Jerry Antoine: Do Police Officers Abuse Their Power Or Do We Over-Use Our Rights To Form Opinions?
Claribel Candelaria: Ever knew and loved someone your whole life, but hardly knew anything about them? Is that even possible? Well, in my case, it is. My grandmother has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. But sadly the most I knew about her was just that, that she was my grandmother. This essay is my journey into discovering where I come from. You won't understand who you are until you know about where you come from.
Manny Caraballo: A story of the youngest of four, who although deals with the usual college freshman BS, has to also deal with a troubled home and a search for financial stability. My story is about myself, my life, my hustle and my journey to single-handedly keep my family together, mend the evils in the lives of my siblings and put an end to my mother's suffering. How? With two heavy hands and the heart of a lion, these are the life and times "King" Manny Caraballo, making his way to the pinnacle of the fight world or dying in the process.
F. Elizabeth Cruz: Negative entities have always surrounded me and it has come to a point where I will no longer tolerate it. The last and final evil that came my way was my mother's boyfriend. He deliberately disrepected me, and put an end to it. Beginning my prayers and becoming spiritually stronger, nothing can come my way to harm me now. Entering Santeria was just the start of following the faith and wanting to become a Santera. But will that be the outcome?
Daisy Foureau: When family means everything to you, what happens when the whole structure of your family falls apart? When my grandmother passed away, my family fell apart. The changes we have been through have not done us any good. I want to hold on to the traditions my grandmother brought to my family, because I'm afraid that without them, I will continue my life and my family's life in the wrong direction; the direction I never wanted to follow. I can't do it without the help and support from my family, and because they all grieve differently, help and support is something I don't exactly have.
Bolivar Fortuna: Over many years, Latinos have migrated to the United States in search of success. Many have found it; others have not. As years go by, we tend to see more and more Latinos reaching their goals and succeeding. Even though many other Latinos face obstacles like unemployment, inability to speak English, or have no educational opportunities, they try their best to live better than back in their home countries. As every immigrant in the U.S., we all have come here for one purpose, and that is to achieve the American Dream. In this paper, I narrate and describe the experiences my family and I went through to build the identity we have today in the U.S. I also touch upon how these experiences relate to others Latinos Immigrants in the U.S.
Shanetta Frank: Two girls, one problem; different worlds, different solutions. This is the tale of two girls from two total different time periods dealing with the same problem, teenage pregnancy. One was beaten and chastised while the other was only looked down upon with pity. Has modern day culture gotten TOO COMFORTABLE with this idea or was the punishment just too harsh back in the day? These questions and more are asked in this essay. The story of these young girls' struggles will finally get told, delivered from their eyes to paper from a daughter and niece who went through this tough time in their lives with them. This is my mother's story, my aunt's story, and the story of thousands of teenage girls worldwide that are facing the harsh reality of teenage pregnancy.
Cerone Joseph: My essay is about a girl named Sally who was raped during her childhood. She suffers from trauma, even after many years have passed. She finds out that her sister suffers, as well, from childhood rape. Sally is constantly trying to find ways to get over her trauma once and for all.
Andrew McDonough: This essay is about the things that drive us. It tells my story of overcoming pain and suffering to push to my goal. It also tells about how my family's legacy inspired and shaped me.
Stephanie Reynoso: This is an essay about a bond between two sisters and how that bond had to be broken. Throughout the essay I talk about teen pregnancy and how it affects people around you. I never knew this could happen to someone I came to care about so much.
Arzona Shehu: Every person probably has experienced something that has impacted their life. My experience started when I was five years old, and now, after 14 years, I still suffer the consequences. When I was five years old, I fell from a two meter high roof and the right part of my body got paralyzed. At that time, I couldn't talk and I couldn't walk, but with the help and support of the people that stood by me, now I can talk and I can walk.
Brian Subramanie: My essay is about the economic reasons why I always miss out on certain events, and the history behind these reasons. At the end of my essay, I ask whether the economic depression today will affect me and others in my family, and whether our having and spending money wisely will continue.
Tynasha Tucker: My story is about a girl name Angela who grew to become a strong woman, but along came some powerful storms that tried to throw her off track. Angela was born as a rape baby who went through challenges to get close to her mother, only to be left in the cold. She finally got a break and received the love and attention from her grandfather that she needed, but it didn't last long, because she was taken away by her mother. Angela felt that her mother was always the bad guy that just wanted her to suffer, but Angela didn't know why. When Angela started to become a teenager things really picked up. She started to get into little situations with her grandmother and aunts who were jumping on her back, wanting to know everything, not letting her keep things to herself. After that she thought the sun would shine, but there was one deadly storm ahead, so she prepared for the fight, only to be knocked down. Angela started to become brave, demanding her mother tell her why she treated her like this, and all of a sudden her mother blurted out: you remind me of my rape everyday because you look like him. Angela started to become silent around her mother and she couldn't even look at her, but her mother realized that she only had one chance to fix things with Angela or she would lose her forever, because she let her emotions get the best of her.
Carla Valdez: Have you ever felt like you had to pick between multiple things, and your choice gave you a bittersweet feeling? You lost something important in order to advance in life, and that "thing" you lost made you feel incomplete. And that incompleteness grew into something that was foreign to you. Something you saw happen to others but never experienced until now? As time goes on you struggle in dealing with this issue, trying to find things to help you fill in this empty space. But it isn't as easy as it seems. You're beginning to question if your choice was the right one.
Tyler White: The world, and America in particular, runs on fear; fear of your potential, fear of your enemies (be they fictional or real), fear of control, and fear of losing control. Why do we unite under fear? My essay examines three time periods of fear within America that had a strong effect the way we govern today.
Surinay Wu: Many people grow up not knowing who their father is, struggling in life, saying they have "daddy issues." I'm not one of those people. I know who my father is; he's been there for me throughout my entire life. But then, I thought, I'm not so different from those who don't know their own fathers, because I myself don't know who my father is, even though I've lived with him I and see him every day. I realized that I have no knowledge of who my father is and why he is the way that he is. I guess it's never too late to get to know your parent.
