What was the worst year of your life? The right answer is 13. Here’s why.
13 Ways of Looking at 13
Intimate
Poetic Pillars
Poetic Pillars is a collection of poetry encompassing such themes as identity, mental health, family, heritage and love that serve as moments of self-reflection and appreciation of our individual and shared experiences.
Civil War: An Excerpt
In this multi-perspective historical science fiction piece, a grandmother and granddaughter communicate in order to understand how a civil war changed the world they once knew and kept them away from loved ones.
preparatory nostalgia for someone still here
This poem encapsulates, for me at least, the painful feeling of loved ones growing old. It also conveys the struggle of watching a grandparent with Parkinson’s diminish as the years go by.
passed down
Sammi and I both lost our fathers at a young age and writing this poem together has been a way for us to both process our losses and better understand ourselves.
When the Rain Disappears
Rainy days engulf you, take over, and become all-consuming. Rain is more than just the weather, it’s the atmosphere that comes with the feeling of walking down the sidewalk while rain pours down around you.
Me Here, With You
These poems speak to the intimacy of a single moment with another person.
Your(s), friend
In this fictionalized letter to a lost friend, the author reflects on what happened to one middle school friendship. By exploring her memories, she realizes that not all relationships are forever.
until us / These Lost Days
We wrote these two poems to showcase connection during an isolated time. Although we were geographically far apart, these poems knit us together as we wrote on a shared document.
Stolen to be Given
Stolen to be Given is a piece connecting my name and religion. Two things that were chosen for me and their role in shaping my identity.
citrus youth
citrus youth is a blog filled with present tense moments of a friend group, as well as memories from one of those friends. this idea came from my own friends and how funny i think we are, but also the question of how i will decide to remember us now when i’m older. this represents my best work because i think it comes at a time where many individuals my age are questioning what’s going to happen. a big part of our stability is our friends, and i think it’s going to be nice for us to remember these moments.
Vulnerable Mirage
Vulnerable Mirage presents the complex balance of vulnerability and safety of relationships in the form of bubbly, easy to read graphics. Many of the themes I touch on are an attempt at leaning into the confusion of teen angst which is universal in teenage relationships. These excerpts were taken from larger personal works and strive to represent a feeling which I feel could apply to many people in a diverse array of situations.
Mixed Media Poems
How often do you get to read poetry from the brain of a real teen? Everyone reads young adult books, but they’re written by adults so here’s your chance to read poetry from a teen, expressing themself. My work is inspired by prompts given to me by mentors or random thoughts and questions I have about life.
Confirmed-Rosemary
Confirmed-Rosemary is a culmination of all my literary triumphs. It includes crowd favorites like “God is a Girl” and girlhood poems like “Growing Pains”—old to new, each making history.
Strange Combination
Although this piece is not tied to the theme “Taking Our Place in History,” it does take place in my own history of living in a world where someone of my shade of color grows up Hispanic.