By Anonymous I quit social media yesterday. My brain is still wired with the impulse to broadcast funny thoughts or the beauty found in my day. The awareness of ego and loneliness is magnified, like a single sound in a silent wilderness. I existed for a decade in a cloud of words and countless images. This is a small death. One without tragedy, only FOMO. My sole companion is a dog. She delivers doses of oxytocin better than Facebook, but she will never ‘like’ my jokes.
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My Little Snowflake
By Gwyneth Geiger Little chinchilla He high marks off the walls He runs on the wheel while I lie awake I wake up when he screams and calls With chocolate brown fur And a tiny pink nose He runs like a blur When he hears that bag, he knows When he is dusted his name is snowflake
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An Ode to the Bees
By Maya Mossanen You buzz around the startled boy’s head; he swats and swats to no avail. I wonder why? Why trouble yourself with souls that will never understand. Your little wings carry you far and wide. You spend your six-week lifespan on this planet seeing more than that boy could see in 100 years. So why waste your fleeting time bothering him? Maybe this is your way of fighting back. Perhaps you know that one day that boy will become a farmer who will spray his crops with pesticides and kill your precious queen. Maybe bees want to fight the patriarchy too.
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Take a Chance
By Anonymous He knows I like him. He knows, but he won’t say anything back. I don’t know for sure if he likes me, but something tells me he might. His eyes are bright. A whiskey brown that shines in the sun. If he comes forward, I will be happy. If he asks me out, I will say yes. If I find someone new, I’ll take a chance. But for now, I will continue to hope.
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Get Coffee?
By George Nagel She was gorgeous, outgoing, and popular. So he was shocked when she, smiling, approached him after class. “Hi. I’m Maizy.” A pause. “And your name is . . .?” “Oh. Uh… Jonny.” “I saw you petting that black dog the other day.” “Oh. Yeah. I like dogs. Um—cats, too.” She said, frowning, “My boyfriend threw a stick at that same dog.” “Oh no.” “I—I just don’t know many men who like animals.” A pause. “Jonny, you want to get a coffee?”
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That Which is Hidden
By Paul Twardock Danger can stare us in the face Or silently stalk, Hidden in its smallness. That which is apparent, Our body can react to: Fight or flight. That which is hidden Can whisper uncertainty And conspiracy in our mind, If we allow it.
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The U.S.-Mexico Border and its Role in Race, Citizenship, and Belongingness
By Sara Hinojosa 16-year-old, Valentina sat across from me. She was in the midst of her journey from Colombia to Utah and was eager to ask all about life in America. Her questions were shaped by the American life she’s seen in movies. She asked about American music, high school, and if I’d ever been surfing in California. Her eagerness almost completely disguised her fear and exhaustion that came from the journey that had already been in motion for many months. She didn’t say much about the home she left in Columbia, but she talked a lot about where she was heading. She and her family hoped to make it…
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Come out
“This is the police you can come out now, the intruder is gone,” the man’s voice said from behind my locked bathroom door. I was relieved until I remember that I hadn’t had time to call the cops.
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Exploring Faith
By Sara Hinojosa I had always known a God. My father was raised Catholic, but I can’t say I’ve ever seen him in a Catholic church. My mother, on the other hand, is a devout Christian and raised my older siblings in church. Their faces were well known in the community and some of their closest friends were made at Sunday schools, youth groups, and Bible studies. They all moved out by the time I was in kindergarten and I couldn’t say when they last stepped into a church building. Maybe a wedding or a funeral. I came into the picture much later and never experienced church in the same…
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United States Criminal Justice and Prison Reform: A Call to Action
By Suann R. Endicott In the 1980s, the Reagan Administration declared a War on Drugs which has led to mass incarceration. The United States now has the highest incarceration rate and one of the highest recidivism rates in the world (Deady, 2014). I would argue that the War on Drugs has crippled our society and the results have not been positive. What was a well-intentioned plan or admirable goal has had many negative outcomes such as: mass incarceration; social castes individuals are not able to break out of; prisons riddled with violence, abuse, and in-humane treatment of correctional officers and inmates; high recidivism rates; the restriction of basic rights such…
