By Silvia Sanchez

I had spent six months in my very first “serious” relationship. I was elated, but alas, this relationship was not meant to be and when it ended, as it was surely bound to, I was left more alone than I had ever felt. My friends and family didn't understand, and all I longed for was to get away from everything.

By Robin Pisani

By A. Bright

“What do you want for your Birthday, Peter?”

“I want to catch a really big fish,” he replied, with a giant grin on his face!
He was seven, going on eight, with his big day coming up in a few days that November. Outside the wind was blowing cold, the leaves were off of the trees, and the landscape consisted of deep browns, golds and evergreen as winter was getting a grip on our high alpine mountain town. But Peter knew that we would soon be in a very different landscape, one where he might catch a really big fish……..

By Melanie Kuu Ipo Bond

By Esiteri Adongo Akiru

I killed someone and didn't realize it. That might seem impossible, but there it is: I killed someone.

I was a “peace writer,” serving a development office in Northeast Uganda—that part of East Africa we only hear about in connection with the phrase “Lord's Resistance Army,” and sometimes not even then. I was a journalist. I took photos of jacaranda flowers and artillery shells, hedgehogs and laughing children. I wrote articles about grassroots peace efforts in hope of restoring livelihoods.

By Alejandro De La Cruz

By Simone Naoum

After raining for almost three hours, the sun decided to peek its way through the openings in the trees that canopied the highway. We were taking a much needed break from work and the city, and heading down south to Western Australia's popular tourist destination - the Margaret River Wine Region.

By Brita Jean Gall

The summer after my senior year of high school my best friend and I decided to take a trip to Antigua, Guatemala to study Spanish at a language school for three weeks. Surprisingly our parents were delighted at this opportunity and soon all of the arrangements had been made for our trip. We ventured out on a nice summer day in June not realizing the adventures to be had in the next few weeks.

By Lindy Drew

By Derek Baron

With the assistance of a half-naked man armed with a small stick, I quickly discovered the dirtiest place in India.
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I focused intently at the ground as the stick inched deeper and deeper into my ear. The hardened, dirty fingers holding the stick seemed steady, but not steady enough to completely ease my fear of upcoming pain or perhaps even worse.