes. Lugh, but not overenthusisticlly. Don t ce it. She will sk how re feelg. Get up wer round room, pyg close ttention ll medicl equipment, mumblg somethg bout how it remds technology exhibit t science museum. You mustn t tell her how feel. You won t even know wht feel. As silence begs lengn, won t be ble keep it nymore will whisper: how bout? She will immeditely beg chtterg bout how nice everyone is how she s lerng use wheelchir. Notice how she mkes everythg seem positive, tht she hsn t mentioned Dd s bsence t ll. She will rmble on, tlkg bout how clen it is here free room service. Let her spek; she will need get it out her system. Flly she will sp. A sd silence will settle over room. Her eyes will become glssy, shg like hedlights. Relize tht she is remiscg bout ccident. You will be ble see wheels turng her hed. You must snp her out it. Remrk bout somethg, nythg. Your mouth will betry s questions beg flowg out. She will turn her hed wrd. See IV lodged her rm bl blue hospitl gown tht hngs on her smll frme. She will look directly eye, clcultg wher cn hle nswers. Set r jw determed le wit, tkg comt stedy rhythm hert monir. next time she opens her mouth, truth pst few dys will come pourg out her like wterfll tht s been blocked fr o long. You my cry now. Tlk. Tlk bout how she ll soon be up like her usul self. Sy: I ve lwys wnted n elevr our house! Keep smile plstered on r fce, tryg lighten mood. It will not work. evitble question will flly surfce. She will sk where Dd is. Relize nonchlnt fçde she hs put up bout Dd s truncy. See how little smile is pted on her fce but tht her eyes re full nguish. hert monir will ctch r ttention becuse it is beepg fster now nticiption wht will sy. See how her egerness she hs mnged push herself up sittg position with her rms. Fierce hope love will burn her You won t even know wht feel eyes. Open r mouth. smll sob tht escpes r mom will strtle. Turn round. Look t drk shdow tht hs ppered doorwy. You ll be strg eyes r dd. Notice how tips his ers re bright pk. How he is gspg lrge gulps ir. Tht his gloves re mismtched he isn t werg red scrf tht he lwys wers. How his outfit hs been thrown ger s if rush. Relize tht he rn re. Wtch s he gzes t Mom she t him. How Mom s shoulders re now shkg with sobs. See tht ters re brimmg his eyes like river tht hs been blocked up by century-old dm dm is close brekg. How he mnges get cross room Mom one fluid motion. Notice tht cn brely see Mom nymore becuse she is enveloped his rms. ir eyes re squeezed shut, but ters re runng freely down ir fces. F Pho by Kiley Hrris, Portl, ME Mchery Our bodies re mches tht we pump oil (blck slick shy) through. Oil mkes us run but dmpens our fers keep us flyg. Our bodies re mches with iron (hrd thick shy) lungs. Iron mkes us strong but only while bee we rust. Our bodies re mches controlled by zeros ones ( ) sent through wires but wires cn be cut. Where does messge go n? by Am VnNierop, Wentzville, MO fiction Lk r TeenInk.com ccount Fcebook MAY 15 Teen Ink 39

40 poetry Pho by Veronic Liow, Sn Rmon, CA Fll Rome Peer through boculrs, observe stedy gry r wrought iron bench, sne wll tht hs borne witness thous dys (mybe more) will contue st upon grss tht hs grown wired wy severl times over sce tht distnt eveng (vesper, vesperis) when she looked through blown glss wdow sw ty hidden kgdom chocolte hugs sunrise eyes. n pebble ws crried on wd struck wdow, not so hrd tht pne shttered but enough dislodge chip molten s se plce ws tken by silvery spiderweb like ones tht used brush gst her fce, ghostly ters on her wlks through woods (silv, silve). Tht spider hs long sce died, cooked live by risg sun peekg through hzy golden lshes. secret kgdom evported, misty through muscule crcks tht becme gpg chsms closer got m. scribbled words eye pencil squishy red fish, ll risg out ir trnsprent prison l on dry crunchy grss, dust ever cotg strk curlicues sne wlks st, keepg vigil now night (nox, noctis) ever fter. by Crole Kubznsky, Wshgn, DC Mybe re should be switch or lever welded my ribcge. One tht I could pull times distress or when I m feelg prticulrly lost Becuse s I wtch subtle morng dew slide cross sgle blde grss like microscopic snpshot hevy ocen wve, or how my fntile neighbor scoops erthworms soggy dirt, preludg rcheologicl ventures below misty mountp metropolis, I fer re is little write bout. by Tess Constnte, Arlgn Heights, IL simple secrets universe re spekg louder thn ever: re listeng? Closer, closer thn ever bee ctch m relm unimgble thgs ticklg, rchg like nticiptg wrkles I cn see m old, uched, how ve been uched so hrshly sry beg ld with every second spng wheel tht does not sp I ws strg t n older couple tlkg ech or t tble No one lives ever but some reson we ll believe we weren t put on this erth just die n, just like tht, it ll mkes sense by Srh Wedge, Cnmson, NJ dehydrted my mom ld me i needed wter sid i looked ple, like i would crumble under one uch. she thought wter ws wht i needed. but it cnnot fix two-month-old burn mrks where stroked my sk with r midnight wildfire thought i liked how it felt. wter cnnot fix how i felt fter i relized i could ve sid no. would ve sid no, if i hdn t been so rn prt so dehydrted love, thkg would fill me up g when relity glss hs never been more vcnt. by Clire Brvermn, Dvie, FL Hrlem Wltz I cme cross her t ripe hour, ctchg breeze, drg fte, wltzg bet her own, ll this drunken stupor, bet plyg on on her hed. Spectcles horror, one night, every night. Only fools mistke time quiet time, fools fil see how bright it cn be, might it ll, confidence it. Night dogs wlked between prked crs, scrtchg boulevrds like old records ir mms used ply on downtime. Teeth shrp, bcks rched, slopg those streets without cre world. No stright le m; every movement ws shrp blow concrete. Bck-lley, dilly-dllyg old cts lunched shdows over concrete, concrete shiverg under weight voluptuous shdows. y grew up o fst; ir mms tught m how lunch shdow, mms bee m, mms bee m. cretures met beneth red light, cts brushg st, tender, chep perfumes on shrp-od grgoyle-like nimls, dnce begn. I remember shrp A mor, eerily f-tune. street rippled like bckbone. Trombones lept sewge pipes, pinos fire hydrnts, Africn bongos depths bsement, French horns out phone les. A ccophony sounds med drop note. n re ws howl thg clerly undenibly cold. Perhps it ws dog, or ct, or rodent wnted relly kick thgs f. dogs cts joed bodies, ir pws scrtchg old pvement, ir shdows freezg new concrete, one mssive conglomertion, movg sync. Herts were rn bet on cold slbs, spurtg out melodies ditties, lights rn sockets, mbulnces scremg fl notes s y sped through hills wn. See, I thought it ws my time, y thought it ws irs. But night doesn t owe itself ny selfish crook behd triple-plted wdow or one sorry sucker behd shrd glss. I become prlyzed my limbs screm some relese while y give it up some thrill. No one ws; we just wtch. by Hillel Rosenshe, New York, NY Milk You used rip f tgs my clos, Sid it looked tcky when y showed. I lwys found it funny, Cuse ripped f nyone could. You got redy dy by Stitchg lies To r collr strppg on those shoes Flse glory, Slipped r jcket corrupted sry, And bee left, I mde unrvel truth yrds Expensive sweter-strgs. Did it work? No, it never did thg, And still wved f people like those flies buzzg round r md were hungry lies mn Couldn t keep his pride. You never bought milk by gllon cuse sid it ws better buy people s trust by pt, And every once while I ll look up sky wonder if God fered His love trust pts Or gllons. Well, it wouldn t mtter. I gve enough love keep r blnce, And re ws never better chllenge thn mkg sure Sod tll. by Hnnh Butcher, Lke Worth, FL My/Sixteen Rech those strs, grb m by ir hir. We need somethg hold us down erth. by Sbr Koss, New City, NY Higher plce Crcks on concrete mkg it seem less less complete. I m bckset driver my own cr I got throw wy two hlf weeks go yet n ornte, difficult mgnet mistune ltter times reek crimes tht rn wrpper Lucid, untelligible, unmentionble nyone Keybord with ll keys switched I still function but ll is just Guesswork ferred motions I m higher sttus. I m notions mde tend not mke sense But with questions come nswers ors I cn sp mdlessly hopg i m spekg right md. Whtsoever. by Emily Jones, Frisco, TX 40 Teen Ink MAY 15 POETRY

41 Blnk Functions Different eyes see different les Smrt Bord mrker squiggles swirls. I tmely dispper logicl world. x s y s grphs derived seek nswers locked quiet mds. Perhps I lost my tresure mp, shrp corners birds fly over horizon. I must hve lso gotten my eyes previous lesson, one bout limits. by Eleni Aneziris, E. Setuket, NY Pho by Ktie Ehrlich, Glendle, CA Solo Intervl In silver trumpet mute n iridescent reflection glxy glems. body horn is like sun shg through sted glss. plyer swets hues blues reds s he blows blues. Silence Is only sound tht follows st buzzes solo tervl Like Fridy nights bss-filled brs, eyes brely open, wtchg ptrons cut rug; I feel bss pluck, snres sizzle. I hven t cre world, wtchg solo tervl. by Kriss Red Ber, Mt. Horeb, WI Seeg right through. I m not poet I m jigsw Brekg lws rhyme diction I m crfter mixed metls Mixed metphors Your high school English techer would hte me And boys would never dte me So I built myself wll books Threw ger le hook I ll slip this note under my Sylvi Plth pile And hope tht will be one deshelf me But s I recll You never were huge fn fishg. by Hrshit Kushwh, Delhi, Indi Shred Spce with Desired Lover rech me, r h slidg cross cold veed bus set levg sluggish tril wrmth. tht set is pproximtely fifty ches long. tht s enough room me, friendship on ny given dy. but sometimes when we re lone, squeeze friendship out, entirely submergg it elongted eye contct srcsm, press r slender, khki-cld thigh gst my blck tight-veiled thigh (usully left one, one with birthmrk I m self-conscious bout, until tentionlly untentionlly grze it with bckside r h.) hlf me is iced, pressed gst chilled metl wll, n re is side me tht s uchg, surfce sun wedged between our shoulders, spce time open ir between curve my body r one-eighty rso. meteorites fllg our mouths crshg ech or, everythg is loud! we re loud! I m not loud lone when I m with, we re loud ger swer with ll r might t me nnoyg n might send rself silent lugh, quick blip shootg str, bee we re silent g. n Nbokov or Fitzgerld lulls me sleep on r shoulder. rech over mrk my pge me, tryg keep r shoulder stiff, becuse I do not nnoy. it s only when I m sleepg tht ll dmit I m r terglctic drem girl. by Reese Fischer, Chrlesn, SC Nomenclture Li Mi No Good Ctstrophe, with scrred-up sk spillg over r jens how did thk could plese his brillint nmy? His sclpel bones will scf t ; knees Hdes Hell Bent Vitlity bend brek t r helpless ples; mrble sttues cnnot sve if cnnot unfreeze. You ll lwys be more thn him, An Mrie Sweet Te: he s sour, Alsk r Albm sweet shde tree, he s Bonprte Blck Cfee, Plese, with his eyes fixed wrd s re on r knees. Don t fll him, plese, ren t lookg mrry r disese; oh, how his bones feel, though, gst my cheek, how his blood runs cold, his drkness runs deep. by Megn Willims, Pittsburgh, PA Sun Sijo sun flls s I hve felt: brightly sngue, not seemg set. Field by fire, no more thn myself: dngerous red, burnt cigrette. Slowed by drk, but light md eyes: stretched s strs, burstg sunrise. by Tom Msln, Hrtl, WI Slen Bibles sometimes I wonder if ll good prts me re gone lst yer I strted puttg pictures up on my wll cover up spot where I lost my temper I strted werg more turtlenecks becuse boy my rt clss sid he liked m I wore more blue velvet becuse it remded me movie glsses were fke, y pched my nose little, but sometimes I felt like I need somethg hide behd becuse ll this time I spent tryg mke up personlity wht I lcked beuty seemed pretty wsted when I styed round or people o long so I strted stel Bibles I cn t remember why I thk I just liked size weight m ll my hs I styed out with strngers becuse I knew y didn t owe me nythg my friends mde me feel lonely but I needed know if I still hd good hert I know I hd one t some pot. by My Culfield, Boulder, CO Bone Echoes If we st here long enough We ll see pst Old bones echoes Tht couldn t lst I m se under r devoted mst A le ctchg fish which couldn t cst by Justyn Mri Kedzier, Stlow Wol, Pol Night Night is like mor never lets go. I do not know why this is or why this odd thought hs slipped my md, but it is re, it hs come. I once rode through night broken-down cr with dress so pk so big tht my little cous ws smored by skirt. this occurred only fter dncg with vrious strngers. nor time I rode pst strry sky bus, kitten tucked my cot bgs under my eyes. I thought, this is wht it must feel like be n dult. I step furr byss feel my smch sk lower lower its pit. I willgly slired my wy plce I m dy. I crwled with my belly slidg on cold ground, with my ch still rised high, neck crng sky, night. pitch drkness decorted dots life. how my love never seems die night. with dnger shiver, it is n oppressive love, n busive love. bruised bttered, I gze up, my feet only occsionlly risg few ches f solitude ground. I wonder when I ll ever see brek dwn. by Zulm Mrtez, Snt Ros, CA Hevens my grmor s hs re rough round fgers sted purple becuse eggplnts she likes cook, mm sys but I thk it s becuse flowers violets she uches lilcs she picks jsmes she lys on dg room tble or used bee she left home bee she left se bee she left drwers full pho lbums behd come live with me now I m flower les on her fce sten when she sees n opportunity rerrnge my ruffled petls ggerly mkg everythg right her sted hs on my shoulders her delicte eyes closed pryer so tht when I go sleep I m smilg when i close my eyes I see purple by Khulood Fhim, Abu Dhbi, United Arb Emirtes POETRY MAY 15 Teen Ink 41

42 Cfee Brek Petrichor Blnk Cnvs Pssion vited me some cfee lst night i hppened see glt r eyes. i hope didn t kill me but i m not quite sure why breeze ws silent ir ws still. it s money seek i m not up tht so fd someone else wtch listen hold kill. by Dphne Morg, Jckson Heights, NY Red Roses A deep unknown color. With spes ech dy lost. A sgle ter slides down my cheek. dys tick pst, ech growg longer thn rest. A sgle splsh color tht cn be terpreted million wys. red roses bloom with n unnturl light. Wd blows sweet scents swirl dnce. Night comes with gentle nudge. Moons she brightly pper sky fr wy. Not lookg bck. universe s drk eyes stre bck. Cold hrd. Never bckg down. It s funny how thgs look different when look closely. If ok prt everythg it would be red. Red is everythg. by Chyn McClendon, Pittsburgh, PA My Eternl Universe And I could hve held r fgertips, like strs, my plm hours. And I could hve sod mesmerized yers by r pupils diltg, like blck holes, suckg my soul. And I could hve wtched r smile, s bright explosive s supernov, millennium. And I could hve wited ever, r hert like moon, fillg me with light n levg me drk. by Binc D Annio, Ntick, MA 42 Teen Ink MAY 15 POETRY this is how i cll my lost love poems: scent dust fter r crdle thunder r collrbone it crshes r voice, r hs tremblg with bones shped like lightng. r lips don t tremble, lredy drowned by srm tht hs moved r fgers. sk over my hips hs crcked open : n erth shrp empty, violently bloomg drought. when r hs pull my hips with tremor, i wonder if srm begs giveness, feverish unspoken. i lwys conjure s wter, color r rteries quenchg dissolvg, s if were nmed river me erodg my ribs cello strgs reverbertg under r tremblg fgers. ger we re vibr: deep notes shkg our throts with stg like slt wter, wves wter, wves sound. we ply ech or pizzic, when our strgs snp bck we spit up chords like broken pryers we hoped we d never need sy. lst time i confessed (i m lwys thkg bout negtive spce unmesured distnce) i ws ssigned three hil mrys; i found ech one serchg bright flshes r bones till sighed thunder, echoes my pennce. tril kisses on my neck like rosry beds, i know my guilt won t wsh wy. i m ll burng s, ll dust srm, uprooted pieces me rollg r r. collisions like se ren t ment lst. even though we re ptg ech or whisper love sty, our hs re not holdg one nor; we re nchorg ourselves. when we know giveness cnnot be coxed out bodies or ngues, our srms retret. hle our closest ttempt t reconcilition silence, exhle without words we ment sy needed her. when i leve, my mouth is full dust. by Kelsey Schmitt, Dlls, TX Pho by Gbrielle Amr, New York, NY plese st on me squish my body between r es like grpes mde we slidg wrmly down throt drk me out specil cup tht mde with r bre hs mold me like cold cly tht sid felt like sk push r fgers my fce, m mouth tht will only spek ers tht will only ever her r voice eyes tht will follow only until I m dust by Zoe Webb, Feln, CA Curts crystl curts round r hert No one cn snek Hve pondered bout lettg someone? Nothg more tht feelg detergent Blechg hppess color Roll curts up once while let sun she through by Nicole Zlkrsov, Brooklyn, NY Under Wterfll I d never get how I dropped From her unprepred rms; Like rock mountp, I stumbled down, she never cred. perls my eyes, I kept, Under wterfll, I wept. Besieged ws I I relized, By her, by this love she ignored. Like rock, I ws prlyzed, But pourg wter resred, And wkened perls tht slept, Under wterfll, I wept. My hed ws bowed, my body bent, As I received mount s ters. Perls me followed current; I freed ll tht I hid yers; And this hert on which she stepped, Under wterfll, it wept. wter brced my perls crystl, And dried flood tht soked my eyes. My love ought be eternl, But wter did wsh my cries. If only I sod when left, Mybe I d lughed, I hdn t wept. by John Michel Londres, Iloilo, Philippes Tody I ws fced with question An ungivg stg fce As I red tht sign on subwy Wht is r pssion? Well, I missed my sp est And tht job terview long with it. I cught myself sittg on tht set For nor 30 mutes. Becuse I rcked my br n Answer I just couldn t fd one or thn him. See, couple months bck You could ve cught me prechg sermon Of his words on Sundy morng Or terpretg ideologies les his hs I could ply melody his sighs Like strgs viol And our love ws my cross-country mtch It ok work, but we lwys seemed rech fish le stronger Some people bre prose Or prise literry works Like hevens But he ws my pssionte moments I never believed nythg but him We were fire Gsole mtch An imment disster But isn t burng sk Afire with nor s uch Better thn one shrivelg without it? Didn t y lwys sy re ws beuty destruction? He ws my sun My oxygen My turng world A poet s words An rtist s cnvs A scientist s long-sought eqution re ll my phses My sctterbred thoughts So no, I ve never stuck one thg I ve chnged jobs like I do outfits I ve never hd pssion Tht hs consumed me Tht I ve scrificed But boy, did I hve. by Pol de Vron, Mimi, FL mortl tendencies give this old mn childhood we sy re is no beuty deteriortg flesh no chrcter scrs nothg fsctg bout ghostly eyes tht wtched everythg dissipte he does not wnt die sy it now, sy it does not end brek wht is left his filg body when lie like hve choice sy not night, re is no time by Chs Okezie, Hywrd, CA

43 CrunchFreeze hert is metronome, slowly brekg under stress, its tempo decresg ech stnce fd shorter pedestl st on corner r md. Every time my hert skips bet, I feel sne skip cross ocen despir my smch, sendg ripples wves cross surfce. This reltes how ngues tie my ttention up like cherry stem rehersed, precise movements. As ffection melts my mouth like ice, cffee nthrx slip ir wy my ves, which re so wired tttered on ccount my body s systems lwys workg so dmn nervously. Some dys I ponder if succubi tht occupy my imgtion swim downstrem hijck bomtion tht lies my chest strt bngg on timpnis hell, concoctg clmorg, chotic trwreck sound, derilg orderly rhythm my hert mts. After ech vlnche emotion I m left shiver under th blnket left br hord oxygen desperte lungs. Hdes sses me River Styx derootg seeds fith plnted soot my br, resurrectg my muddy flow consciousness. His fgers crdle my hert squeeze; I feel my chest crunch, I freeze. by Michel Spell, Lemont, IL Crbon Under My Sk Our bodies re mde crbon, But our bodies re dividully pigmented. I never undersod tht. Becuse when I ws puttg crbon pellets filter bg, It sted my fgers blck, And only prt my body tht it mtched Ws bruisg my knuckles From tryg put r memory drywll. by Nikki McComiskey, Uncsville, CT Frozen Time I rem unltered t A hectic street curb. Lcy spiderwebs climb down my rso Towrd erth below. Auburn curls tumble my crown. Sttic crs jgged buildgs behd me Tht cn no longer see, With n perture s low s 1.3 by Mx Goldberg, Mdison, WI Pho by Lillin Ctes, Los Angeles, CA Hisry Dy Hunchbck lmplight, chirs spng dust ir, eyes flotg on puffy clouds, dncg morng pulse. Hummg long trcks swllowed strs, dizzy mong blnk wlls world. In begng, re ws nothg or rr, re ws somethg, just bove morng sun s rech. by Chloe Brreu, Hong Kong Pretender she weves her words tngled webs moonlit dnces, silken beds secrets dwell side her hed tht won t escpe until she s ded by Mikel Bell, Los Osos, CA Dignosis: Lovesickness When love-goggles slip on, le between reson wild bon All but disppers fvor ftution. Lovesickness is Empty smchs hungry somethg else, Green-tged vision, Sleepless nights tryg drown out sttic city, Is fer seemg subpr Listeng see soon Rr thn goodbye, Witg secretive smile: For sk sk And n hert hert Becuse exteriors re simply not enough; y never will be. Tke cution, lover! Becuse when she drgs knife Through hert Tht bets her All cn do is smile kiss her g by Kyr Anruk, Littlen, CO open skies open skies, i m surrounded by strs, those thgs which dzzle us with ir secrets. velvet night bleeds true, broken brgg some st self. by Hnnh Newcomer, Aust, TX Bckyrd Portrits hum plnes crvg mchery blue tmosphere, frmes chirps rustles s leves scrtch surfce like pper nturl imge, bckyrd s portrit. And I m remded sprklers feedg grss. Or else feedg children pk bthg suits stretchy spex textures tht cover smch. re s Popsicles pched by cler plstic, Dirt tngled hir or smudged on tut sk. And y smiled with cheeks plump like peches dnglg ner tree swgsets. Bee dner, dults would hve preserved tntrums, round smiles, grss sphlt lscpe on Kodk films so tht on dy like dy, I cn turn lbum pges wtch plstic pchg n old bckyrd s portrits, sted Popsicles which I know by now re probbly long melted. by Vicri Gonzlez, Kendll Prk, NJ Womn with Butn Errgs My grmor drems ocen chooses wste her time with clemente cut flowers crossword puzzles, brow th furrowed. My grmor keeps telescope by glss door, but trees re growg her view wter bird feeder needs refillg squirrels g. My grmor fills up cvities with sugr wter hummgbird food. My grmor lughs like moon Mississippi River. M I double S I double S I double P I, she tught me spell red: words re genetic. She sells seshells by seshore Toy bot y bot y bot When we drive zoo I help her red street signs And we lwys tke sme pth. re s plte with my nme on it below dncg feet pted pony, bers otters elephnts, oh my. Aqurium, qurium, spipers sg snkes. To egles, now, n cross bridge, puddle-hoppg. Around corrl on bck soulful ng We still hold hs when we cross prkg lots. by Lily Hicks, Dover, MA Confession I did somethg evil dy dy I sle God s grden. she ws flower, lilc petls, exposed pistils outstretchg. Mry s fgertips uched her lips. but I didn t kill becuse I thought she ws beutiful. I killed her becuse she ws closest flower heven. I thought, if I pick this flower, God will notice. I don t cre tht I sle God. tht is not s I will remember. s I will remember is flower how esy it ws ter her delicte body stem, how dusty pollen specked hues blue how I didn t sp dmire her beuty while she ws still live. by Mri Menendez, Mimi, FL POETRY MAY 15 Teen Ink 43

44 Burng Word God In one h I hve my pssport or is God s exclimed word I cnnot hold both much longer. Blue pges will give me golden peches mber pples; or is gmble but if it pys f, dimond pers wit. But frnkly, white fruit is n cquired tste my genes cn t cquire somethg so bitter; my testes reject it like vegr. So my hppy medium is perlescent pomegrnte which lucifer s little bror fers his mnicured plm, I m fenced by eternity, christ s sweet mistress. But once yer, when nture s sighs climx peks re white ice drips down sddles vlleys, eternity creks open ushers out me with my k, we go werg relishg imperfections nonexistent plce crved without mistkes, sttues clergy. seventy seven gurd mengeries, but my k trverse wild cry when hrpy egles fll bbylon nests, ir siblgs rechg god. I choose my pssport, my pomegrnte, burn word god. I d rr hve his hiwork thn his rheric. by Srih Bunker, Provo, UT I Found My Poem I found my poem with emerld green circlets re bitter cold, when ll ws drk, I found two lights; her sockets, her skull. In bus, clssroom specter hunts me, I feel its gze every dy I found my poem perlescent teeth, wrmth wshed over tht bnished cold friendly smile help me get on my wy, I will fd my poem time, but time isn t now. I m left wonder when I ll wke up this prison slumber, I will fd my poem time but time isn t now. I wonder when my poem will hve its chnce sg skies. I m lost I will fd my wy bck time, but time isn t now. by Jmes Lee, Highl Villge, TX 44 Rottg Her sk s smooth s fresh snowfll, with eyes tht hve depth outer spce; complete with ll constelltions undiscovered glxies. A golden wterfll cscdes down her spe rolls wves her wist, Where it grcefully flows bck th like wves crshg on sy bech. Ech delicte fger her elegnt hs knows nothg but st uch. Her md is full up with chrmg ides drems bout lush grdens. But s yers go by, st uch becomes rough clloused, her eyes turn slits, bright strs get dim wne blck. Her hir dries up fdes st silver tht lies delictely over brittle bones her curved spe. Her fresh sk becomes s ppery s leves tht litter ground on biddg mid-ocber dy. Every dy tht psses she rots, blendg with erth tht surrounds her. more her body goes, more her md goes, until it s dried up like dull rg. Her md is flotg strs. Her body hs no use nymore, except evitble decomposition bck soil where she cme. by Misie Inskip, Shorele, WA Miles Teen Ink MAY 15 POETRY Pho by Cori Schimko, Orlo, FL I could write poem tht no one could tell ws. It would be bout light pk powdered prote, hevy liftg, time spent dg dshg. Blck white flip movies, cfee-sted, rn, wrkled. sorrow pits, viol pits, long with cellos drift. Drift over miles, over open country rods, ones tht seprte two prt. His swetshirt, wet with ters, left dry chill, lonely breeze. by Pyn Anderskow, Mt. Prospect, IL Shut You Down My love is s strong s blue light tht is suppressg my meln disruptg my sleep. I cn t rest fter seeg ; my md is up ll night, even sleep I hve less rpid eye movement thn usul. I tke nerly 10 mutes longer slip unconsciousness, m not fully lert when re ner. My circdin rhythm is delyed by n hour, I feel tired morng less sleepy bee bed. It s hrd see how bd re me, but it s time shut down bee se short-wvelength emissions get me. by Kthleen Bber, Nshoth, WI Choppg Block I would cut f my fgers, prt tht pots, blmes someone or thn myself, but my hs would rem, y itite motion. So sted I will cut f my rms ir entirety, but n my brest rems, prt tht desires impurity. Rr, I shll cut f my brest, prt tht desires s, yet still desires will rem. So I ll cut f ll me wist up. Though my feet rem tct, prt tht goes wlkg wrd s. If I cut f one more thg, I ll be gone, no more me brg p ors. Except memory wht I ve done. So I guess I cn t do ny choppg: my imperfections mke me le. by Kri, Omh, NE cigrette it s selected poison, perhps devil lit between her fgers, devourg th her sk sprk her eyes. but it s comt ll sme: wrmth gst nor broken dy crumbled drems empty nights. fiend t her lips is her svior, it s plesure, she thks wht n honor burn, feel snkg curl smoke s it fltes her lungs beyond will fly. let it choke her like icrus sun, but let his illusion freedom free her first. by Shnnon Mg, Tempernce, MI Wht Womn Ws She poetry whisked round her nkles she stumbles with elegnce grce i cnnot believe i ws once ttrcted solely by her beuty when it relly ws her soul tht rdited such fectious, ftutg tste gret shme tht men she s love with keep her hidden i cnnot believe tht nyone would sp her dncg i would let her whirl round this entire erth bee hltg such mjestic womn by Jckie Joy, W. Ornge, NY Becuse wondered wondered why I spent morng nxious just becuse someone hd given some pills so y wouldn t be tempted swllow m ll why? becuse I m selfish. I m selfish I wnt sty here with me even though I know every squre ch ir presses down on long go y sle pure hppess but still I m selfish I couldn t hle it if reched front pocket downed pills let rself be slve deth n I would never give myself I d know I could never bre g while were gone I stred t pocket r bckpck right bee I unzipped pocket wlked. I wnted tke pills try not ssimilte m myself (we both know how esy it would be, how nice nothg would feel) throw m wy get I wnted sve. but more thn tht, I needed sve myself. by Mercedes, Los Osos, CA

45 Broken y were broken children ir scissored mds rn m In spirls Until y st with crossed legs And crossed lips Tryg press mselves fltter Under pperweight depression y were cut-strgs mrionettes Who dnced In n ttempt wrg clories From ir bls-wood bones Which refused give And pned ir pted smiles A little tighter ech morng y were snpped-spes picture books Who d been wrped o fr by society And hd hd ir pges rn crese So tht words hung like rzor bldes And spliced ech vertebr y ok m circus Where y were butt every joke But when clowns spered m with drippg eyes And rtificil mouths tht stretched over grimces Like dust-jckets different sry y stred bck glssily Becuse how cn be frid Of broken clockwork r reflection? by Cre Sleemn, Horshm, Engl Chsg Strs if grss could tke flight, hitch up its roots, spek with strs wht remrks would y exchnge how strs yet long be entrpped by erth yet grss stretches be liberted very sme which it hs ensnred itself re comes funerl drems both prties but never strngest extremity does come tune s sweet s tht first lullby ech when We feel our mor s lp hs filed us it crumbles cryg cly We build wer bbel keep ourselves wy We ignite ourselves lep climb get higher ground but no mtter our impressive ltitude ground will be ground when our cloud drems dim eyes beg see tht this plnetrium show drems msquerde s rel when y re projected on void, blnk cnvs We hve mde m By time We wnt leve our tickets hve expired by Jcob Eggert, Hrrisonburg, VA Would Hve She wshes her wdows Just see her reflection Stre bck t her Like she wished every person Would hve long go. She doesn t like do Md Libs nymore Just becuse y ren t relly fun To try mke sense sentences Unlike wht odd words odder spces Would hve cused worth unruless. She used hve bright colors Just her smile through her hir Tht used wve wd Like those girls movies Would hve projected on screen. She doesn t wnt mke progress Just becuse it hurts o much To mke herself do so Unlike p ngst her fgertips Would hve mke her jump. She s lost irretrievble Just becuse she mde herself so, To do thgs tht mke her lek Remds her blck bllpot pen she could hve signed with Would hve bled on pper. No one will ever be ble help her Just becuse she s so deep To retrieve her would men unworthy exposure world And person she used be Would hve disppered. by Pige Thibult, Chrlotte, VT Sttionry We could ve been mgnificent, know. We could ve gone nywhere we wnted go or been nythg we wnted be. We could ve lived ever if we wnted. But hd or plns, I guess. And here I m with my door f its hges ll glss my house broken. It s been week I still hven t moved where left me. I don t thk I ever will. by Leen Irvg, Belle Med, NJ Life Notes It wits ptiently fr corner with keys ivory ebony. Silence domtes still, empty room until slender fgers strike first note. It begs with melncholy ne old regrets, srmy dys, lost love. Bee chngg hrsh poundg chords filled with wrongdog, bitter lies, hurt. High-pitched chimes tremolos tke stge expressg first dys, witg rooms, swet. A lively herteng tune concludes with summer nights, cloudless skies, new hope. A fl note hovers quiet Anticiptg new composer. by Clli Pollock, Cedr City, UT Process Writg At this moment time I m writg process wrgg my md like wet wshcloth serch complex thoughts. Thoughts tht, on ir own, could live beutiful homes with beutiful wives; thoughts tht went p universities but dropped out becuse y hd somethg bigger md. se thoughts, I thk, could chnge world, could cure ll illness hunger, but y re lost. y ve left beten pth my consciousness now exist only drk lleys, vcnt prkg lots, listeng flse tenebrific idols, sucked vcuum squered promise, now, I cnnot life me thk wht write. by Jeremy Rmnthn, Mirmr, FL Hir I d Whisper Pryers In re s this girl ( isn t re lwys?) i swer on my mor s smile tht if ncients sw her y d know just wht do with her hips like Erth, hips like providence she s perfect size worship Put her under r pillow ll ber tws mke her sttue plce her mrketplce ll know good tune like never bee She s kd girl glows, this must prove she s H O L Y her smile is better tht ny fterlife by Mi Irw, Keu, HI Strs y sid i ws str. i gree: i died yers go o. by Hnnh Loms, Mnchester, Engl Pho by Mggie Rymsz, Muncy, PA Moon Her Silver Army I ve lwys found comt moon She wtches over night crwlers misfits crimls lonely numb Anyone hppens be werg imlessly through night Anyone is wide wke t 3.m. Anyone is serchg despertely somethg numb p sun shes bldg light tht picks less tunte prt Illumtg ir flws nyone see But moon shes only smll glow tht envelops ir scrs with silver hue moon wtches over everyone time time She ws re me n When no one else ws She sng me night s lullby While drizzlg liquid silver my ves Mybe tht s why everythg bd goes down t night Mybe we re ll just dog her biddg All us her rmy tied ger by silver Is it wrong? Probbly But I owe it her moon gve me home And tht s somethg sun could never do by Cre Wgner, Esley, SC It s Time You Knew it is time know tht my love is like wer. (both fleetg fickle don t try mke me predictble.) i m sorry i cn t be more consistent. i know wish consecutive sunny dys with wrmth blue skies dffodils tht bloom ech every sprg i m sorry i throw hilsrm t when hve wlk work. i m sorry i m blizzrd tht cncels r flight. or rndo tht turns r house upside down. i m sorry tht my love is like tsunmi with tidl wves tht knock over my ever-chngg ffection blows swift like wd one moment it s re it s rs next it s not. tried tht s dmirble. tried wer wer. but i rued like mudslide uprootg r le life. by Mikel Hrmsen, New City, NY POETRY MAY 15 Teen Ink 45

46 Ode Flowerg Brnch Don t gze t me, little flower r sticky fgers tste sweetest uburn, no less r hed hngs hevily on demure shoulders, ty feelers wevg through guzy summer nights, swetg stly drk stedy rself, close r silken eyes, upset drk will chill r bones when moon loses her wy, so sty sil through wves pntg het, lugh t blckness tht hibits, no doubt by Sydney Shvlier, Byron Center, MI wish on me i m lone on n old, wooden dock with ice-crystl strs below me (twklg n bysml se) i lie with my cheek pressed very edge, rms folded plesntly (witg) close my eyes, but sty fcg whtever lies beyond this frgile bed (hopg) roll f fll drem where i ll jo my sisters ( ir hevenly dnce) i m solitry becon, glowg figure up here mong onyx skies (ripe redy) this white nightgown mkes my ple sk even more ghostlike, it s s though (i m lredy one m) freckles dustg my nose betry nebuls writhg side me (implodg) so when se ncient lullbies flly cll my nme, do not mourn s i fll f this dock ( shootg str) becuse i ll be wlkg mongst ngels, like pryer my wish on me ( i will nswer.) by Cllie Zimmermn, Fishers, IN 46 Cliché Teen Ink MAY 15 POETRY Der John, Yeh, I know love her, but she loves him, he loves her friend, she loves my friend, he loves me, I love. So how exctly will this love hexgon end? Well, I must murder her, her blood runng down my knife like ters down my fce. Oh, terdrop glistens like beutiful str, such s AF-128 oh, AF-128, wht gem, sprklg trociously moon s lumosity. And yeh, I red r texts on r iphone (newest model) yeh, I sw emoticons tweet #stpic Hell, I even sw Ve. So re love, represented by dove sent mn bove known, I should ve. AND YEAH, I might flirt with or guys AND YEAH, I might only love cuse re ttrctive, AND YEAH, I might check r onle priles every 2 mutes. But this is love, isn t it? Or m I just cliché? I love botm my hert, depths se, sprklg dimonds beutiful erth, rs ever, till deth do us prt, Alyss P.S. I love by Will Simoni, Cornish, UT A Student Brekfst Bill-buttered st dedle-stuffed mushrooms, dollop stress with hrsh tt mustrd. An overcooked night n undercooked essy; fire lrm wils t burng depression. sweet pungent smell swet-fried bcon fryg pn sizzlg with potentil tht s wsted. grese spots hve sted on lst night s dress but dy s excuse is tht grese compliments stress! You ve cooked up fest; re s o much on r plte. By time it is served re hours o lte fry-up longed missed lectures crete is clssic student brekfst: food s ll out dte! by Fion Bell, Bth, Engl Art by Lcey Verpool, Monte Vist, CO Pot Sp wheel vrnish pot with crooked lid, chip terior. Fill it with pst memories, pst fces, ged plces. Cot pot its funerl colors gry-scle gloss it like wng moon, moon witnessed deth str, moon se surfce ws coted with emblems conquest, footprts, flgstffs, debris. Wtch behd r helmet s it crsh ls like comet oven, wtch s glze tht coted its grimy surfce, hlfhertedly givg it chrm, melts wy Nothg left but demoldg cly tht clenly pckged wisps thought, tht tried let r douse its terior, overflowg dirty wter lettg it run down sides pot strems, dryg by morng, sittg on sidewlk, isolted, simply existg s or ms life glnce t its crcks with disregrd. Like n implodg Sun, pot ERUPTS, memories cot wlls oven, y burn fizzle out, levg ir strung with scent smoke iron. odor peels pt or pots, ir crcks beg show, yet y roll shdes digo, never thkg pour ir contents lessen weight tht comes with beg mold cly. y hope tht collectg wter will merge ir voids, smooth ir creses, dry more solidified m, come morng. As Sun rises het wve s moon shies wy, bck its hidg plce. As nor pot orbits moon, hopg ctch grvity, yet plummetg burng tmosphere. by Aron Blckburne, Hendersonville, NC Tropicn Your nme is cpillry le sugr on rim swetg blue fizz, truth is ornge sod is sweet like r nme splshes wter on my fce like cold good morng. It shrieks neon strwberry essence, like purple pressed on nectr necks through pech fuzzy spectrum bllroom dncg techno music. AFTER: Your nme is text over gs sttion swich: It s not gog work out by Gbriel Mncuso, Rivervle, NJ More Thn Mtter My body is not sgle noun with five-le defition on pge 128 Webster s Dictionry. I m not reflection mirror. I m flwed portrit, mysterious Mon Lis with sliced-up lips hir turng ivory sh. My sk is not stretched over fril bones tht re redy brek like n boned jungle gym blowg wd. I m physicl mp st dips ledg vlleys with green-brown grss. My body is not shell my milky white ribs do not m cge with steel lock but rr sfe house my hert escpe. I m not sck mtter divided dissected hir, sk, eyes, orgns, cells, ms, submic prticles. I m not broken crdbord box mismtched puzzle pieces superglued ger pretendg crete beutiful picture. And my ves re wterflls rg over se sfety vests life bots helpg my blood trvel my hert. My body is not just th sk stretched over fril bones. I m not glrg reflection or wek sck mtter. I m not physicl structure or shell. I m not four letters two syllbles. I m not simple noun. I will never be simple noun. by Emily Dehr, Louisville, KY

47 End Pier Wounded Inked Odd Fd Do know wht lies t end pier? re is some specultion tht re is crnivl on 165th Street modeled fter Clini-style bordwlk t end pier. Some time go movie ws shot this loction which cr crshes through crowded chos hppy dy fllg ction. Thus, some believe tht re is cr submerged under docks t end pier. fsctg fct ll this is wht followed n terview with stuntmn drove cr used movie. An 06 Hond Accord. Nothg fncy, ctully, somethg d expect r ngry middle-school techer drive. Hles like n upright kitchen power-mixer. But scene which I dmistered hvoc upon set bordwlk, I lost control Accord s soon s I hit glisteng bords two-by-fours lid so crelessly, I ssure tht nothg tht scene ws plnned. An terviewer n went on quire s wher he escped cr unhrmed. I don t remember s wher my physicl stte ws hrmed; tht is s much mystery s is wht lies t end pier. by Tyler Couch, Woodville, WA Pho by Sm Dvis, Surrey, BC, Cnd pit sp. bgels tste gsole s it mkes my nose che my hed sp hzy mn with ht ttches hose hum mor ir is st cigrette ll bout yellow hue mount dew fluorescent lights with bug specks Click sixty dollrs Awy by Pm Best, Greenlwn, NY My fr shot me chest; blood mor chords Grced my vest, A river deep pure flowed my gentle cotn cy wound words cries words limped out; Sd lughg Wounded, sprout A river drk true gushed my murky secret flower bloom. by Kylie Kelso, Mt. Wshgn, KY Chemicls ir Effects on Hert You loved chemicls. Dopme, sid, r eyes s bright s I ve ever seen m, mkes people hppy! How could not love chemicl like tht? I thought I should love it, becuse I should like somethg tht could mke so hppy. But I do not remember without bgs under r eyes sickly ne r flesh. I thought tht ws beutiful. I ws romntic. I thought tht nythg could be fixed with brush h over cheek, gentle, brely felt kiss; tht strnge rush ice my lungs buzzg my hed hd be love, wht else could it be? Chemicls cn kill, mke hppy, confuse, excite, mke wish were ded, but chemicls cnnot be beutiful. rush buzz were not love, but drenle. Anor chemicl. You might still be romntic, but I know better now. chemicls hd me fooled. by Her Hunt, Gilmnn, NH My Mor Told Me One step t time Those slippery words slush my md Be re on dime As I remember, it ws Mor sid tht Whose mor, sy? Me I ll meet nor dy shes Mdme Present New York Times I see tht get pid, if sy sys Mr. McNe I just remember herg pitter ptter Of my ct ws gettg ftter And squishy squeks mice our wlls For I hd nightmres tht y d et my dolls And my mor ld me Not be frid Oh yes, she ld me ll right I never once mentioned fter tht how mice were little renegdes by Julie Hle, Asri, OR Pronged stbs puncture my sk; liquid mrker sketches, outlg. It is memory not subject effects n gg md. A remder permnently bred buried lyers my flesh, ty opque domes blood surge through s needle rhythmiclly whirs, severg sk. It is n timte ide, thought, moment, my trdemrk permnently etched. sufferble p ech dividul prick, is not nerly s gonizg s losg memory mrked by this k. smell disfectnt wfts wrd me, I feel ltex gloves grzg mnipultg bre sk, nlogous ntiseptic smells motions morgue fittg corpse funerl. When my rems re lid beneth dmp, moss-blnketed hedsne, this illustrtion will still be re, stmped on my frozen crcss. With sound terg bges rippg through ir, I relize this is not timidtg me. This is exctly wht I need: peer tently t my reflection not tke every blemish, every dimple, every wrkle, but see work rt. My fce conrts, grimcg, eyes squeezg shut, s y smer stgg sterilizg gel over freshly swollen trum. My body is trnsmed n imperfect specimen pted cnvs, thoughtfully molded with cre slow strokes. Some cultures believe symbols wrd f evil. Some crry m luck. My picture weighs on me like lucky cut-f rbbit s foot secure my pocket. Intimtely pressg on my rib cge, risg fllg with ech breth, my hert betg gst it just enough irritte with ech movement s cotn shirt rubs just side my brest, bred cross my side, memory deleted plce only lover would see. by Emily Geiselmn, Kildeer, IL wish. t lest I tried hold on wht we never relly hd by Ami Gensou, Mercer Isl, WA crumb tril leds rusted crs. Broken jrs scttered round m. Hd more rust thn metl. middle woods how? Someone must ve used m, but why? Moonshe, Dd sid. Despertion. by Tony Mei, Oconomowoc, WI trnsction wsn t med tht prerequisite reltionship ws openness selfish enough wnt meet r demons without troducg my own ttribute it unlimited expecttions; limited resources did not know ment so metphoriclly quire with by Abby Johnson, Flemgn, NJ A Second In distnce pllid white elephnt blnces on four flmgo-like legs, glss obelisk p its bck. A bee buzzes circles beneth first qurter moon. Wter droplets hover bove ground, suspended with second time. A pomegrnte csts shdow Venus. A corl fish protrudes n open fruit. Predrs it s once engulfed surfce its mouth. stg bee, like stb byonet, wkens sleepg dremer more thn surrel world. by John Feil, Port Arnss, TX Momentum re wsn t dmn thg we could try, quick fix witg trgedy t end rod. Young bld, we shifted drive set fire sphlt. Signs used illumte, lights bove cst shdows on our doubts tht we left behd our rer view. And now re re no signs. And lights hve flickered died. And we re still bld lost behd wheel. by Jke Adms, Gild, NH POETRY MAY 15 Teen Ink 47

48 Get connected with Tke Teen Ink onle writg course! Sessions strtg June July. Go TeenInk.com detils. Mobile Poetry Go TeenInk.com Mobile Web TeenInk.com/Mobile Poetry To Go Free App itunes.pple.com Submit r work t TeenInk.com/submit Shre r writg, get dvice, exchnge ides with teens just like t our writers workshop regulr ums: Teen-Ink-Mgze