“All of this has reinforced my desire to become a print journalism” – Lucas
Summer at ThreeSixty
September 2015 Magazine Articles
No other option but success
I SAT IN MY dad’s taxicab waiting for my sister, silently observing all the movement around me. I watched the overworked single moms walking to… Read More
Beating the blues, with help from the blues
“Music is powerful. As people listen to it, they can be affected. They respond.” —Ray Charles BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. I push the buttons on the… Read More
Finding myself in a foreign country
DESTINATION: Liberia, West Africa. Travel distance: 7,690 miles. Mission accomplished. We arrived at Roberts International Airport around 11 p.m. After getting through customs, hailing a… Read More
604 pages of the Quran, memorized
AT 4 A.M., MOST TEENAGERS are usually sleeping in their cozy beds. I was 12 and wide awake. Memorizing the Quran. Even when my teacher… Read More
My journey to happiness
I STARE INTO the antique body-length mirror mounted on the wall in the bathroom. I examine the “flaws” I see in my seventh-grade self as… Read More
Ready for my life after high school
ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO, I was dorm-room shopping. I was moving out of the house for the fall semester. Saying goodbye to my parents. Meeting… Read More
Turning my disappointment into a high note
IT FELT AS IF bandits had banned me from lead clarinetist in my high school band ensemble. I hadn’t expected it, because I thought I… Read More
Discovering the power of language
I NERVOUSLY STEPPED through the classroom doorway with my father trailing behind me. I was 11 years old when I attended school for the first… Read More
Finding a voice through sports
“WHAT SIZE ARE your shoes?” the man asked. “What?” I turned to see the only person waiting at the bus stop. “Your shoes,” he said,… Read More
The act of helping
I LURCHED FORWARD in the backseat of my mom’s green minivan, restrained only by my seatbelt, so she could see me in her peripheral vision… Read More
Loving myself
“WE WANT ‘THUNDER Thighs’ on our team,” shouted a classmate. All the girls in gym class darted their eyes toward me. I had no words…. Read More
Learning from my mother’s sacrifice
THERE SHE WAS, the woman who carried me in her womb with every inch and every muscle of her body for nine straight months, exasperated… Read More
Becoming resilient, in and out of the pool
IT WAS COLD. Freezing cold. Like the sub-zero temperatures of Antarctica. I use the pain as motivation to keep me going in the pool. I… Read More
More than helping with cleaning
THE BROOM BRUSHED the floor of the kitchen as my mom sighed. “Mom, do you need help with anything?” I ask. “No,” she responds in… Read More
My life as a gamer
I CAN FEEL my sweat-encased fingers stick to the keys. The rapid pounding of my heart resounds in my head. I hear the powerful boom… Read More
