Read Ally's essay, "The Literal Heart Sustains an Ailing Body," that tells how she found the strength to cope with mental illness through the support of the same Nerdfighter online community.
YES! National Student Writing Competition
An opportunity for students to write for an audience beyond the classroom, and personally reflect on topics that can be transformational, even life-changing.
Read Shannon's essay, "The Internet: A Beautiful Place to Be a Harbinger of Awesome," about the solace and awesome she found on the Internet as a queer trans Catholic kid, and her desire to spread that acceptance to younger people experiencing suckiness.
Read Tori's essay, "Anita and Tavi's New Curriculum," that reveals the unexamined misogyny of the Internet, and what we can do to fight against it.
We received many powerful essays for the Fall 2014 Writing Competition. Though not every participant can win the contest, we'd like to share some excerpts that caught our eye.
Christopher Zumski Finke responds to the winners of the Fall 2014 "Fault in Our Stars" essay competition.
Read Reagan's essay about how her karate skills helped her classmate get the support he needed.
Read Simone's essay that illustrates the unnecessary hardships caused by the injustice of the punitive system.
Read Matt's essay about the injustices a childhood friend endured and why he felt students didn't stand up for him.
Read Sohee's essay that brings topics like ethnicity and self-confidence into the conversation of discipline and dignity.
Read Kayla's essay that provides an example of a situation that failed to properly use restorative justice and why that was harmful.
Fania Davis, co-founder and executive director of Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth, responds to the winners of the Spring 2014 "Restorative Justice" essay competition.
We received many powerful essays for the Spring 2014 Writing Competition. Though not every participant can win the contest, we'd like to share some excerpts that caught our eye.
Read Karla's letter that discusses ethnicity and the sense of belonging to a country.
Read Jim's letter highlighting the unimaginable hardships of war and his gratitude towards veterans.
Read Blaine's letter that reaches out to a fellow soldier, encouraging him to tell his story so they will remember—and heal— together.