Featured Essays

The essays in this category have been featured as our Essay of the Week.

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.
May 8, 2020

Evolution

When she was young, Lauren LeBlanc had grand dreams of living in New York and singing on Broadway. Instead, she became a mom and schoolteacher in suburbia. While it’s not the life she once imagined, LeBlanc now knows she wouldn’t have it any other way.
May 8, 2020

The Juice Box Mom

Candance Gordon decided she didn’t want to compete with the Alpha Moms who seemingly accomplish every parenting obligation to perfection. Gordon believes she can contribute to her children’s lives in ways that aren’t as glamorous but just as important.
May 1, 2020

Dance Is Life

Although he makes his living with words, poet Fred D'Aguiar is enthralled by dance: from the physicality of the art, to its powers to inspire and heal. D’Aguiar believes dance can be a source for peace, if we all join in and move to the global groove.
April 20, 2020

Returning to What’s Natural

High school student Amelia Baxter-Stoltzfus believes in the freedom offered by semi-permanent hair dye. As much as she likes trying a new look, Baxter-Stolzfus knows there are some things worth coming back to, no matter how much her life may change.
April 13, 2020

Finding Freedom in Forgiveness

Jennifer Thompson-Cannino was certain that Ronald Cotton was the man who raped her in 1984. But she was wrong. After 11 years in jail, DNA evidence proved Cotton’s innocence. Now, the two have a friendship based on their belief in forgiveness.
April 6, 2020

The Hardest Work You Will Ever Do

As a hospice volunteer, Mary Cook shares in the grief of others. But it was her own loss that taught her how to heal. She believes that recovering from grief requires not a battle, but surrender.
March 30, 2020

Tomorrow Will Be A Better Day

What kind of world are we leaving younger generations? Manhattan teenager Josh Rittenberg says all parents worry about their children’s futures. But he believes he and his peers will see a better world.
March 24, 2020

A Goal Of Service To Humankind

Dr. Anthony Fauci says he was destined to help people with HIV-AIDS. His work at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is fueled by his belief in personal responsibility to humankind.