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...

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...

Sexual harassment or harassment in general is a big issue in today’s world. There are many different types of ways people can be harassed. It can be something as simple as looking ata person up and down, catcalling, or something more serious and dangerous like being kidnapped and sexually abused. There are many other ways people can be harassed which are too many to name, and the fact is that there really shouldn't be that many ways. Many people blame victims instead of blaming the attacker, which is always wrong and there should be no excuses for people who attack others in this way...

Redemption. The cure to all wrongdoings, the way to erase past mistakes while holding onto all we have learned from them. Forgiveness. Is such a thing even possible, or have we reached a point of no return. Hope. For our future, we will live in a better world, but only if we choose to. Determination. The ability to make change, and work tirelessly until we live in a world which we are proud of. Success. A mere illusion or dream of glory, of what could be. Reality. Reality is whatever we want it to be. When did we stop dreaming the brightest of dreams that allowed us to live in a world with...

I have been waiting to write this. It took me so long to find the words. I’m still not sure I have them. While I was waiting, there have been twelve more mass shootings. But today, that’s not what I want to talk about. ……………………….. I didn’t have my phone on me all day. It was the first day in so long I had gone over twelve hours without hearing any kind of news. I finally arrive home, walk through the door; the television is on. I see the breaking news banner at the bottom of the screen. In a world where everything seems to be breaking news, I turn it off and walk away. I wake up the next...

War is more than the upfront violence seen. War is deeper than a simple disagreement. War is brutal. For years now, Yemen has suffered from an extremely violent civil war with significant foreign involvement. While this conflict is essentially one regarding the government within Yemen, it has had tremendous effects on all aspects of life. Fighting has denied Yemenis some of their most basic rights as humans. Some of which includes and has resulted in: children being denied a proper education due to school closers, families being internally displaced, and malnutrition plaguing a significant...

Once a year we get a physical with our local doctor to check up on our overall well being. Every four years we elect a leader to head our nation. When we run out of toilet paper we go to the local store and pick up some more. All of these things share a common denominator, that paired with collaborative fostering will be the key to attempting to solve the current societal issues. That common key factor is trust. We trust that our doctors will adequately give us care to the best of their abilities. We trust our officials to represent our various interests. We trust our stores to have toilet...

God Bless America, a phrase used so poorly by those who reside in such a baren and divided country to boast our so-called pride in our nation. How have we come from such humble, honest beginnings yet turned to such violent, bloodbath conflicts? To this day, we still struggle to unite the nations of this world and unite our people. Instead of loving our neighbors, we harbor resentment and fear against them. How long will it take for us to remove the covers we have placed on our eyes, and truly see what it takes to change the world than destroy it. When will our nations cease to exist as...

Angie Thomas said, “People like us in situations like this become hashtags, But they rarely get justice.” We are different. Yeah, that may be true, But let us review What we have gone through. Every other day I see on the news display How a black got beaten Or may have passed away. I find it funny How others thinks it’s okay Now tell me, if it was you You would make a case. Not too long ago, It happened again Someone was murdered Because of their melanin. Everyone is praying for this to end But here we are with another trend. A death is starting a movement, Since there is a lot of room left...

War “A state of usually open and declared armed hostile conflict between states or nations”. So why does it feel as though I am living through World War Three? Crisis Brings out the true colors of a person We are Black and White Best and Worst Are our true colors War Is painting gray War Is when these two sides of us fight Whether it be against each other Or ourselves. Crisis Is the key out of the jail that hides our selfishness The bars that once contained it have crumbled Our selfishness will become the bullets that kill And that make a war a War We are fighting ourselves.

Nowadays, it is nearly impossible for a year to go by without a school shooting taking place in the USA. A school shooting- the place which should be reserved for education and knowledge- yet we now have to go through drills and be taught what to do in case a shooter came to our school. Why should we be so worried about being killed when we go somewhere to learn and expand what we know? What is the government’s response to this? They’ve barely made any changes to gun control laws, even after the March4OurLives protest and yearly killings. Instead, the Trump Administration’s suggestion was to...

One shot, two shots, down We trusted you with our lives You’re meant to be our relief Supposed to keep us safe Yet we lay lifeless on the ground Our families only left with their cries Who do we trust now? Who do we call out for help? When our very own saviors are the causes of our deaths Why is it always the ones with more melanin who can’t walk away alive in any situation? Shoot, why is that the first thing that comes to mind? A few seconds of choice affect the rest of anothers lives Forever a hole gapes in their heart From where the bullet killed their loved one Our police, our lawsetters...

War Conflict. Suffering. Misery. Despair. What did we do for this sorrow that we bare? Humanity fighting and roads ablaze, People in their homes, counting the days. Families torn apart, thrown into dejection, Everyone lost with no direction. Souls filled with heavy melancholy, As poverty and starvation struck wishing it could not be more folly And realizing that this was all rotten luck They knew this would cause genocide, Watching greif, as people died, Forced to flee from their home, To find peace, faraway they roam Guns firing, bombs bursting, Freedom and refuge, was what they all were...

It’s my life You can’t take it away It’s my right to say what I have to say Imagine your son or daughter dying on Valentine’s Day By a what ? A gun The whole word was left stunned How can a 19-year-old walk around with one? This needs to stop Hell, this should’ve been controlled when JFK got popped But I don’t want to say too much The walk on Washington? Yeah that wasn’t enough Congress didn’t even budge How long should we suffer from this? How many more innocent lives should we add on to the list ? One mother’s wish But I don’t want to say too much

Violence is brought up by hatred A feeling so deep all you can do is ask “why me?” I have seen this violence with my own eyes But I am not proud to say I have seen some die We as a society have gone through great ordeals of pain This violence will not only leave you beaten and battered physically But mentally too This is “giving to the world a tired and ugly message of terror and brutality and hate” They have left us here to rot in poverty in such a corrupted place We have to fight and break free from this cycle of violence For change To end the bad path that was set for your kids and mine We...

What is corruption? Is it mass destruction of monumental instruction? Maybe it’s the path our fore fathers paved for us so we could be resurrected. Resurrection lies in the hands in which we have elected. Election, a funny word it may seem. Who is actually in control, is it you or me? We the people they say. We have the power they say. Your destiny is yours they say. Yet we live in a world where every man lives for themselves. Our life span is determined by the choices we left on the shelves. Depression, recessions, and yet still no acceptance. This is our generation. They act like they hate...

Hello, my name is Asia. A small girl in a big world. I live in little Haiti where I witness all the crime that goes on. Living here, it’s scary not being able to walk down the street without seeing some sort of violence. It’s March and during this time the violence increases. From the wild young adults at beach parties, to the shootings in clubs, and fights that go on in the streets. That’s all I’ve been seeing. I wish that one day this will all change. Imagine living in a world with no violence. Yeah I know, seems peaceful right? If only, this thought in my head wasn’t an imagination I’d be...

On 14 February 2018, the day of love, there was a school shooting. On the day that's supposed to be filled with joy there were kids our age hiding under desks watching their teacher being gunned down and watching their classmates souls leave their bodies. This can happen to any school if our gun policies don't change. These gun policies have given many people opportunities to carry a weapon. They can carry it in their car, state parks, and even in restaurants. We are giving people too much power with these weapons. Who knows if a weapon can end up in the wrong hands. That person can go to a...