By Laily, TIWP Student There is a memory stored in our bonesbefore we ever learned to explain it.We feel a disconnection when we pull away,when we step out of the living pulse of the worldand try to survive inside plastic wrappers and fragile bubbles.We forget that we are not observers looking in from the outside. […]

By Zara Q., TIWP Student I think I think that I understand people.That I can meet them, sit in the same class for a few months,talk a few times.And then I get them, for the most part.I know why they do the things they do, say what they say.The people who puzzle me shock me and […]

By Laily, TIWP Student I am full of society carving its expectations into my skin,yet starving for the freedom to exist in my own body. I am full of every day feeling like a raceyet starving to let go of the “doing” andlearn how to just be. I am full of reading every room, absorbing […]

By Lina Norris-Raman, TIWP Student LoveElivens.Something stirs in me,The way your wordsBrush my cheekAnd wrap me in a heavy blanket that tugs awaymy self-doubt.These remarkstell me I am living,That I deserve something,For the simple fact that I exist.They remind me that the worldDoesn’t view meThrough my own cracked mirror—That maybe the worldCould be more truthful […]

By Zara Quiter, TIWP Student Toxic masculinity is like any addiction.Poisonous and sweet,Aggressive and gentle.It is that same drug that offers me a jacket when he sees I am cold,who throws away my garbage and asks for my number.Who texts me that night and says, “I’m glad.”Do I smile at him, do I text him back, do […]

By Katelyn H., TIWP Student At 12 a.m. the memories replay like songs I don’t want to end, the worries crowding my mind, and the quiet truth that this year is slipping away. It’s strange how people who filled my days with laughter might slowly turn into old pictures, faded messages, and stories I tell […]

By Emily Y., TIWP Student The clock is ticking, the pace is quickening. The kids are scraping tooth and nailto be unique.What if we could have knownwhat to do since childhood,like the instructions of a Lego set,putting our lives together,piece by piece,while knowing the end resultwould make a home? Comparison grips the studentswhen grades quietly define your […]

By Kristin H., TIWP Student Remember meTo writeTo fightTo be or not to beA poetA knightA fighterA leaderA shining lightA disappointment.A failure.Alone.The individual.You’re alone, but you’re not aloneYou’re not by yourself.Who are you without anotherIf the tree falls with no one to listen?Will I be remembered?Have I done enough?Will you remember me,When my roots are […]

By Zara Quiter, TIWP Student I’ve become someone who values spending time with people that make her happy, not the people that make her anxious. I’ve become someone who backs out when she needs to, instead of just following the crowd. I’ve become someone who is unabashedly competitive and motivated, and happy to relish in […]

By Zara Q., TIWP Student