My obsession with fear started with my cousin’s scary stories and turned into a competition with my brother. While convincing myself to enjoy horror, I created monsters that haunted me in the dark.
Story
Ciara Balanza
(she/her) Mentee
Ciara Balanzá is a high school junior located in NYC. She loves being outdoors as an avid runner and hiker. Since a young age, she has loved to curl up with a book and attempt her own hand at writing poetry and stories. Now she continues to craft creative writing and delves into journalism as an editor and writer for her school newspaper. She intends to go into medicine but wants to continue writing as an adult. Combining her interests in mental health advocacy and writing, she has founded a mental health magazine called Each Mind.
Favorite Authors & Artists
Frida Kahlo, Louise Glück, Virginia Woolf
Artist‘s Statement
Ciara Balanzá is a high school senior located in NYC. Since a young age, she has loved to curl up with a book and attempt her own hand at writing. She continues to write especially personal essays and poetry. She delves into journalism as an editor and writer for her school newspaper. Combining her interests in mental health advocacy and writing, she has founded a magazine called Each Mind.
Story
An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Problem of Consciousness
We know how neurons fire with chemical precision, but can we understand someone else’s consciousness? Neuroscience can draw from computer science and the humanities to define consciousness.