by Gabriella Casagrande | 29 Mar 2018 | Health and Wellness, Personal Reflections, School Year Abroad, Student Posts, Youth Voices
“I’m so depressed.” “I’m going to shoot myself.” Really? I hear lots of people speak so lightly of mental health disorders. Be careful of what you say. Champion U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Phelps recently revealed...
by News Decoder | 28 Mar 2018 | Media Literacy, Personal Reflections, Technology
By Marshall Cartwright While commuting to class recently in Paris, I sat on the train watching a parade of dancing thumbs march in unison through their respective digital playgrounds. In 2018, this is an everyday observation for people all around the world. In the...
by Adrian Balvuena | 15 Mar 2018 | Education, Personal Reflections, School Year Abroad, Student Posts, Youth Voices
My parents came to the U.S. from Mexico, and I grew up in the Bronx. They have sacrificed so much for me — a burden I need to learn to live with. Immigrants at a naturalization ceremony in New York, 22 March 2013 (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) I can’t recall a...
by News Decoder | 7 Mar 2018 | Personal Reflections, School Year Abroad, Student Posts
By Daniela Martinez There’s something satisfying about being made for the sun. I’ve always taken secret satisfaction switching languages in mid-sentence. Or in knowing my parents can cross deserts and in checking off “Hispanic” on applications. My...
by Christopher Alexander Gellert | 19 Feb 2018 | Personal Reflections
Many Americans make fun of my hometown, Cleveland. But people keep moving back, attracted by its quality of life. Watch out, New York and Chicago! Photo by Christopher Alexander Gellert All anyone can ever seem to remember about the U.S. city of Cleveland is that our...
by Defne Egbo | 9 Feb 2018 | Americas, Islam, Personal Reflections, School Year Abroad, Student Posts, Thacher School, United States, Youth Voices
Being biracial should be simple: you are composed of half of each parent’s race. But I’ve discovered the reality is anything but. A mixed race couple with their twin sons, Washington, DC, 11 June 2008. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) My parents are not of the...
by Laila Mirza | 29 Jan 2018 | Islam, Personal Reflections, School Year Abroad, Student Posts, United States, Youth Voices
I used to feel secure as a Muslim in America. This changed with Trump’s election and I do not believe Islamophobia will end when he leaves office. A political rally for Donald Trump, left, in Oklahoma City, 26 February 2016. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) I’ve always...
by Jaeli Rose | 19 Jan 2018 | Human Rights, Islam, Personal Reflections, School Year Abroad, Student Posts, Youth Voices
As a Jew, I can never forget the Holocaust and the slaughter of millions. But we must not persecute Palestinians for their faith. That is hypocrisy. Israeli and Palestinian women dance together during a mass protest near Beit HaArava in the Jordan Valley, Israel, 8...
by Kit Keane | 7 Dec 2017 | Personal Reflections
Are you worried millennials are doomed to financial inadequacy? That retirement is a pipe dream? Here’s a book with tough-love advice. Young people attend a seminar on investing, Brookline, Massachusetts, 8 January 2016 (AP Photo/The Christian Science Monitor,...
by Tania Bagan | 23 Jun 2017 | Journalism, Personal Reflections, Student Posts
Last week we asked readers what topics you think I should write about during my six-week internship here in Paris. After hearing your suggestions, I’ve pinpointed issues to cover in coming weeks. Yes, we listen to our readers! Several of you suggested I focus...