It was a few days before Christmas when my grandmother realized that she did not have nearly enough time nor the ingredients to prepare her homemade tamales. Nearly 50 guests would be expected for the...

  Many people grow up being fed the beliefs of a certain religion, but I was not. My mother is a Jewish-Atheist and my father, an Atheist. I am also a Jewish-Atheist, which some people find confusing.  As...

Growing up, you start to keep a hold of something you’re passionate about. No matter what it is, you strive to keep that passion even in your adult years. I have always thought of collecting, but...

I have always felt like my Jewishness confuses people. I am genetically half Jewish and half not. My mother is of European Jewish descent and my father is mostly Norwegian. According to Jewish law,...

My entire life, I was very insecure about my body. Being Mexican meant I had more body hair, which is where my insecurities really stemmed from. I have had bad acne since the fifth grade. I had big,...

As a young girl growing up in Tanzania, a developing country, the idea of attending a four-year U.S. university was almost as mythical as an old African folktale. The fact that neither of my parents...

My mom has a good heart and she shows it by teaching my brothers and me how to be good people. When I was growing up, she used to take me to volunteer at my dad’s temple and various events.  Sometimes,...

More than 15 years ago, I worked out at the gym four days a week, two hours each day. Despite moving around in a wheelchair, my arms and upper body were so strong I could easily move myself in and out...

Although I was older than him when we met -- I was 11 and my rescue dog, Hunter, was five months -- it’s the opposite now. I’ve reached my prime at 21 and he is an aging 65 in human years. Every...

In 2020, I was a fairly optimistic, ambitious senior at Mira Loma High school in Sacramento, California. Now, I’m a third-year Cal State LA student slowly working to rebuild my social skills and my...