By Kristen H., TIWP Student “There is no final test for how to be human — only the open question of how to be yourself which you must answer daily.” – Maria Popova It rises like light in a windowsill through a thin curtain—soft, unavoidable. Before words, before certainty. A quiet pressure beneath the ribs, gently […]
Hypocrisy: A Contrapuntal
By Zara Q., TIWP Student
Inside
By Avery C., TIWP Student Inside,possibility grows wilda forest of unfinished sentences,constellations still decidingwhat shape they want to be. But the world prefers straight roads,clear signs,names hammered into doors. So walk the border between wilderness and pavementwith a notebook full of dissolved stars. Some morningsthoughts arrive like migrating birdsfast, bright, and impossible to hold. Other […]
The Love, the Loss, and the Longing
By GG, TIWP Student Longing. Yearning. Aching. Craving. Desire is a funny thing. With desire comes longing. The desire to belong, to fit in, to be likeable, mixed with the desire to be yourself without shame or fear. It is in our nature to crave connection, it’s why shame is born. In the early days […]
Little Moments
By GG, TIWP Student Life is in the little moments. In the small things that make you human. Your fears, desires, mistakes, triumphs, and everything in between. Life is deep, breathless, laughs when your friend tells you a story or a joke. In the moments where you’re sitting on their couch watching a movie, or […]
Attractiveness and It’s Imaginary Correlation with Morality
By Rose U., TIWP Student Having grown up in what some might consider an oppressive society, maybe even dystopian, I’ve found that beauty standards are deeply entwined with patriarchal society. Further, the attractiveness of a person is associated with their morality, a false narrative that’s been pushed for generations. Worse, forgiveness of a man’s unattractiveness […]
Beauty
By O. Deng, TIWP Student I see beauty in imperfection: my uneven brows, the floppy swirls of my frozen yogurt, the flecks of burnt candle wick that fall into my candle wax, the way my sheets fold delicately into random shapes when I don’t make my bed, and the messiness of my room during the […]
Stairs
By Zara Quiter, TIWP Student I’m happyI tell myself as I walk down the stairs.I am happy.I am grateful.I am enough.Ignore the fists pounding that you aren’t,ignore the shrill screams that you’re worthless,ignore it all and listen to the sounds of your own heartbeat.I can’t get the song of this insanity out of my head […]
Apologies
By Nick Brevik, TIWP Student I once witnessed a boy in love get down on his knees and apologize over and over again. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. The words spilling out of his mouth as if they were the only things he knew how to say. I still think about that […]
和 (Wa)
By Katelyn, TIWP Student In Japanese, the word for harmony is “wa,” a belief that is emphasized throughout Tokyo and reaches into Kyoto and across Japan. Experiencing this “wa” offered a refreshing contrast to the chaotic pace of life in America to me. The metro over there was filled with peaceful silence, where the only […]
The Intuitive Voice 