change

Story·Ananya Nigam, age 13 — A leaf contemplates the community rule that all leaves must eventually fall, resisting until witnessing a tree being cut down transforms fear into understanding.

Story·Zahra Batteh, age 10 — A spoiled rich man loses everything when his parents die, struggles to find work, and eventually creates a program to help homeless people become rideshare drivers.

Story·Raya Ilieva, age 10 — When her parents announce their divorce, twelve-year-old Kate runs away to the beach but realizes she needs her family—even if it's changing.

Story·Georgia Melnick, age 12 — Ten-year-old Tallulah struggles with leaving her small yellow house until she learns her aunt is moving into their old home, making the new place feel familiar.

Story·Iris Chen, age 10 — A girl plants magical colorful flowers in her gray town that's been mourning a hurricane, transforming it from grief to hope despite the mayor's opposition.

Story·Bo-Violet Vig, age 13 — A girl who knows every corner of her beloved childhood home must move across the country, discovering that home is defined by the people you love, not the house itself.

Personal Narrative·Asher Jenvey, age 10 — A boy recounts his journey through bullying and unsupportive schools in second grade to finding real friends and better teachers by fifth grade.

Story·Aiden Chen, age 11 — A tree narrates its life from seed to death, surviving fire, drought, and bears, only to be felled when humans build too close to its trunk.

Poetry·Teddy Lykouretzos, age 13 — A young poet compares plastic's permanence to the pyramids, warning that our disposable creations outlast monuments while poisoning the earth we depend on.

Poetry·Teddy Lykouretzos, age 13 — A meditation on impermanence that moves from photographs and fireflies to wedding cake and stone statues, arguing that nothing can truly be preserved.