It’s been said that money can’t buy happiness. While this can be true in many ways, a steady source of income can alleviate many stressors. Living below the poverty line in the United States leaves many families looking for a roof to sleep under each night, ways to put food on the table, and the means to obtain physical and mental healthcare. A recent study done by researchers at Boston Medical Center (BMC) reports that you don’t have to be homeless to experience both adverse physical and mental health outcomes from housing insecurity. The study interviewed more than 22,000 families about...

Hello, This is Ethar Khalid. I am a 25 year-old Saudi girl, I became an American permanent resident last year. In another part of the world my dad is working in a dangerous place where the oil attack happened a few days ago, he is there to fix the damage. I feel so sad and depressed..I have been crying for days worrying about his safety there! I am desperate, scared and far far away from my family to support them. I have a small YouTube channel and there are bunch of young people watching me... But, I hate it when people still believe we should only trust people with certain identities. They...

Peace a word so loosely used Thought to bring a calm To the noise around me The noise around me stating he’s right and she’s wrong But this conflict is more than a message in a song This conflict has preceded generations, upon generations A solution that founded treaties, made borders, bartered resources and married nations But somewhere along the line something shifted our perspective It changed our view!! There is no peace but pieces of broken people, nations, relationships and civilizations The right to bear arms in the name of peace but the peace is to stare down the barrel of a loaded gun...

Today I want to talk to you about climate change and how it impacts my life. Some might call me a climate activist, but I’m really just a regular 8th grade kid from New York City. Here are some quick facts about me: I like go to the Brooklyn Bridge Park to see the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge light up the night. I love cooking and want to be a chef someday. I was born in NYC, but my family is from Mexico and Honduras. This summer, I visited my grandfather’s farm in Chiapas, where we savored the taste of home-grown caña, chayote, and aguacate. So why should I care about climate change? I’m just a...

My first word was love. Under the flickering lights of North Shore Hospital on March 10, 2002, I met the one person whose love for me is unconditional. As I tore my eyelids open and glanced the kind, raven-haired woman, I immediately noticed her smile, which stretched for miles past the horizon. I truly believe that one person molded me into the person I am today. As I grew up, I became afraid of my own reflection, until I realized that the only things I should see staring back at me are the doting eyes of my grandma. Many years later, I returned to the hospital. One week away from losing my...

Rural areas are essentially the backbone of America, but more and more young people are eschewing their rural roots in order to seek better opportunities in metropolitan areas. While there are a number of advantages to growing up in a rural environment, such as wide open spaces and a tight-knit community, many young people in rural America believe that the challenges outweigh the perks. Young people who choose to relocate to urban areas are typically seeking higher wages and increased access to resources such as healthcare, education, and healthy food. The Center for American Progress reports...

Silence and teenagers are two things unable to coexist. Or so I thought, until late July. 100 incoming 10th graders, myself included, visited a holocaust museum in Montreal, Canada. A bus filled with children screaming and singing transformed into a room where the sound of a pin dropping was the equivalent of a piercing scream on any other day. Dead silent, 100 teenagers, for 3 hours. We were silent in fear, in terror, or our past, of our species. We were put at ease by the misconception that things had changed, people had changed, events as tragic as the holocaust will never occur again. This...

My name is Lucy Meyer and I was born with Cerebral Palsy. I did not receive oxygen to my brain for five minutes at birth and doctors told my parents I would never sit up or swallow. By the time I was two, I was walking on my own – the doctors were wrong! I graduated from high school in June and I am taking a gap year to spread the message of the importance of acceptance and inclusion to people all over the world as the Spokesperson for the Special Olympics—UNICEF USA Partnership. I usually talk about including all kids with disabilities, but today, for International Day of the Girl, I want to...

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...

Splendid books deserve to be shared, just like fantastic movies or music. I have translated excerpts in Chinese from books and poems to English. They are treasures that belong to the world, and I don’t want to see them trammeled by the scopes of language. A good piece of translation is part of the creative process, not a mechanical exercise that is easily done with a computer. A computer can translate words, but they can't translate feelings. Computer-generated translations can be grammatically correct, but lack imagination. When we start to draw the images that hide in our head and lead them...

With the two climate strikes that happened in September, important conversations are happening about what needs to be done to improve the planet for future generations. Surrounding the dates of the United Nations Climate Action Summit, strikers across the world demanded climate justice for everyone. The demands included an end to the age of fossil fuels, as well as an energy revolution with climate justice and equity as its driving factor. The climate strikes — which have involved everyone from school-aged children to senior citizens — show that climate change is no longer an issue that can be...

My name is Najma Darwish, I’m 14 years old and I have many titles, writer, daughter, friend, Somali, American and most importantly, Muslim. I was born and raised in America and have seen Islamophobia first hand. Being a teenage girl in this era of America has not been easy. I’ve been called many names and wouldn’t find the time to write each and every single one of them. I go to school were I am the only girl who wears the hijab, I sometimes see this as a burden and not as being unique. I see my friends being able to do stuff that a Muslim girl can’t. I see others in my gym class staring down...

Live life and live it to the fullest!!! This statement is the most overused yet motivational line that is used in the 20th century of life. It has been used so much that it lost its value, its significance that it’s just that a statement that is used with the hope that it will bring someone some light, some energy, something for people to feed on, to read on . This is more than a statement its a feeling that cant truly be described. BUT I am here to say that this statement is…..well…. actually… true. I know this because I’ve experienced it…I actually felt it and lived it. I was in Florida on a...

For a long time, the socially accepted beauty standard looked like this: blond hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and legs with a noticeable gap in between them. Victoria Secret angels, runway models, and TV ads plastered this image of perfection to the American public for decades. With the rise of social media, it seems that these images are nonetheless inescapable. Lately, however, it seems that women are starting to push back on this type of marketing. While certainly not the only culprit, this type of unrealistic beauty standard that is largely still being advertised adds to feelings of self pity...

A large number of people believe the growing wealth gap between the rich and poor is a sign of a weakening democracy. Discussions surrounding whether the United States should implement a universal basic income and stronger public services have come into play. Many Americans believe that more public agencies will lead to inefficiency. They see the government as a necessary evil, rather than a helpful tool and prefer to keep the bulk of economic power in the hands of private markets. Plenty of people also have faith in the rags-to-riches story of capitalism, that anyone who works hard can also...

In the heart of downtown Manhattan a little girl once stood, staring at the towering skyscrapers that loomed above her. From where she stood, she felt as if she was a meaningless dot in a vast and ever-changing world. Her eyes were fixated across the street, where less than a decade before the twin towers had stood, and she was suddenly struck by a sense of overwhelming fear. In her mind she could picture her father, climbing up the stairs from the subway as the second tower was hit. It was the first day his wife had gone back to work, his daughter of only six months back at home. Above him...

The bell rings, what’s the first thing you do? You reach down and pull your phone out of your bag. Maybe you didn’t notice, but the other twenty students around you did the exact same thing. The addiction is seen throughout the halls, the streets, even at a dinner table surrounded by a group of friends. Everyone’s head is down and their shoulders are curved, their eyes missing out on what’s directly in front of them. We have become slaves to our devices, to the beeps and dings that it emits, to the never ending flow of messages and posts. I know this is true because like you, I am a victim. We...

Signs and protestors proclaiming “Injustice is not an investment,” “Climate change is not a game,” and “We’re still here”... The heated adrenaline is almost palpable if you step onto college campuses today. The kids are asking for divestment. According to Fossil Free, universities have divested around $14 trillion to date. Divesting means that they will actively sell shares in companies that spark environmental or social concerns. In the words of 350.org, this implies “a fast and just transition to 100% renewable energy for all,” “no new fossil fuel projects anywhere,” and “not a penny more...

Tinged red blood in colour Running and fleeting in a chase from One To Another. Weak yet sudden Causing choking tears Cracking coughs And stinging foreheads. Women cry as they lunge for the last tissues While others step back as soon as they Spot those Narrow Small eyes. Chinese Chinese. They whisper. And that girl spotted with those Narrow Small Eyes clenches her hand As the eyes of the crowd stalk Her like prey. Strangling Wrenching Shoving Hurting Our hostile friends Our abandoned sisters And I cry. Because Didn't you know? The worst disease of them all Is never the disease itself. It is...