Rise Above Fashion It was an early Friday morning, a day planned to be one of the most rewarding for Joshua Woods because he would finally get his hands on those Nike Air Jordan XI ‘Bred’ sneakers. It began as a simple trip to Willowbrook Mall with his friend; they [...]
My Home I used to be furious at the advertisement that represented Ethiopia as a grimy boy begging for food; on the summer of 2011, when my mother, my younger sister and I flew to Ethiopia to visit family, I understood its accuracy. Although that unparalleled interdependence between the citizens [...]
My Origins I can remember everything as far back as preschool—when life was as simple as the colored building blocks I used to play with, and when stress and sleep deprivation weren’t even factors that came into play. The world I come from is a planet like everyone else’s but [...]
I'm Not a Statistic Today, society portrays the black man as: a rapper, a thug, someone who only cares about brand names, and someone to be feared. The media constantly portrays the African American male as a monster as they are constantly seen as criminals. All of the statistics about [...]
The Bench “So, knowing what you know now, would you have sat on the bench?” “I dunno. Maybe.” “Well then I’m afraid I’ll have to give you a detention.” In sixth grade, I was obsessed with Nelson Mandela after writing a report on his struggle to bring racial equality to [...]
Genius Brother My brother is a genius. You probably wouldn’t think so if you look at his grades—above average for a normal person’s standards, but extremely disappointing compared to my report card, decorated with an obnoxious abundance of “A’s” and “Advanced Placement”, almost as if my life depended on it. [...]
Waving Goodbye Since I was old enough to peer out the car window, I can remember my grandmother standing by her curtains as we pulled away in our car, waving good-bye, her fingers fluttering gleefully. Every time, as we piled back into the car, I would immediately buckle my seatbelt [...]
What's Mightier? While a pen is mightier than the sword, it seems that the keyboard defeats them both when it comes to informing the public. Between Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, IM, Pinterest, Instagram, Youtube, blogs, and email, word spreads in the blink of an eye and the touch of a key; [...]
In the Image of God When I looked up at the stars on one September night, that feeling of my insignificance, my littleness, my absolute minuteness engulfed me. Yes, compared to the closest star next to me, I am close to nothing. I shouldn’t even be paralleled with the seemingly [...]
Childless Mother I am a childless mother. In that, I don't mean anything that may come to mind; I’ve never been pregnant. What I mean is that for almost everyone I know, I act like a mom. I bake cookies. I give advice when it is needed, not necessarily when [...]