Empowerment

By Ryann Drue, TIWP Student It is okay to let go. It is okay to forget. It is okay to move on—because the warm hues of true happiness can only seep through the souls of the free. I was once trapped, held captive by the longing for a rewind button. But I wanted to be […]

Mary’s Question

By Alex Bonardi, TIWP Student “Tell me, what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life” —Mary Oliver Not a single person has asked me that question before… which is why it has left me so stumped and confused and lost. All my life, I’ve been told how to act, […]

The Lost Boy

By Alex Bonardi, TIWP Student “You have something to say. Your soul has a story to tell.” —Melodie Ramone You want to apologize. You want to bring back those seventeen lives. You want a chance to explain. But you don’t get to. No one will listen. No one would care. No one will ever see […]

Legends

By Alexia Tzortzis, TIWP Student Icarus flew too close to the sun on purpose—and laughed as the wax burned down his back and he plummeted into the ocean. The sun painted everything in shades of gold, and set the feathers around him a flame. There is a certain beauty in setting the world on fire […]

The Evacuation Theorem

By Ashley Larson, TIWP Student Guns. Guns on land. Guns of different brands. Gun that are small and guns that are grand. Guns for hands. Guns hidden in the Florida sand. Guns still aren’t banned. Fire away mentally ill renegades. Fire on this day. Fire at school today. Fire through the lung’s airway. Fire at […]

I Wish People Knew

By Libby Hawkins, TIWP Student I wish people knew that there have been over ten shootings in schools this year—and it is only February. I wish people knew that even though it was not their sister or cousin or friends, it was someone else’s. I wish people knew that even though it happened across the […]

Thoughts About Parkland

By Alex Bonardi, TIWP Student When my mom used to stress over my schoolwork or my life, I would brush it off and respond with “everything will be fine; it always works out in the end”— and an eye roll. She would stress even more and I would put off my schoolwork even more. But […]

On Writing & Creativity

By Raelyn Kaplan, TIWP Intern I don’t know what to write (ironic because what I want to write about is creativity). I just can’t think of anything. But I guess that’s the antithesis of creativity—forcing out inauthentic pieces just to have a piece at all. It’s when I stop thinking that my thoughts turn creative. […]

Walls

By Ashley Larson, TIWP Student These walls know me better than my family. Inside, these walls hold our secrets, our past lives, our differences and similarities. Inside, these walls hold our screams, tears, radiating smiles and our world. Inside, these walls hold our true beings, our fantasies, our realities. Inside, these walls hold everything we’ve […]

A New Year

By Elizabeth Arroyo, TIWP Student This New Year, I’d like to put an end to the tradition of hurt, scared people pushing down other hurt, scared people to make themselves feel less hurt and scared. This just seems like the only problem that’s actually solvable in the next fifty years. You start at high school, […]