My mom and dad are my best support system. They have made a lot of sacrifices so that my sisters and I can have a better future. I love them so much, and I am forever grateful to them. To give them a tribute, I made this piece.
Code for Blueberry Toaster Waffles is a short illustrated spoken-word poem that speaks to themes of creativity, friendship, and isolation. It is accompanied by drawings based on the themes presented within the text.
My stop-motion poem is inviting, and it gives good advice on how to live your life: try to be more open and express how you feel to others, so that you are not bottling up your problems and keeping them to yourself. The found poem was inspired by words that stood out to me in a few used books, and as I highlighted many words, it became easier to pinpoint the topic of the poem.
The sun rising, the birds chirping, the light morning breeze and the sweet smell of spring in the air—the narrator of my short story looks out at the melancholic scene playing out before her. All she can think about as she watches the sky is how her life could be if she wasn’t afraid of adventure. All of us have struggled with venturing out into the unknown. Like the narrator, most of us find ourselves sitting down and contemplating what life could be like. It’s fictional, but she’s still me. That’s why this represents my best work.
This podcast will give you an insider’s perspective on the lives of current sixteen-year-olds! Doesn’t everyone want to know what we are doing besides being on our phones all the time?
This podcast goes into the life of one of many high school students. Each high school student has their own activities, and this just focuses on one student. This represents my best work since it’s relatable to most of the other Girls Write Now mentees. We’re all high school students and deal with so much during the school year, and sometimes we just need to hear someone else going through a similar thing to feel better about a bad or good day.
My podcast is about immigration and how it affects families. This episode sheds light on the difficult lives immigrants lead. My life as an immigrant inspired me to share this.
This represents my best work in the program because this is a topic that I can relate to. I don’t know what it’s like to be separated from one’s family, but I can imagine how challenging it would be.
Our podcast will have all of the viewers of You thinking deeply about relationships. We will explore how the show glorifies stalking and possessiveness.
I was born and raised in Manhattan, which has given me such an interesting and unique perspective on life. I have always wanted to document all my life experiences in a way where I can share my stories with everyone, and a podcast seemed like the perfect vehicle! A couple of months ago, Leela, my mentor, went to a Girls Write Now workshop and told me all about Anchor. Anchor became a place to record and publish all my interesting conversations with my friends! As I was recording my trailer for my podcast, I was surprised by the number of times I had to re-record it! As a perfectionist, I felt the need to restart every time I stumbled over a word. Eventually, I managed to record something I was proud of, trimmed the audio, and added music.
In quarantine, my mind can’t help but gravitate back toward life outside: when I was undeniably happy. I pick out these little moments, and then I remember everything going on inside my head then. What I was feeling, and exactly why I was really happy. In this instance, I remembered a walk I took after school one day, past Trinity Church on a crowded street. This collision between a colonial past and the skyscrapers towering above me was exciting, so I wrote a little something about that feeling. Then I spoke, giving new life to these words.
Being a woman and Black poet myself who is proud of my heritage and background, I felt inclined to dedicate a piece to that part of me. I incorporated four published and groundbreaking poets in my piece to spotlight a few writers that inspired me to pursue poetry.
“bloom in” is a very serious piece, which is different from how I usually write and act. But it represents me. I took the piece and thought about all the videos and photos I had of myself, my family and my friends, and it was like two sides of me. The me that is figuring out who I am and questioning it all, and the me that shows my face every day.
Why do college admissions view a holistic picture of a candidate’s eligibility? Why is “contextualization” a key part of the College Board’s grading in AP History tests? Why do people say “you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover?” As writers or friends of writing, we value narrative. But more important than narrative is understanding it in the context of every other thread of narrative occurring simultaneously. As the one program that followed me through all four years of high school, Girls Write Now has the unique ability to measure my growth in the context of the rest of my high school life. My digital media piece is inspired by this.
When you think about living in the Bronx you may conjure up a vision of a nasty place. For me, it’s just the opposite; it’s a place of peace and comfort. I really hope my photographs and video get this message across.
I was inspired when I had sleep paralysis for the first time, and I want other people to feel it as well, how nightmares love to play around. This represents my best work in the program this year. Women are not afraid of fear.
