When I found out I would be speaking tonight, I figured it would be appropriate to open my speech with a scholarly quote. So… I chose some lyrics from the infamous Asher Roth song, I Love College. “I wanna go to college for the rest of my life. I can get pizza for a dollar […]
Invisible beads of sweat collect at my temples and slowly draw moist lines along my cheek, down into the abyss of my button up shirt. My knees buckle under the beige khakis that have somehow, over the years, become my (albeit bland) uniform of choice. Dozens target me with laser-like eyes waiting, expecting perfection. Only […]
He never complained. He loved to make people smile, he loved his family, he loved his darling black lab Magic, and he loved watching the fireworks at the Fourth of July picnic. He was an amazing artist and my best friend. Some people are hard to love, but my cousin, Scott, wasn’t. He was born […]
I asked my Dad once, “Who are all these people?” He smiled, “This is your family.” There wasn’t a time that I remember when my parents were together. Because of that, there was never awkwardness or confusion. It was just always like that. After the divorce the time I spent with each of my parents […]
An intense game of darts was at hand. That seven feet nine inches felt so much farther away than it looks. I wound up my arm, aimed for the bull’s eye, released, and hoped for the best. Not to anyone’s surprise, my dart didn’t even hit the board; in fact my dart just added another […]
I felt gravity take over, sucking me to its very core. There was no room for emotion now; I used to be enveloped in an countless continuum of silence, damaged momentarily by the rhythmic thundering of my coronary heart. After I was youthful, I used to be completely fearful of heights. I’d have nightmares during […]
Being born with ADHD was not fun. It made every task appear as more of a challenge. As a child, I had trouble focusing in a fast-paced environment. I couldn’t grasp information as fast as others seemed to do. In elementary school I was taken out of my regular class to be taught in a […]
Pasta strings my family together into a ball of yarn hugging us tighter in togetherness. After a hard day of work for my dad or day of school for my sister and me, the string noodles bring us together, with binding love. As I walk into the house, the aroma of marinara sauce cushions our […]
I was curled up in the middle of my bed, a blanket clutched between clawed fists, sobs wracking my frame with so much force that the headboard clacked against the wall. In my head, a voice kept screaming, over and over, “Why me?” My angry fingers kneaded the unfortunate blanket, as if trying to pull […]
“Mother, why does it need to be Hyoung Keun?” my youthful brother began complaining. “Why can I’ve one more cookie than him?” My mom’s reply would at all times be the identical “You realize Hyoung Keun is three years older than you. You possibly can have what Hyoung Keun has three years later.” Because the […]