The
Decameron
Project

The
Decameron
Project

The
Decameron
Project

11th Grade Stories

"The glass has stopped falling. Now, I sit in the dark with open wounds and no way to..."

" A million different shards of glass are exploding all around me. They pierce my skin and itch my soul..."

Diary of an Anxious Dreamer

Saya

Ross

Montvale

11th Grade

"These people did not love me. They had never treated me the way they wanted to be..."

"My whole life, I had been alone. I wasn’t sure what it was, but everyone I’d ever known had rejected me..."

Alone

Sadie

Stark

Lago Vista

11th Grade

"He promised me that a wish upon a star will always come true and I know that he would..."

"I had been trying every night for exactly one year, four months, and three days to catch the stars in my..."

A Brother’s Broken Promises

Lika

B

11th Grade

"Soon more and more people had something to say, and with this there commenced a kind..."

“This boat, I said, is broken”, said the youngster. He, of course, was sitting right beside the hole..."

War

Maria

Lim

Coral Springs

11th Grade

"Have you ever competed against a brother, sister, friend, neighbor, to curry favor..."

"The good, kind, generous people of Umlas do not care about money or fame; they only act good because they..."

The Ones Who Don’t Belong

Lizzy

Osinski

Chappaqua

11th Grade

"for a moment, you sit, legs weary, on a child’s stool (and you wonder when you last..."

"[after a birthday party] the crowd has ended, the party has left you stoop, bent in half at the..."

After a Birthday Party

Emilie

Su

New York

11th Grade

"there's crying..."

"i can feel and hear everything around me..."

Lockdown

Girl A

Greenville

11th Grade

"Jessica noticed that when everyone went to sleep someone would listen to someone..."

"The day Jessica and Kathy moved in they climbed the creaky stairs to the attic and turned on the light..."

The Demonic Doll

Rossi

Martinez

Bronx

Bronx Collaborative

11th Grade

"I felt a dark presence behind me and knew he was back again. I know you say he is not..."

"Dear Mama, I find it difficult to keep track of the days without my regular routine. I no longer feed..."

A Letter to Mama

Ciara

Balanza

New York

11th Grade

"What with the people infuriated, the police overwhelmed, and especially..."

"BANG. And that was it. Piercing right through his heart, perfectly that is. As the force from the shot..."

Just Messing Around

Ozan

Mirza

New York

Trevor Day School

11th Grade

1 / 1312 3 4 Next Last

"The glass has stopped falling. Now, I sit in the dark with open wounds and no way to..."

" A million different shards of glass are exploding all around me. They pierce my skin and itch my soul..."

Diary of an Anxious Dreamer

Saya

Ross

Montvale

11th Grade

"These people did not love me. They had never treated me the way they wanted to be..."

"My whole life, I had been alone. I wasn’t sure what it was, but everyone I’d ever known had rejected me..."

Alone

Sadie

Stark

Lago Vista

11th Grade

"He promised me that a wish upon a star will always come true and I know that he would..."

"I had been trying every night for exactly one year, four months, and three days to catch the stars in my..."

A Brother’s Broken Promises

Lika

B

11th Grade

"Soon more and more people had something to say, and with this there commenced a kind..."

“This boat, I said, is broken”, said the youngster. He, of course, was sitting right beside the hole..."

War

Maria

Lim

Coral Springs

11th Grade

"Have you ever competed against a brother, sister, friend, neighbor, to curry favor..."

"The good, kind, generous people of Umlas do not care about money or fame; they only act good because they..."

The Ones Who Don’t Belong

Lizzy

Osinski

Chappaqua

11th Grade

"for a moment, you sit, legs weary, on a child’s stool (and you wonder when you last..."

"[after a birthday party] the crowd has ended, the party has left you stoop, bent in half at the..."

After a Birthday Party

Emilie

Su

New York

11th Grade

"there's crying..."

"i can feel and hear everything around me..."

Lockdown

Girl A

Greenville

11th Grade

"Jessica noticed that when everyone went to sleep someone would listen to someone..."

"The day Jessica and Kathy moved in they climbed the creaky stairs to the attic and turned on the light..."

The Demonic Doll

Rossi

Martinez

Bronx

Bronx Collaborative

11th Grade

"I felt a dark presence behind me and knew he was back again. I know you say he is not..."

"Dear Mama, I find it difficult to keep track of the days without my regular routine. I no longer feed..."

A Letter to Mama

Ciara

Balanza

New York

11th Grade

"What with the people infuriated, the police overwhelmed, and especially..."

"BANG. And that was it. Piercing right through his heart, perfectly that is. As the force from the shot..."

Just Messing Around

Ozan

Mirza

New York

Trevor Day School

11th Grade

"Kneeling beside the corpse, he squinted at it for a moment before turning on his..."

"Lieutenant Bomani sucked in a harsh breath as he took in the gory scene. The air smelled like blood and..."

See No Evil

Angelina

Lee

11th Grade

Caw! Alejandro nearly jumped out of his armor when a bird flew overhead, rustling...

The dragons have always been opposed to coexisting peacefully with humans, Alejandro thought back...

Slay Your Inner Dragon

Angelina

Lee

11th Grade

"He watched as his son flew, his heart tied along with him, higher and higher still..."

"Feathers collected, golden, revered, lay as still and as delicate as a piper’s fingertips suspended--..."

A Father’s Promise

Anabella

de Oliveira Castro

Arlington

11th Grade

This family seems so whole, so happy. It pains you to know that the same young boys...

Mature Content

You are twelve years old and walking down the hallway to your bedroom, when an old photograph on the wall...

Three Things

Lilia

Kasdon

Weston

Concord Academy

11th Grade

"In my dreams, I reached the break, and there lay a throne, the seat empty and open..."

"There is a forest. I’ve dreamt of a forest green and bright and rainy and warm. I knew where to go. There..."

I’ve dreamt of a forest.

Riley

Baldus

West Des Moines

11th Grade

"Our trees, blossoming with white and pink flowers, allow their petals to flutter onto..."

"The crisp morning draft through my window does not wake me, and neither does the sun’s warm kiss on my..."

Life is Beautiful If You Love

Angelina

Lee

Elmhurst

11th Grade

"You turn away from the painting and back to your sad, brown room, with torn-up chairs..."

"Here is the place where your dreams lose their luster and fall apart, scattered pieces locked away in the..."

Graveyard of Dreams

Arianna

Steadman

New York

Hunter College High School

11th Grade

"Its tulle filtered the sunlight into a loud magenta ripple against the grey pathway"

She fancied herself a superhero: legs wide, elbows pointed, chin tucked as she admired her shadow. Today...

The Changing Courtyard

Elizabeth

Louie

Brooklyn, New York

11th Grade

I’ve always loved how alphonso mangoes turn golden with the suns rays, wrinkled and uneven

we’ve been playing this game for so long I don’t remember when it started. Khun-yahy’s brown eyes, the sam...

this little lifelong game

Kiran

Bhat

Winchester, Massachusetts

11th Grade

"Fresh off a war and ready to party. Ol’ Frankie."

Resigned to the saccharine recesses of my memory, I sigh. It has been 68 years, yet it all remains so tangible

Gazing Into Oblivion

Tyia

Boateng

Brooklyn, New York

11th Grade

"Some were in disbelief, some were angry at God..."

Ascendant

Kyle

Laydor

Brooklyn

New Visions Advanced Math and Science 3

11th Grade

"I exhale the memories. The sleeping theater starts to dream..."

The Theatre is Sleeping and I’m Still Awake

Logan

Wilbur

Bass Harbor

11th Grade

"Losing an antler is an aesthetic tragedy, and an infringement upon symmetry..."

The Yellow Car and the One-Antlered Deer

Clay

Miller

Morrison

11th Grade

"It is only after a forced subtlety that could be described as formlessness in the..."

A rectangular prism, twenty two feet in length, six feet in width, and seven feet in height with no...

Box Chair

Matthew

Wheeler

Trenton

11th Grade

The Intersection

Outside of my window there are people that I know Outside of my window there are people that I don’t The...

The Intersection

Kathryn

Herbert

Brooklyn

11th Grade

"Outside my window plays a silent movie doused in color. Dogs prance along sidewalks..."

In the morning, I’m greeted with the blare of honking horns. You would think I lived in a city with all...

Cracks in the Window

Barrett

Ahn

Los Angeles

11th Grade

"Outside my window Is a world that we are truly frightened by..."

Outside my window Is a promised land of equal opportunity “You can be whatever you want” Is what we are...

Outside Into the World

Ideanna

Isaac

Bronx

11th Grade

"My window is an ear. It allows me to hear nearly everything that happens on my street..."

When I take a look outside my window, all that I can see is a housing project building across the street...

My Acoustic Window

Charles

Crockett

New York

Hunter College High School

11th Grade

"Outside my bedroom window rests my whole world framed in my perfect image."

Outside my bedroom window, I see green and yellow and brick. I see the cool breeze’s slight rustle in the...

My Picture Framed World

Ia Sofia

Cabre-Jockovich

Somerville

11th Grade

"There’s blood dripping down my arm now. Probably a splinter. It hurts. Bad. But I..."

"Bang. Bang. Bang. The wood around our window is splintering. My hand is starting to hurt from holding my..."

Remnants of a Window and a Love Long Gone

Shannon

Dobson

Chesterfield

11th Grade

"But now coming back home in my sopping black shirt, I began to remember how good..."

"During primary school, I had always fit in with the girls. I liked the color pink. And I even liked..."

Always Me

Ellie

Gordon

Media

11th Grade

"Grown around a seemingly tranquil pond with glance to the surface. However..."

"The view outside my window is what I'd call an open old-growth woods. Grown around a seemingly tranquil..."

Outside My Window

Maya

White

Atlanta

American Home Schools

11th Grade

"The tears go down my cheeks and he knows how ecstatic I am that I will finally be..."

"I’m always feel like I’m being watched. I can just feel eyes burning into my soul. You may be wondering..."

The Guy Outside my Window

Evee

J

Staten Island

11th Grade

"The highway bustles with life juxtaposing the dead that still crawls on the asphalt..."

"Radiant lamps contrast the dullness of my person, past ghosts and know it all souls try to lure me..."

Souls

Anna

White

Bronx

11th Grade

"now I looked back, staring at you outside my window."

I feel something staring at me from across my room staring at me but they will show their selves. Here I am...

Watching You

Amila

Clarle

Bronx

11th Grade

Maybe if I walk along with everyone else I’ll look like I belong. What are we really..."

"Hey now hey now, don’t be scared. I know this is hard, but you need to hear."

Be Free

Emma

Sackey

Swarthmore

Strath Haven High School

11th Grade

"alive in the sky outside ripened eyes while i am buried blank-faced beneath mountains..."

outside my window, green rolling hills of thoughts skim my eyelids while i trace the scar of your smile...

fruition

Emilie

Su

New York

The Brearley School

11th Grade

"She lived a beautiful life filled with joy and unconditional love from..."

"Once upon a time there was a little girl named Amila but she was from the past."

That Girl From the Past

Courtney

Bell

Oakland

Latitude High School

11th Grade

Clairvoyance

The ground is perpetually damp, the buildings creak, and the sun seems more like a hole forced into the sky...

Horror Fiction: 1st Place

Tanisha

Shende

Lodi

Bergen County Academies

11th Grade

The Thing in the Wall

If we whispered the name of a dead person, it winked like a friend. If we suppressed our fright and kept qu...

Horror Fiction: 2nd Place

Ife

Olatona

Washington D.C./ Olun, Nigeria

11th Grade

"He went into the room as he waited for her to come out of the bathroom and as soon as she

"They say Halloween comes once a year for the kids to go door to door saying..."

Halloween Isn’t Once a Year Anymore

Ashlee

Raghu

South Ozone Park

11th Grade

"I can’t sleep. I tried all night but I couldn't. Many attempts I have been doing from..."

"My eyes are driven to the silhouette of a guy with a gun who’s walking towards the widow who lives in..."

Insomnia In My Window

Hubert

Rivas

11th Grade

"would only end in self destruction, something she was so close to before that little star

A Stained Glass Window

Ashira

Hunt

South Ozone Park

11th Grade

"These days I have been very stationary. I sit and I stare and I watch. The snake.."

"I stopped for a moment to catch my breath against my neighbor’s fence. As I stood there I felt a pull..."

The Snake

Ella

Bezkorovainy

Brooklyn

11th Grade

"I look out my window and recall how everything seemed to be so uncomplicated..."

"Entrapped in the tasteless pleasures of isolation. There will be endless moments when others need..."

We Can Not Stop Caring

Zuha

Khan

New York

Benjamin N Cardozo High School

11th Grade

"I could hear the creature chasing me, its feet crushing on the path I made, scraping..."

"Today was the day that I have been dreading ever since my parents broke the news to me. I’d be spending..."

Aunt Andrea’s Cabin

Nina

Hamel

Haverhill

11th Grade

"'Who’s there?' he shouted, doing a 180 and flashing his flashlight behind him..."

"'Jimmy, shut the chickens in would you? Their coop door is still open.' shouted Jimmy’s mother from three..."

Everything Happens For A Reason

Erik

Uerkwitz

New Paltz

11th Grade

"She clicks the light on and screams. A note reads 'BOO, did I scare you mommy?' Half..."

"'Jackson where are you?' Tori said as she wandered through the hallway. She opens the closet door and..."

Love and Family

Jorrin

E.

Upper Marlboro

11th Grade

"I felt the warm fluid hurrying from my head down to my neck while I spat the metallic..."

Mature Content

"His hands felt like a winged serpent's breath, it blazed as he interacted with my wintry dermis. His eyes..."

Gaze

Esha

S.

Queens

11th Grade

"She began to cry the sound of footsteps grew closer and closer. I hear a loud scream..."

"I opened my eyes slowly., I could barely open my left eye because it was so swollen. The room was pitch..."

Escape

Lucien

Henson

Chicago

Kenwood Academy High School

11th Grade

"My bones felt as though they were breaking and twisting and turning. It felt like.."

"It was getting dark as Jamez was walking home from school. He was a lil chilly, so he was wearing a..."

Gift or Curse

J'Maron

Hayes

Chicago

Kenwood Academy High School

11th Grade

"There are so many issues around the world, yet people only decide to talk about it..."

"Activism, a word that holds so much meaning but we do not even know what it is. When we post on social..."

More Than You Think

Apewe

C

Accra

Tema International School

11th Grade

"Little did she know, as she recited the prayer, she unlocked a portal to the ..."

"Her visions made it hard for her to make friends, but this doll kept her company. On her 13th birthday ..."

Bruises

Jia

Aulicino

Yonkers

11th Grade

"'Who’s there?' he shouted, doing a 180 and flashing his flashlight behind him."

“Jimmy, shut the chickens in would you? Their coop door is still open.” shouted Jimmy’s mother from three ..."

Everything Happens For A Reason

Erik

Uerkwitz

New Paltz

11th Grade

"The shadowy figure comes closer to you and you get a good look at him. It is a tall ..."

"You wake up to find yourself laying on the ground in the woods and you have no recollection of how you ..."

6’3 Slave Master

Foluso

Adepoju

Chicago

Kenwood Academy High School

11th Grade

"Thud, went his knife on the floorboards..."

"Dust loomed on the photo frames’ clustered atop the ornate onyx mantle. Dust loomed over the collection..."

Thud

Cecilia

Combs

Mullica Hill

11th Grade

"In a way he was the last of my happiness and now he’s happy without me"

"She sat in the corner of her room, head in her knees, vulnerable, lonely. Her vision was cloudy and her..."

Shattered: Into a Million Pieces

Ashlee

Raghu

South Ozone Park

11th Grade

"and i can breathe but he can’t because we have different watermelon rinds."

"i bite the watermelon slice you cut me this morning for breakfast. juice dribbles on the edge of my..."

bittersweet sixteen

Emilie

Su

New York

The Brearley School

11th Grade

"You can try to run. I did. But you cannot."

"No one talks about what happened in the Lands. Every time I see someone else like me: trying to look..."

The Lands

Alexandra

Volkova

Franklin Lakes

11th Grade

"when I look at them all the holes in myself are suddenly made clear and I curse the..."

Incident Report. Name: Dinah Rogers. Date: Last week, but consciously speaking, three days ago...

Incident Report

Dinah

R

Decatur, Georgia

11th Grade

If you put your country in a broken microwave, / how do you expect it to prosper?

“And America, too, is a delusion, the grandest one of all” / -Colson Whitehead

The Middle

Shelby

Darnell

St. Louis, Missouri

11th Grade

"When do you think they will stop being afraid of us?"

I CAN’T BREATHE. NO JUSTICE NO PEACE. Angry voices fill my head through my earbuds. They are outraged and...

Chromatic

Barrett

Ahn

Los Angeles

11th Grade

I would be read about for decades; the naive white girl who took munchkins from strangers

I’m not picky so much as I am a specific person. But not in the boring way, I should hope.

Nine Stories, and “Mine”

gabrielle

galchen

New York, New York

11th Grade

"Teach us out of the quiet, & into the honey-life which knows how to heal out of dark."

The world goes red during lady business. I’ve stained my cloth with the dripping wine of overturned skin...

A Visit From Aunt Flo

Caitlin

Levy

New York

11th Grade

"But Themis, let the dawn show your silhouette as black."

Langston Hughes once said, That Justice is a blind goddess Is a thing to which we black are wise...

Impartial or Blind?

Rhea

Ahluwalia

New York City

11th Grade

My whole life was a fight intended for an audience that would never understand it anyhow.

Believing in your own superiority does not legitimize it. And so, do yourself a favor and acknowledge your...

A Revolution of Two

Gabrielle

Galchen

New York, New York

11th Grade

Let loose. Have fun. Push the darkness aside, for a moment, a day, a night. For each other

March 21st - She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the blue light of her phone screen glaring back at her...

Passing

Kenna

L

Stowe, Vermont

11th Grade

"She was not a criminal, her body was criminalized."

Mature Content

Interviewer - “If anyone in the audience hadn’t heard it already, these were the exact words of Ms. Lynon:”

#JusticeIsNotServed

Jayola

Reid

Bronx, New York

11th Grade

"happiness could easily be like a soap, beautiful and cleansing, yet slipping away..."

Mature Content

It was in those days of such similarity that they could all be Mondays, or Wednesdays--or whatever pointless..

Within Limits

Gabrielle

Galchen

New York, New York

11th Grade

"The door, the finest type of mahogany wood is carved in ornate designs of lions."

Nobody buys flowers anymore. When all you see is black and white, colors don’t mean quite as much.

Red on Gray

Mai

Listokin

New York, New York

11th Grade

"I was unable to accept what I had done."

Chapter One: As we had just arrived at the store with Brian I got a call from my evil witch mother, Karol...

Control Alt DELETE

Alexis

Fawcett

Brunswick, Georgia

11th Grade

"I used to take walks out in New jersey. My sister would always want to go exploring..."

This is my sister: no matter how far she went, she always came back for me.

She Always Comes Back

Julia

Kirsch

New York, New York

11th Grade

"She’s beautiful and amazing and she’s here, in the same room as M. Smiling at M..."

M has fallen in love with the girl and her math homework.

You Must Be a 45-Degree Angle…

Sylvi

Stein

New York, New York

Hunter College High School

11th Grade

"but we are / the same being different bodies / same blood different / beauty we are"

Her hairs black / fair skin subtle pink lips / eyes like mine

amoo – a story with collom lunes

Redeta

C

Brooklyn, New York

11th Grade

"But never, in all his 78 years of living on the river, did Ildefonso think the Puerco would come for him, and not like this, not in his beloved little Toyota truck..."

Every year, when late Spring brought the snowmelt from the San Juans, the Rio Puerco took a victim...

Crossing the Rio Puerco

Samuel

Cooper

Santa Fe, NM

11th Grade

"She has long blonde locks, and I have dark brown frizz. She has piercing blue eyes, and I have common brown ones. Still, people say we look alike..."

Mature Content

She makes fun of me for being a sleepy grandma, but I can’t understand how she lives off of just five hours of sleep a night. She chats with friends in bed, while I read stories about characters I dream of being friends with.

She and I (Inspired by Natalia Ginzburg’s He and I)

Colette

Rohatyn

New York, New York

11th Grade

"Yet, rather than listen to the warning they had received, the hiker set out towards..."

What started out as a snippet of news from a far off land, something that would surely be dealt with by...

The Birds and The Hiker

Matthew

Fortenberry

Stowe, Vermont

11th Grade

"Two tusk sharp enough to puncture the skin of any man brave enough to face it."

As I dipped my fingers into the paint I thought of the coming day. I extend my hand and press it upon the rock, sheathing my family with the paint in my fingers.

Crafting The Undesired

Ignacio Urbina

Gonzalez

Longmont, Colorado

Alexander Dawson School

11th Grade

"He exited the store and found Elektra sitting there, safely, in the apple tree"

Mature Content

Longanikos is a tiny Peloponnesian village tucked into Greece’s mountain-folds. The main street within Loganikos is just big enough to provide for its 500 inhabitants.

An Apple Tree Tucked in The Mountains

Artemis

Xenopoulos

New York, New York

11th Grade

"White privilege is built into the core of our nation"

Mature Content

I think it’s funny when one says white privilege isn't true / How could you think that when the evidence...

White Privilege

A.

JT

Fort Washington, Maryland

Episcopal High School

11th Grade

"Nothing really matters out here. There is no need to seek anything. . . all you will find is peace."

Finally, it’s your favorite time of the year. This time is truly superior in every way. There is just a unique beauty at the start of Spring in the valley.

Peace

Thomas

Gibert

Alexandria, Virginia

Episcopal High School

11th Grade

"I thought about what our country, Afghanistan, would be like without war, and what my home would be like. I imagined a country of great beauty, where the flowers blossomed in the warm sun as it’s rays gently kissed my skin."

I knelt on the glacial floor, reading a book about a free world.

Youth – Afghanistan

Archie

O'Donnell

United Kingdom

11th Grade

"But I was aware. I knew that our world was heating up."

Today, something changed. Every day, I woke to the deafening blare of “One Last Time” by Ariana Grande...

Loop-di-Loop

Debby

L

Alexandria, Virginia

Episcopal High School

11th Grade

There was absolutely nothing he could argue against these “circus animals”.

“What the — ?” James woke up in surprise to find himself in a cage with his hands and feet cuffed...

Animalia

Amy

M

Hummelstown, Pennsylvania

Episcopal High School

11th Grade

"Is that what we live for now? Waiting to tell the next story."

You just start crying for no reason. The subtle, yet wet tears rush down your somewhat lonely face...

Storytime

Arabella

Dixon

Edenton, North Carolina

Episcopal High School

11th Grade

"I don’t know this new man, counting calories and intermittent fasting. He is timid in the way he eats, trying to look his best after his heart being broken."

“Fat boy!” My dad yells after layering on leftover mac and cheese atop pizza. Cheese poured from all sides as he attempted to shovel the all hot, stringy, deliciousness in one bite.

Food Minus Flavor

Anonymous

Author

San Francisco, California

11th Grade

"Young children marveled at the towering buildings, scraping the sky above their heads. Black asphalt beneath their feet picked at their open wounds. "

Every day was the same. Get up, go to work, come home, eat dinner with my wife, go to bed, repeat. It was the average life of a working man.

Nearer

Sofi

Igyan

College Park, Georgia

Episcopal High School

11th Grade

"Having a Spot is what makes a New Yorker a New Yawkah (spoken like Dustin Hoffman or Woody Allen, you choose)."

Mature Content

There are two types of reservoir-goers. Those who saunter and those who run. The saunterers are the foreigners, ranging from the irritating ones with chunky Nikons

The Real New Yawkah

Jackie

C

New York, New York

11th Grade

"You would run and hide as he punched the door until it broke, littering the carpet with wooden shards..."

Mature Content

Your dress fluttered in the wind as it hung off the clothesline outside of your house, the afternoon sun glinting off the gold and silver threads finely woven into the fabric. The faded blue and white stripes complemented the loose strings that were barely able to hold the dress together...

The Empty Home

Maria

Claiborne

Richmond, Virginia

11th Grade

"But every morning I’m greeted by nothing but the sun bleached, lifeless asphalt."

I stay inside to keep myself healthy, but there is no sanctuary from the overbearing weariness...

A New Neighborhood

Malcom

Morose

New York, New York

11th Grade

"so she didn't care anymore / about life / about family"

she / walks / clothes tattered / heart shattered / for nothing mattered / did it?

she walks

N

B

Alexandria, Virginia

Episcopal High School

11th Grade

"The more I walked, the more unfamiliar the land became."

With a sense of hopelessness in mind, I left the protective brick walls of my house to explore...

The New Spirit of Queens

Malcom

Morose

New York, New York

11th Grade

"But when she was younger her favorite hobby was going to the doctor."

She walked into the quiet waiting room with faded blue chairs looking ready to walk down a runway...

The Waiting Room

Anonymous

A

New York, New York

11th Grade

"I have a hidden talent and I am ashamed of it, but I love it."

I have a secret. I feel like I can’t share this really cool part of me.

A Secret

W.

Mosby

Alexandria, North Carolina

Episcopal High School

11th Grade

I can tell that people are watching me, but I don’t know why.

*loud phone alarm noise* Another day. It’s going to be a great one. Or is it?

Average Day, Eccentric Me

N.

B

Alexandria, Virginia

Episcopal High School

11th Grade

"Nature suffers by it / Nature destroys it"

Both outside and in

Electric

William

James

United Kingdom

11th Grade

"He was too tall to fit under the door without further hunching his back, his lean figure towering over the short woman whose house he had invaded."

The building loomed above, the heavy rain obscuring the top floor from his sight.

Evening

William

James

United Kingdom

11th Grade

Was---the word that haunts me. He was my best friend. He was alive. I was okay.

Mature Content

I’d known him for three years before he...

He

N.

B

Alexandria, Virginia

Episcopal High School

11th Grade

"He was stuck in life and knew he shouldn’t be there"

His eyes, concurrent with his heartbeat, were fluttering shut. He felt as if he was falling in and out of consciousness, with every consecutive breath.

Lincoln Memorial

Minta

B

Raleigh, North Carolina

Episcopal High School

11th Grade

"The cab swaying over me, / Glistening as it fell before me. / Thunder boomed. / The mountain split and rolled, smoke exuded out."

Radio had nothing good on...

No Time

William

James

United Kingdom

11th Grade

Elizabeth couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow trash was tainting their trip

Elizabeth's feet slid from beneath the stark white sheets as she turned her head to see Blair's crown of tousled brown hair still resting peacefully to her left...

Out of Balance

Hadley

F

Nashville, Tennessee

Episcopal High School

11th Grade

...instead of seeing two extremes, you begin to see the faint shadows of land.

POV: You’re a student from Episcopal High School wandering the labyrinthian halls of the National Portrait Gallery...

Point of View

Cindy

Wang

Alexandria, Virginia

Episcopal High School

11th Grade

"I knew how important this interview was. It could easily be the one thing to completely destroy what was left of my reputation."

The camera flashed as it took pictures of me from every angle, the incessant reporters trying to crack my already fragile demeanor.

Princess Protection Program

Maria

Claiborne

Richmond, Virginia

11th Grade

" This island truly has two faces---the silent beauty of this morning has transformed into this vibrant, throbbing energy that will last well into the night."

The heat hits me first as I swelter under the setting sun.

Respite in Paradise

Writing

Traveler

United Kingdom

11th Grade

"The sand doesn’t grip. Potential outcomes flood through my mind. Both sides are blocked off. Lamp-posts fly by, at speed yet so slowly."

It was a lovely day, at least for March. It’s always the young ones that cannot wait for a better time of year.

Sickness and Health

William

James

United Kingdom

11th Grade

"For just a second I saw it, I was standing on the edge To freedom."

I feel it deep down inside me, This compulsion to find a new life. Across that way is another Who feels completely different.

Standing on the Edge

James

Briggs

Beeville, Texas

Episcopal High School

11th Grade

We were staying in, polluting our environment less...

Four days into my sophomore year of high school, I met him. He had dark, long hair that flopped around his ears and hung low into his eyes.

Starry Night

Ella

J

Alexandria, Virginia

Episcopal High School

11th Grade

"I was coming to feel that I had no chance, but the engines started, and I finally was relieved of the thought of death."

I scrambled excitingly onto the boat, like a little eight-year-old boy. I was so enthusiastic about boarding my first boat.

The Boat Stopped in the Middle of Nowhere

Archie

O'Donnell

United Kingdom

11th Grade

"He never really showed emotion or even smiled, and he always wore the same black suit with his red tie and his white shirt..."

There is a historic mansion in Detroit on the east side of town. It's located in a city named Abandoned. The reason why this mansion is so memorable is that the entire town was deserted, except for one house with a little boy and two grandparents. The little boy's name is Brahms...

The Boy

Elijah

Chernoff

Boulder, Colorado

Dawson School

11th Grade

"No sound graced my ears: my own breath, the gentle beat of my heart, the slow pulse in my veins; somewhat familiar noises that seemed like a foreign, far away memory."

The darkness was like nothing I’ve ever known. I contemplated how I got here.

The Darkness Was Like Nothing I’ve Ever Known

Archie

O'Donnell

United Kingdom

11th Grade

"And it would feel too good to pull the trigger against the man who destroyed his life, his career, his hopes and dreams."

He awoke sweating and contorted curled up in his bed. He was dreaming the same dream. He hated that dream.

The Favour

William

James

United Kingdom

11th Grade

"I remember her staying up through the night. I remember her kissing me goodbye"

If only she had lived the life I live. If only she could have been as fortunate growing up as I am. If only she knew how much she has impacted my everyday life.

The Life She Could Not Live

Lucy

Peacock

New Bern, North Carolina

Episcopal High School

11th Grade

"The average teenager spends nearly nine hours a day looking at pixels, rather than experiencing first hand images."

In the modern world, with such vast technology, people don’t feel the need to go outside and visit new places, with new experiences not available to you at your feet.

There is No Point in Traveling When You Can See Everything and Learn About Places on Television and the Internet.

Archie

O'Donnell

United Kingdom

11th Grade

"...she will put forth the energy to get to know her friends on a deeper level."

April Ludgate is a complex character in Parks and Recreation who changes throughout the show, but in many ways, stays the same.

Unraveling April Ludgate

Lucy

Bland

Goldsboro, North Carolina

Episcopal High School

11th Grade

"My throat is swollen and achy. My body is telling me not to breathe. I try to stop myself. But it’s the same, it happens every time..."

Growing pains. A funny phrase. I stand at 161.5 centimeters tall. If you don’t know what those numbers mean, it means short. I haven’t experienced the growing pains that come along with the change in height most people go through. For me, the growth of a few centimeters is enough, even when my friends are a head taller than me...

Warm

Aya

Kaneko

Boulder, Colorado

Dawson School

11th Grade

"An ephemeral world, covered in snow."

The weather leaves a cold and desolate landscape.

Wasteland

William

James

United Kingdom

11th Grade

"Evian? Why Evian? Does the name brand show his growing superficiality?"

He stands hunched over, mouth gaping, cigarette in hand. He hides his pain behind large round glasses and the rockstar physique. He doesn’t smile.

Muse

Olivia

Shackelford

Arlington, Virginia

11th Grade

"Somehow her smile grew even bigger, and her eyes sparkled as the sunlight faded into the night."

I was studying, as usual, for whatever my next assignment was at school. Dragging myself through school week by week trying to avoid the virus.

2020: Rocky Roadtrip

William

H.

Longmont, Colorado

Dawson School

11th Grade

"About a hundred counts later, I still felt like I was a mile underwater, pressure building up in my head so intensely I thought it might burst."

Sprinkling cinnamon into my steaming cup of black coffee from the small shaker, I inhaled the rich, toasted scent of my favorite cafe, Rinaldi’s.

A Stroll in My Shoes

Britney

Parkinson

Ashburn, Virginia

11th Grade

"How could something that was so normal, so routine, go so wrong; what were the chances?"

I was tumbling when the gym receptionist got a call from my dad. She walked out onto the floor and told my coach to have me come to the desk.

Losing Boomer

Elizabeth

S

New York, New York

11th Grade

"Intoxicated I was and am, I’ve been this way for 50 years, never given a damn."

Mature Content

I come bearing news of success, For if you want to hear the rest, sit down and buy me another beer, I’ll call the waitress over here!

The Old Timer’s Tale

Matt

Tubridy

Rockaway Beach, New York

11th Grade

"The beauty of Viterbo is that the new does not obliterate or mask the old..."

Dusk in Viterbo, Italy is like nowhere else. The air is silky while the sky is an electric orange and the sun lingers after a busy day...

City of Popes at 7:00PM

Carolina

O'Leary

Bethesda, Maryland

11th Grade

“I did not intend on crying in front of him. I swallowed my fear and listened silently.”

Every word was linked with a long and heavy pause. His chest was a mountain collapsing into deep sighs, his eyes tumbling down to his hands. The hands, though, were calm like tree trunks that listened to the conversation silently.

An Engineer in the Army

Rhea

Ahluwalia

New York, New York

11th Grade

"Now she is pressing her palm into her malnourished cheek and letting a tear roll down the side of her hand. Tears don’t belong in the studio, but here they are, dancing freely down onto the silhouette."

She is seventeen now and her hair is strikingly blue. She wears two orange clips behind her ears that clash with her piercing locks and pale skin. Her gentle blue eyes are tired and moist. She is sitting on a cold metal stool, gazing at her painting...

Painting Answers

Jackie

C

New York City

11th Grade

"'I don’t recognize this person anymore. This isn’t me,' he used to say."

His one goal: to welcome everyone into his home, always. The eminent, stained, rustic, too-small-to-fit-our-huge-group, yet perfect wooden table will forever be the embodiment of Johnny Vassilaros

The Table of My Youth

Artemis

Xenopoulos

New York, New York

11th Grade

"The rocket always expanded and contracted when it was cold. It was alright."

10:41am, 28th of January. Smith walked through the threshold and set foot onto the air bridge. The door to the bright, gleaming rocket lay not ten strides away from him. He looked down through the bridge’s metal grates.

Per Aspera Ad Astra

Freddie

Coffey

New York, New York

11th Grade

"The glass has stopped falling. Now, I sit in the dark with open wounds and no way to..."

" A million different shards of glass are exploding all around me. They pierce my skin and itch my soul..."

Diary of an Anxious Dreamer

Saya

Ross

Montvale

11th Grade

"These people did not love me. They had never treated me the way they wanted to be..."

"My whole life, I had been alone. I wasn’t sure what it was, but everyone I’d ever known had rejected me..."

Alone

Sadie

Stark

Lago Vista

11th Grade

"He promised me that a wish upon a star will always come true and I know that he would..."

"I had been trying every night for exactly one year, four months, and three days to catch the stars in my..."

A Brother’s Broken Promises

Lika

B

11th Grade

"Soon more and more people had something to say, and with this there commenced a kind..."

“This boat, I said, is broken”, said the youngster. He, of course, was sitting right beside the hole..."

War

Maria

Lim

Coral Springs

11th Grade

"Have you ever competed against a brother, sister, friend, neighbor, to curry favor..."

"The good, kind, generous people of Umlas do not care about money or fame; they only act good because they..."

The Ones Who Don’t Belong

Lizzy

Osinski

Chappaqua

11th Grade

"for a moment, you sit, legs weary, on a child’s stool (and you wonder when you last..."

"[after a birthday party] the crowd has ended, the party has left you stoop, bent in half at the..."

After a Birthday Party

Emilie

Su

New York

11th Grade

"there's crying..."

"i can feel and hear everything around me..."

Lockdown

Girl A

Greenville

11th Grade

"Jessica noticed that when everyone went to sleep someone would listen to someone..."

"The day Jessica and Kathy moved in they climbed the creaky stairs to the attic and turned on the light..."

The Demonic Doll

Rossi

Martinez

Bronx

Bronx Collaborative

11th Grade

"I felt a dark presence behind me and knew he was back again. I know you say he is not..."

"Dear Mama, I find it difficult to keep track of the days without my regular routine. I no longer feed..."

A Letter to Mama

Ciara

Balanza

New York

11th Grade

"What with the people infuriated, the police overwhelmed, and especially..."

"BANG. And that was it. Piercing right through his heart, perfectly that is. As the force from the shot..."

Just Messing Around

Ozan

Mirza

New York

Trevor Day School

11th Grade

"Kneeling beside the corpse, he squinted at it for a moment before turning on his..."

"Lieutenant Bomani sucked in a harsh breath as he took in the gory scene. The air smelled like blood and..."

See No Evil

Angelina

Lee

11th Grade

Caw! Alejandro nearly jumped out of his armor when a bird flew overhead, rustling...

The dragons have always been opposed to coexisting peacefully with humans, Alejandro thought back...

Slay Your Inner Dragon

Angelina

Lee

11th Grade

"He watched as his son flew, his heart tied along with him, higher and higher still..."

"Feathers collected, golden, revered, lay as still and as delicate as a piper’s fingertips suspended--..."

A Father’s Promise

Anabella

de Oliveira Castro

Arlington

11th Grade

This family seems so whole, so happy. It pains you to know that the same young boys...

Mature Content

You are twelve years old and walking down the hallway to your bedroom, when an old photograph on the wall...

Three Things

Lilia

Kasdon

Weston

Concord Academy

11th Grade

"In my dreams, I reached the break, and there lay a throne, the seat empty and open..."

"There is a forest. I’ve dreamt of a forest green and bright and rainy and warm. I knew where to go. There..."

I’ve dreamt of a forest.

Riley

Baldus

West Des Moines

11th Grade

"Our trees, blossoming with white and pink flowers, allow their petals to flutter onto..."

"The crisp morning draft through my window does not wake me, and neither does the sun’s warm kiss on my..."

Life is Beautiful If You Love

Angelina

Lee

Elmhurst

11th Grade

"You turn away from the painting and back to your sad, brown room, with torn-up chairs..."

"Here is the place where your dreams lose their luster and fall apart, scattered pieces locked away in the..."

Graveyard of Dreams

Arianna

Steadman

New York

Hunter College High School

11th Grade

"Its tulle filtered the sunlight into a loud magenta ripple against the grey pathway"

She fancied herself a superhero: legs wide, elbows pointed, chin tucked as she admired her shadow. Today...

The Changing Courtyard

Elizabeth

Louie

Brooklyn, New York

11th Grade

I’ve always loved how alphonso mangoes turn golden with the suns rays, wrinkled and uneven

we’ve been playing this game for so long I don’t remember when it started. Khun-yahy’s brown eyes, the sam...

this little lifelong game

Kiran

Bhat

Winchester, Massachusetts

11th Grade

"Fresh off a war and ready to party. Ol’ Frankie."

Resigned to the saccharine recesses of my memory, I sigh. It has been 68 years, yet it all remains so tangible

Gazing Into Oblivion

Tyia

Boateng

Brooklyn, New York

11th Grade

"Some were in disbelief, some were angry at God..."

Ascendant

Kyle

Laydor

Brooklyn

New Visions Advanced Math and Science 3

11th Grade

"I exhale the memories. The sleeping theater starts to dream..."

The Theatre is Sleeping and I’m Still Awake

Logan

Wilbur

Bass Harbor

11th Grade

"Losing an antler is an aesthetic tragedy, and an infringement upon symmetry..."

The Yellow Car and the One-Antlered Deer

Clay

Miller

Morrison

11th Grade

"It is only after a forced subtlety that could be described as formlessness in the..."

A rectangular prism, twenty two feet in length, six feet in width, and seven feet in height with no...

Box Chair

Matthew

Wheeler

Trenton

11th Grade

The Intersection

Outside of my window there are people that I know Outside of my window there are people that I don’t The...

The Intersection

Kathryn

Herbert

Brooklyn

11th Grade

"Outside my window plays a silent movie doused in color. Dogs prance along sidewalks..."

In the morning, I’m greeted with the blare of honking horns. You would think I lived in a city with all...

Cracks in the Window

Barrett

Ahn

Los Angeles

11th Grade

"Outside my window Is a world that we are truly frightened by..."

Outside my window Is a promised land of equal opportunity “You can be whatever you want” Is what we are...

Outside Into the World

Ideanna

Isaac

Bronx

11th Grade

"My window is an ear. It allows me to hear nearly everything that happens on my street..."

When I take a look outside my window, all that I can see is a housing project building across the street...

My Acoustic Window

Charles

Crockett

New York

Hunter College High School

11th Grade

"Outside my bedroom window rests my whole world framed in my perfect image."

Outside my bedroom window, I see green and yellow and brick. I see the cool breeze’s slight rustle in the...

My Picture Framed World

Ia Sofia

Cabre-Jockovich

Somerville

11th Grade

"There’s blood dripping down my arm now. Probably a splinter. It hurts. Bad. But I..."

"Bang. Bang. Bang. The wood around our window is splintering. My hand is starting to hurt from holding my..."

Remnants of a Window and a Love Long Gone

Shannon

Dobson

Chesterfield

11th Grade

"But now coming back home in my sopping black shirt, I began to remember how good..."

"During primary school, I had always fit in with the girls. I liked the color pink. And I even liked..."

Always Me

Ellie

Gordon

Media

11th Grade

"Grown around a seemingly tranquil pond with glance to the surface. However..."

"The view outside my window is what I'd call an open old-growth woods. Grown around a seemingly tranquil..."

Outside My Window

Maya

White

Atlanta

American Home Schools

11th Grade

"The tears go down my cheeks and he knows how ecstatic I am that I will finally be..."

"I’m always feel like I’m being watched. I can just feel eyes burning into my soul. You may be wondering..."

The Guy Outside my Window

Evee

J

Staten Island

11th Grade

"The highway bustles with life juxtaposing the dead that still crawls on the asphalt..."

"Radiant lamps contrast the dullness of my person, past ghosts and know it all souls try to lure me..."

Souls

Anna

White

Bronx

11th Grade

"now I looked back, staring at you outside my window."

I feel something staring at me from across my room staring at me but they will show their selves. Here I am...

Watching You

Amila

Clarle

Bronx

11th Grade

Maybe if I walk along with everyone else I’ll look like I belong. What are we really..."

"Hey now hey now, don’t be scared. I know this is hard, but you need to hear."

Be Free

Emma

Sackey

Swarthmore

Strath Haven High School

11th Grade

"alive in the sky outside ripened eyes while i am buried blank-faced beneath mountains..."

outside my window, green rolling hills of thoughts skim my eyelids while i trace the scar of your smile...

fruition

Emilie

Su

New York

The Brearley School

11th Grade

"She lived a beautiful life filled with joy and unconditional love from..."

"Once upon a time there was a little girl named Amila but she was from the past."

That Girl From the Past

Courtney

Bell

Oakland

Latitude High School

11th Grade

"He went into the room as he waited for her to come out of the bathroom and as soon as she

"They say Halloween comes once a year for the kids to go door to door saying..."

Halloween Isn’t Once a Year Anymore

Ashlee

Raghu

South Ozone Park

11th Grade

"I can’t sleep. I tried all night but I couldn't. Many attempts I have been doing from..."

"My eyes are driven to the silhouette of a guy with a gun who’s walking towards the widow who lives in..."

Insomnia In My Window

Hubert

Rivas

11th Grade

"would only end in self destruction, something she was so close to before that little star

A Stained Glass Window

Ashira

Hunt

South Ozone Park

11th Grade

"These days I have been very stationary. I sit and I stare and I watch. The snake.."

"I stopped for a moment to catch my breath against my neighbor’s fence. As I stood there I felt a pull..."

The Snake

Ella

Bezkorovainy

Brooklyn

11th Grade

"I look out my window and recall how everything seemed to be so uncomplicated..."

"Entrapped in the tasteless pleasures of isolation. There will be endless moments when others need..."

We Can Not Stop Caring

Zuha

Khan

New York

Benjamin N Cardozo High School

11th Grade

"My bones felt as though they were breaking and twisting and turning. It felt like.."

"It was getting dark as Jamez was walking home from school. He was a lil chilly, so he was wearing a..."

Gift or Curse

J'Maron

Hayes

Chicago

Kenwood Academy High School

11th Grade

"I could hear the creature chasing me, its feet crushing on the path I made, scraping..."

"Today was the day that I have been dreading ever since my parents broke the news to me. I’d be spending..."

Aunt Andrea’s Cabin

Nina

Hamel

Haverhill

11th Grade

"'Who’s there?' he shouted, doing a 180 and flashing his flashlight behind him..."

"'Jimmy, shut the chickens in would you? Their coop door is still open.' shouted Jimmy’s mother from three..."

Everything Happens For A Reason

Erik

Uerkwitz

New Paltz

11th Grade

"She clicks the light on and screams. A note reads 'BOO, did I scare you mommy?' Half..."

"'Jackson where are you?' Tori said as she wandered through the hallway. She opens the closet door and..."

Love and Family

Jorrin

E.

Upper Marlboro

11th Grade

"I felt the warm fluid hurrying from my head down to my neck while I spat the metallic..."

Mature Content

"His hands felt like a winged serpent's breath, it blazed as he interacted with my wintry dermis. His eyes..."

Gaze

Esha

S.

Queens

11th Grade

"She began to cry the sound of footsteps grew closer and closer. I hear a loud scream..."

"I opened my eyes slowly., I could barely open my left eye because it was so swollen. The room was pitch..."

Escape

Lucien

Henson

Chicago

Kenwood Academy High School

11th Grade

"There are so many issues around the world, yet people only decide to talk about it..."

"Activism, a word that holds so much meaning but we do not even know what it is. When we post on social..."

More Than You Think

Apewe

C

Accra