A young girl confronts her father's violent secret and must choose between him and her childhood.

My artistic process is healing. I write to express all the things I never could say out loud. My creative writing forces me to examine the rough and raw parts of myself and turn them into gold, something that can be used to further both myself and society. When I write, I embody the voices of those told to shut up, be small, and take up less space.

This short piece is about a subtle form of racism that I experienced in first grade that I never really understood until I was much older.

My piece, Swirling Water, seeks to capture the entirety of that aspect of high school life. The story itself is directly inspired by my own experiences. Immediately after I returned home, with an enormous weight lifted from my shoulders, I put the experience to paper.

I come up with ideas of what to write primarily through observation. I drown out the constant bombardment of information and focus on the niches in daily life, such as the angle of the sunlight or the faint humming of the refrigerator.

Art for me, is a state of mind: a wandering mind, pulling a single thread from a tapestry, focused but calm, and extremely passionate and emotional.

"Blue Bird" is a compelling coming of age dramatic script that brings childhood anxiety and peer influence to the page. Whether it be in novels or movies, coming of age has always been my favorite genre.

Writing also allows me to feel pride in what I previously thought were painful or unnecessary thoughts. When I am able to write down my words on paper I can see the beauty of my own mind.

I wrote this piece in hopes of connecting the music side of the world to the writer's world, with both arts and emotion.

I wrote this poem mainly as a way to come to terms with the manipulation I had to deal with growing up.

Image By You encapsulates every challenge that is completely unique to our generation. It metaphorically elaborates on the ways that social media has warped our “images”of ourselves through the subconscious manipulation of our concept of beauty and self worth.

These two poems are an examination of the glorification of psychopathic men through film and television. They creatively showcase the reality of these characters and communicate the disturbing nature of the way they are presented to audiences.

Steve Smith, tied in a chair with his hands bound, faced two harsh judges. He must answer for his crimes.

These three poems are born through observing simple things that aren't often noticed, searching for a sense of serenity and beauty in ordinary life.

The two poems that I wrote for the CYA are interpretations of personal experiences in my life both surrounding my mother.

I've always wanted to live in a magical world, yet I must remind myself that trouble would follow me there.

The poem I wrote called ‘reset’ reflects on the pain and addiction that follows self-harm, and how difficult it can be to get through. It’s one of the most vulnerable pieces I’ve written.

“S'est levé dans le noir,” which means “rose in the dark” in French, is an idea I had for a continuation of an exquisite corpse piece.

Every year begins and ends with winter. I wrote this poem in the perspective of a personified year in order to express the notion that the same thing may be viewed from two opposite standpoints.

Haunted Dolls is about a young girl who notices something off with her toys and her mom won't help her.