By: Chloë Malinofski (TikTok: @clov.er29) Dear Reader, These guide lines are specific to who I was in middle school and what I wish I would have known at that time, inspired by the essay “Ten things I’ve been meaning to say to you” by Jason Reynolds. I hope it can be applicable to people of any age, just particularly those experiencing the labyrinth of junior high for the first time. You are only as pretty as the words you speak. People will not remember you by how trendy y

By: Aleah Lyons (TikTok: @aleahnoel_writes, Instagram: @aleahwatermelon) It hurts to breathe, is all I can think, it hurts. I raise my blanket over my mouth and cough, trying to be quiet so as to not wake my sisters. I slowly stand up, trying not to step on my sister Maisie. Mother is laying in bed with my youngest sister, Mary. She has asthma and mother is always worried it’s going to keep getting worse with the dust. My mother wants to sell the farm and leave, for Mary, bu

By: Holly Griffiths (TikTok: @holslibraryauthor) You never know what you have until it's gone. A statement of truth in this current moment. Because as I watched the yellow I missed the blue , as the clouds sunk I missed the way they so effortlessly swayed and wished I could dance with them one last time . I lay on the grass , the green shards intertwining with my skin quilting me from danger , it was a feeling I knew I would miss -wherever I ended up. My heart was still bea

By: Natalie McMillan ` My best friend, Max, and I sat on the roof of my house. We were watching the sunset. At that moment, The sun was a bright orange blending into a light pink and then a baby blue. I looked at Max’s eyes. They were the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen. They were just like the ocean. A shiny deep blue. His hair was a chestnut brown and his lips were a pale pink. “What do you want to be when you get older,” He asked me. It was a random question. I gues

By: Ava Lybunisky Giggles fill the room when I’m with my friends. All of us are dying of laughter, looking at Lily rolling around the floor like a dog. These are the type of friends that make your stomach hurt every time you hang out with them because you've done so much laughing. “What's that noise?” Anna says, breaking all the laughter. It seems to be coming from the top of Lily's bed. I jump up and search. I find my phone buzzing under a blanket. As I pick it up, I see a