growing up

Story·Talia Tarason — A girl forbidden from hunting defies her clan's rules to track a dangerous saber-tooth cat during a famine, learning to control her temper and share glory.

Poetry·Petros Korahais — A student's back-to-school list prioritizes soccer gear, cologne, and hair gel over school supplies, reluctantly adding pencils at the end.

Personal Narrative·Aleen Watson — A young runner battles self-doubt and physical exhaustion while competing against 349 other girls at the cross-country Junior Olympics in Texas.

Story·Callia Rodgers — After her mother dies in childbirth, a girl defies orders to stay out of the forest and discovers she's inherited magical powers to protect it from shadow creatures.

Personal Narrative·Micki Mermelstein — A girl with a fear of heights jumps off a cliff at her cousins' urging, nearly drowns in panic underwater, then immediately agrees to do it again for a video.

Story·Evangeline Gustavson — A woman nurtures a mysterious seedling that grows into an extraordinary plant, dies, and leaves offspring; after her death, she reunites with the plant's true spirit—a boy.

Story·Alice Pak — As conflict between Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces approaches their border town, two childhood friends witness the gradual erosion of their peaceful world through power outages, distant explosions, and rising...

Personal Narrative·Aisana Zhumabayeva — After their father fails to pick them up from school, two siblings wait in an empty cafeteria until an ambulance arrives to take them to the hospital where they learn...

Story·Haeun Kim — Through the Korean board game alkkagi, three generations pass down wisdom about patience, timing, and seizing opportunities in both games and life.

Personal Narrative·Yanling Lin — A Halloween night becomes a meditation on moral choices when the narrator faces unattended candy bowls with 'Please Take 1' signs and witnesses another child take everything.