Written by Caroline Rock. Graphic by Emma Robinson. – On a night when you can’t seem to think straight Tears wash away a layer of your face Revealing someone you thought you’d outgrown To show you for, maybe, the person you really are A girl Trying to grow up Crawling in your own skin each day Until finally you can’t […]
Written by Christina Lopez. Graphic by Emma Robinson. Originally published as part of the Spring 2019 “Challenge” Issue.– For Antonio Limon, college was never a question of if, but where, he was going to go. He remembers his mom always encouraging him to achieve A’s in his classes and volunteer to boost his prospects of a college education . She […]
Written by Dila Sarikaya. Graphic by Emma Robinson. Originally published as part of the Spring 2019 “Challenge” Issue.– As my Mom and I did some casual window shopping, I looked over my shoulder and saw a big Christmas tree– one of the extravagant ones shopping plazas put up during the holiday season. Its lights, sparkle, and sheer size caught my […]
Written by Brooke Quach. Graphic by Emma Robinson. Originally published as part of the Spring 2019 “Challenge” Issue.– The volleyball struck him in the head so hard that he only recognized the impact after his scrawny body fell on the floor. His ears rang, but he could still hear the big white boy with the red face yell “GOOK” with […]
Written by Hector Osegueda. Graphic by Emma Robinson. Originally published as part of the Spring 2019 “Challenge” Issue.– Since time immemorial, humans have struggled with the concept of good and trying to understand what makes a good person. Conversations about the relativity and subjectivity of goodness go back thousands of years to the earliest civilizations and carries onto the floors […]
Written by Yulissa Chavez. Graphic by Emma Robinson. Originally published as part of the Spring 2019 “Challenge” Issue.– Growing up in a Latina household, forced me to comply with the idea that my body was the property of God. This mentality may suggest that I learned to appreciate my body, but instead, I grew up learning to be afraid of […]
Written by Taylar Henderson. Graphic by Emma Robinson. Originally published as part of the Spring 2019 “Challenge” Issue.– I don’t know who I am. For my entire life, I’ve relied solely on what other people defined me as. In elementary school, I was creative, loud, and outgoing. In middle school, I was weird, nerdy, and edgy. In high school, I […]
Written by Anonymous. Graphic by Emma Robinson. Originally published as part of the Spring 2019 “Challenge” Issue.– **Content Warning: Sexual Assault** I don’t like to be figured out. I wasn’t one to easily confide my personal life in others. I would occasionally share a secret with a friend but never the same one twice. I would give one friend one puzzle […]
Written by Allison McCarty. Graphic by Peyton Cabaniss. Originally published as part of the Spring 2019 “Challenge” Issue.– Months. Weeks. Days. Hours. Minutes. It usually comes down to minutes. Assignments, papers, tests, they’re all posted months in advance. The dates on the syllabus are distant, almost inconceivable. No need to think about it, there’s plenty of time. Write it on the […]
Written by Peyton Cabaniss. Graphic by Peyton Cabaniss. Originally published as part of the Spring 2019 “Challenge” Issue.– When Dr. Keely Finkelstein came to the University of Texas, she brought her research in astrophysics and a fascination with all things extragalactic. Her partner, Dr. Steven Finkelstein, brought his interest in galaxies big and small as well as his obsession with […]
Written by Shini Meyer Wang. Graphic by Peyton Cabaniss. Originally published as part of the Spring 2019 “Challenge” Issue.– threads of smoke from the ether unravel down the sky it is that tin-can shuttle rubble hurtling across America’s TV boxes the space voyager “Challenger” a reverie turned fireball our frontier is beyond the fishbowl beyond the scorch of atmosphere that […]
Written by Gabriela Camarena. Graphic by Peyton Cabaniss. Originally published as part of the Spring 2019 “Challenge” Issue.– **Content Warning: Sexual Assault** I saw a woman on the news, Her stance was bold and strong. She spoke the words we know are true, But still they say she’s wrong. I saw a woman on the news, Different than she before, […]
Written by Caroline Tsai. Graphic by Peyton Cabaniss. Originally published as part of the Spring 2019 “Challenge” Issue. – I remember what the hallways smell like – “Like where dreams come to die,” my ex-boyfriend said when he came to visit me the first time I was in there. I remember that the walls are white, but not a clean […]
Written by Monica Hand. Graphic by Peyton Cabaniss. Honorable Mention in the Spring 2019 Creative Competition, “Challenge.” – The hardest thing you will ever do is love her. Though you pine to love her the way she needs, With an unconditional, forgiving fury. It’s not easy- you know that. She knows that. You tell her it’s her fault you can’t […]
Written by Michaela Lavelle. Graphic by Peyton Cabaniss. Honorable Mention in the Spring 2019 Creative Competition, “Challenge.”– Every exhale is a knickknack I put on your shelves Coat on the rack and shoes at your door I make myself at home moving in my favorite memories, my greatest fears, mugs, goals, dreams, plates and picture frames My fingers touch the […]
Written by Pilar Padilla. Graphic by Peyton Cabaniss. Pilar Padilla is currently a junior at Westwood High School in Austin, Texas. – Over the past few weeks, Austinites were hit with the shocking news of the University of Texas at Austin’s ties to the academic cheating scandal that swept prestigious colleges across the nation. The school is being sued by […]
