Enamored with the idea of independence and being able to make decisions about my own future, I entered college at Cal State LA through the Early Entrance Program. Due to COVID-19, I was never able to...

It happened about one year ago, Jan. 7 — the loss I never imagined facing, at least not for decades to come. My mom woke me up that morning at around 8 a.m. “Brian, I think something is wrong...

As a little girl growing up in Germany, I loved playing around with my mom’s makeup and high heels. I would tell my mother how I wanted to be on television one day, and she would just laugh. A...

I used to be an objectively worse student than my peers in elementary school: I got lower grades, was worse at physical activities, and was immature for my age.  Three years later, I got into Cal State...

Growing up, I never prioritized academics. My weighted grade point average was 2.7 when I graduated high school.  I thought baseball was going to take me far in life. Unfortunately, I was wrong. The...

I will never forget the color of the sky that day: A vivid blue flecked with clouds. It was a slightly cool day Nov. 18, 2020, at the outdoor skatepark my friend and I frequented. But on this day,...

In high school, I didn't have many friends. I was shy, a bookworm and simply was the person who didn’t speak much. That was until I met my best friend, Robert Canales, in senior year. It would change...

Some of the toughest battles I have faced in life came from within: Not feeling accepted, doubting my self-worth, feeling angry and depressed. It all seemed to hit me at once in a series of unfortunate...

When I was 4, my dad was shot outside of our home in Tijuana. Though he survived, my parents knew we had to leave but where to? The answer was clear: Maywood, California, where my mother was raised. That...

It took me five-and-a-half years to finish college. Go ahead. Make fun. I can laugh about it now because I am on the other side. I have a degree that nobody can take away and found a career that...

That annoying ringing. I often asked myself, “Why?” when I heard it. I would stare at the pitch dark ceiling for a few minutes then look to my left.  The time: 4:25 a.m. I’d turn off the alarm,...

It started when I was 10 years old. “You need to start eating less,” my friend told me. That’s when it hit me: My classmates are almost all thin. Over the next few days and weeks, self-doubt...