Age: 18 - 30

The essays below were written by people between 18 and 30 years of age.

February 7, 2023

Treating Everyone As Family

Madeleine Urbaszewski wasn't born in New Orleans, but she has called it home since moving there in the fourth grade. Because she has experienced warmth and friendliness from the people there, including perfect strangers, Ms. Urbaszewski has come to believe in treating everyone like family.
November 21, 2022

Rice for Thanksgiving

Many people have a favorite Thanksgiving dish. It’s not turkey or pumpkin pie for Jocelyn Fong, but something that combines American tradition with her father’s Chinese heritage. Fong believes her simple dish helps her connect with her mix of cultures.
July 15, 2022

Finding Out What’s Under Second Base

Sports teaches us many useful lessons: how to be a team player, how to handle defeat, and how excellence comes with practice. Lex Urban learned a different lesson on his Little League ballfield–one he’s carried with him to this day as an attorney.
May 25, 2020

Remembering All The Boys

Elvia Bautista was devastated when her brother was killed in a gang shooting. Now, she believes in remembering all the victims of gang violence even when doing so may endanger her own safety.
November 24, 2019

Baking by Senses and Memories

With each pecan pie and batch of molasses cookies, Emily Echols hones the baking skills she learned from her elders. Ms. Echols believes baking is an expression of love for her family.
October 16, 2019

Touching the Divine

When Jason Howard was young, he spent many afternoons listening to his father's record collection on an RCA turntable. That was the beginning of Howard's lifelong belief that music and art are connected to the divine.
October 1, 2019

Fry Bread

Zac Broken Rope has German ancestors on his mother's side of the family and a Native American heritage on his father's. But he grew up feeling that he didn't belong to either culture—until a family member taught him a lesson about his identity.
July 16, 2019

Embracing the Local Community

Rebecca Haynes, a former park ranger, believes that her life is made better by being part of a local community and a local environment, whether in a small town, a big city, or the wilds of the Sonoran Desert.
May 28, 2019

Never Give Up

When she was young, Mary Curran Hackett's father gave her and her siblings frequent speeches about the importance of perseverance. What surprised her as an adult was how much he lived his "never give up" message toward her when she needed him the most.