Among today’s novelty-seeking youth, there is another rising fad – vaping. According to a 2017 National Institutes of Drug Abuse, more than one in four high school seniors reported vaping in the previous year. Searching online, you can also effortlessly find many cool-looking guys teaching how to blow out bizarre shapes of smoke rings to stunt your peers. Same as poppies, vaping looks charming and gorgeous, but addictive and toxic in essence. It is not an innocent healthier substitution to real cigarettes as it acclaims. Indeed, the nicotine it contains is no less lethal. What’s more, the most...

Electronic cigarettes, e-cigarettes, e-cigs, vapes, JUULs—no matter what you call them, these devices are popping up everywhere, and their explosion in popularity has created a huge public health threat for teens and young adults. A modern update to traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes deliver a heated liquid, often containing nicotine, in the form of a vapor that the user then inhales. With major companies like JUUL offering youth-friendly vapor flavors (such as fruit, candy, soda, pastry, and mint) and creating sleek, discrete devices that boast a trendy look, it’s not surprising that these...

If you’ve been keeping up with current events, chances are you are well aware of the dire reports of the United States' immense and worsening opioid crisis, which claimed as many as 130 lives every single day in the nation by 2017, the latest year data was collected. Yet amid the flurry of warnings and lamentations, one thing you likely haven’t heard is the enormous toll the crisis of addiction is taking on young people not only in America but also around the globe. For far too long, youth have been largely excluded from conversations surrounding the opioid crisis, not to mention today’s...

This poem is for the children whose schools have closed, the children who rely on whatever their pocket change can buy them in the cafeteria to get them through the day. This poem is for the people who lived through a lifetime of war and are as afraid of going outside on this still spring night as they were back then. This poem is for every family from my city to your city, to every city neither of us have ever been to or heard of. This poem is for the mother who lost her job and has to feed 3 kids. This poem is for the boy who searches for smiley faces in the rain drops sticking to his...

Rays of light shine upon me, brightening the world amidst the darkest of days. Even though the shadows may steal our happiness today, the sun shall bring new light upon this world. Do not fear for the troubles that have been bestowed upon you today but set your eyes on the joy that lies tomorrow for although the rain may pour, sunshine awaits.

Brian Madeux had Hunter’s syndrome, an inherited, rare genetic disorder caused by a missing or malfunctioning enzyme (“MPS II”). As a result, Madeux underwent more than two dozen operations (Marchione, 2017). A treatment that consisted of weekly doses of the missing enzyme was available, but it would cost more than 100,000 dollars per year and could potentially lead to brain damage. So, in November 2017, Madeux decided to undergo gene therapy, making him the first person in the United States to have a gene edited inside of his body. When considering whether gene editing can result in cures or...

With a spike in new COVID-19 cases all around the world, our future has become pretty uncertain. Most of the younger population were super excited to graduate and start working this summer, not realizing the major twist that has brought the whole world into a standstill. The youth are the future and their future shouldn't be left in the dark but would this phase impact them in a good or a bad way? Some say that using this time and focusing on yourself, your interests and learning new things online could be one way to deal with this. But what about the youth who lost their jobs during this...

As impacts of the global pandemic, COVID-19, continue to spread, young people are having to worry about things like the health of their families, their workplaces/schools closing and not having access to necessities at grocery stores. 11-year old Jade Gomez said she is worried about her older family members the most. “They do not have the best immune system so if they were to get it, it could be fatal,” Gomez said. So far in Gomez’s community of Odessa, nobody has tested positive for the coronavirus, but their governor has issued executive orders in accordance with federal guidelines issued by...

I think everything that is happening now is beyond what any of could have imagined, but at the same time, it’s testimony to what we can do united under one common goal. Beyond these times, textbooks will speak of the measures we took and didn’t take to combat this global pandemic. It’s in the interest of humanity to set a precedence that we worked collectively to get past this global conflict facing us. Right now there is no color of skin, religious belief, or political alignment that should divide us from achieving a better future beyond now. We must believe in humanity and our ability to...

Quarantined Emotional Youth: Hey, just really wanted to check in on you, times are getting hard, especially for us, the sensible kind. We’ve grown in an incredibly overwhelming media situation, and it hits extra hard. Sensibility tends to relate in a universal way with stability, we tend to act as guardians and protectors of the ones we love. We are strong for those who aren’t and put on our bravest face during the day and sit quietly at night. I just wanted to remind you it really does get better, you and I both are reading this and remembering the times we were strong when all we wanted was...

Here is how lots of us are feeling during this pandemic!!

You see the ray of sunshine. You hear the birds chirping. You feel your heart beating. You watch your limbs shifting. You want to go and feel the breeze, But you can not even do what your soul may please.

The year 2020 started off in panic. There was talk of a possible 3rd World War, then there was an outbreak of coronavirus in China. I never thought it’d reach America, but I was wrong. In fact, the United States is one of the nations most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Our economy is in free fall, people are in isolation waiting for government aid; all while cases of Covid-19 rise. Despite this, there’s another casualty of this pandemic – our mental health. There’s no doubt that uncertainty breeds paranoia, especially in adolescents. I personally started to feel different after my local...

Hello Everyone! My name is Ayush and I’m in 7th grade. We all know that they are so many people out there on our frontlines trying to help combat COVID-19! These frontliners include doctors, nurses, hospital workers, police, firefighters, EMTs, first responders, restaurant workers, and so many more. Every second that they take to make our lives easier, means that they have one more second to get a risk of getting infected. Many of them go home to an empty house, afraid, and not able to see their family for weeks at a time. Many of our frontliners are at a high risk of getting depression. So...

Coronavirus. COVID-19. A global pandemic. A crisis that goes by countless names, from city to city, state to state, nation to nation. Plaguing the weak and targeting all with no remorse. No one saw this coming for two reasons, one we simply cannot predict the future, and two… we made a joke out of it. For weeks, months even, coronavirus was simply a subject on social media where memes were being made and a joke was made out of suffering. People were desensitized, people began to feel untouchable, that was of course until they were touched. Coronavirus does not discriminate. Being a high school...

Making do by making art. We are not alone in this. Love each other from afar, pray for those who are sick and on the front lines, and continue to do your part. The best way I process my emotions is through making art, and I also wanted to share this piece to spread awareness and inspiration during these difficult times. Hope you enjoy!

The United States of America was founded on principles of equality, justice, and freedom on July 4th, 1776. However, it was also founded by white slave-owners who intentionally created a government with discriminatory laws and practices to ensure that they could continue to maintain racial superiority. After amendments to the U.S. constitution and centuries of struggle, which included a bloody civil war and a powerful civil rights movement, the effects of the institutional racism this country was founded upon are still very apparent in modern-day America. With the country in the middle of the...

Covid-19 isn’t any kind of flu ​​​​​It’s taking over our 2020 Social Media and all of our foes Are telling lies, they’re all just a hoax People take this as a joke But the worldwide death rate is 333,001 We are all struggling through this time The people believe this is a war People overreacting and acting like fools ​​​​​​Fake lies like labs and other tools I just hope we have vaccinations No one knows why this is happening This is no one's fault, they say But every day there’s someone at the park It’s dark we just need the light We have seen some things we’ve seen that we all have sight Now...

What is right in your mind and heart makes us do the right thing! During this time we should: - Maintain social distancing - must wear a mask - protect yourself

Worldwide around 970 million people have mental health illnesses, ranging from anxiety to dysthymia. These same illnesses are responsible for around 14.3% of deaths or 8 million deaths each year, and the numbers continue to skyrocket. Despite the heartache from these numbers, they are also valuable tools to demonstrate how prevalent mental health illnesses are in our world and to raise public awareness. We need to use these statistics to convey how rampant mental health problems are and advocate for our world’s well-being. Furthermore, we should take action and target predictable triggers to...