Listen to the digital audio version of “Just an Ordinary Girl’s Struggles.”   Ever since I was little, I’ve faced many problems, but the biggest… Read More

Last year, at 2:22 a.m. on Aug. 28, my sister, Kia, left to pick up my parents from the airport. On her way, she saw… Read More

Listen to the digital audio version of “Leader on the Field.” The ball flew sideways from that first misplaced kick, going into the bushes instead… Read More

I was never a big fan of sitting down for hours and reading pages with words on them. That was until my middle school counselor… Read More

Listen to the digital audio version of “My Passion.” When I was 13, my parents split up. Our financial situation became difficult. I wanted to… Read More

June 21, 2011, the doctors said he wouldn’t make it. They said he would never be normal. They said he had a 20 percent chance… Read More

My quinceañera was supposed to be the day I shine.   It turned out to be a nightmare that changed my life forever.   After almost a year of… Read More

Most people have a home to go to at the end of the day, but not everybody has a special room in that home where… Read More

I slouched in my brand new car seat. My 6-year-old bottom started to hurt from sitting too long, and my stomach started to make funny noises. “Are we… Read More

Growing up in a first-generation immigrant family, I witnessed my parents’ hard work ethic and challenging traditional Mexican customs. My parents migrated from Mexico as teenagers… Read More

I remember my childhood fondly: looking out the window at a beautiful lake, watching the latest Nickelodeon cartoons on a big flat screen TV, driving… Read More

March 21, 2014, my dad went to court. As my family and I got to the 7th floor just before my parents entered the courtroom… Read More