Chelsea Lin, Girls Write Now Mentee and My Simple Realization contest winner, writes about her grandfather.

My time-out rug was white, with blue squares and tassels at opposite ends.

A depiction of my journey in asking for help, this essay is my reminder that I deserve peace and welfare in a battle against the uncertainties and anxieties of my mind.

While I used to feel fractured when it came to my heritage, poetry has helped me realize that these fractures are, in fact, who I am.

The time spent at the rink was too short for me to spend it wallowing in my mistakes.

I had no clue where I was going—let alone what academic path I truly wanted to take—so you could say I was a bit overwhelmed on my first day of college.

Written after submitting my Early Decision application, this essay shares the epiphany I was already having—one expedited by a choice that held so much weight over my future.

The reality of missing school for a whole two weeks and dealing with the stares of society.

“A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one,” is the best compliment for an overachieving young adult trying to find their way around the world. At least it was for me.

The day I was born is the day the twin towers fell.

Rock climbing helps me realize that I am capable of beating all the “impossibles.”

Acceptance comes after the storm. It poured and poured.

I was floating, my elbows resting on the pool’s stone ledge as the jets massaged my back. That’s the last thing I remember.

The first time I realized my parents did not hold the answers of the universe in their palms was not when I was asking obscure questions about aardvarks or pirate ships.