Blackout
By Noah Orosco I know you’re staring down the fading memories you see no other way cause you hate yourself. You’re one of a kind but you hate your DNA. You’re irreplaceable. Just breathe in. Breathe out. Take the inner demons and use them as leverage for a greater purpose. Replace the chains on your…
Let Go
By Noah Orosco I spent most of my life behind screensthat I can’t escape cause I live my life without realizing what’s at stake.I pretty much got everything I could ask forbut I feel like I got nothingso I start going backwards in my regretsputting all my time into what I know, thinking I’m awakebut feeling like I…
Who is a Woman if not in a Dress?
By Elena Tamagno, TIWP Student I’m not a girl. There’s no way I can be a girl, right? I don’t like skirts, or dresses, or those pink-colored bedsheets. I cut off all my hair and half the people I ran into thought I was a boy or just refused to use gendered terms near me.…
Who Am I?
By Sol Dente, TIWP Student I am the ‘prefer not to say’ option on a Google form, the X on a drivers license, the they/thems among the she/hers and he/hims. I am the yellows and blacks and the purples and the whites and pinks and the blues and the greens and the grays. I am…
Yes, I’m Female and Autistic
By Maya Petzoldt, TIWP Student People often ask me what it’s like in my head, and I never tell them the truth, because in all honesty, who would listen? I give people minimum-word answers, answers they expect, like “Weird,” “Crazy-land,” and “Unexplainable.” These satisfy people, because they don’t really want to know, or they would…
My Manifesto
By Daniel Litwin, TIWP Student What is a manifesto? Throughout history people have taken a stand for what they believe―physically in the form of revolution or protest, or in writing, as in a manifesto ― for good or for ill. Notable historical manifestos include The Declaration of Independence (1776), the Declaration of the Rights of the…
My Identity
By Daniel Litwin, TIWP Student My identity is mixed. Everything about me is mixed. Mixing and being mixed has always been, and always will be in me. For those who don’t know, I am half Filipino, half White. I’ve been aware that my skin was tan since I was little, when I fell and scraped…
Reaction
By Aly Kirke, TIWP Student A man has died.The people choose a side. The streets swarm.Racists unite in uniform. Hands up, don’t shoot!But how will cops keep us under their boot? Buildings burn.The people start to learn. Bullets fire.Flames rise higher. George Floyd, a black man, was killed.The people raise their fists, strong willed.
Respect
By Maya Hanck, TIWP College Program”We socialized to respect fear more than our own need for language.” — Audre Lorde From a young age, we are taught to be quiet and cautious, polite and ladylike, and unproblematic and soft-spoken. From a young age, we are ingrained with the notion that we are to fear the…
Mainstream and Me
By Ellen Jurgens, TIWP College ProgramI grew up about sixteen miles east of Seattle. In our neighborhood, my family was one of four or five white families. One of six if you count our neighbor to the left who was a middle-aged Russian lady. Obviously she was white, just not as boring as the rest…
White Privilege
By Sophie Corbett, TIWP College Program Never in my life have I been afraid of the police. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. They have always made me feel safe and comfortable. If I were to ever get pulled over, my first thought would be “How can I get out of this ticket?” not “Is…
Are You A White Ally?
By Aly Kirke, TIWP Student There’s a community gathered. Maybe thousands. They’re mostly white. I can’t help but wonder how much they really care. When I hear racist slurs in the hallways of my school, seldom met with a talking to, it’s hard to believe that this many people would show up in the same…
Check Your Privilege
By Aly Kirke, TIWP Student Think of a time you felt nervous doing something completely normal and legal. Was it last week? A year ago? Think of a time you were wrongly accused of something. Was it something big, or just taking your sister’s shirt? Think of a time you experienced something unfair. Were you…
It Hurts Me When…
By Rebecca Gunderson, TIWP Student It hurts me when I hear people use the word “Jew” as a slur. I don’t feel safe when I turn the corner at my high school and see a swastika marked on the wall in permanent ink. I’m uncomfortable when we study World War II and we look at…
A Reflection on Race in My Small White Community
By Julia Lima, TIWP Student I think I really became conscious of my ethnic identity when I started elementary school. I remember feeling shamed by my peers for the Brazilian foods my mother would pack in my lunchbox for me. I remember wishing I had blonde hair and light eyes, like my peers. I remember…
Ocean of Voices
By Caroline Hesby, TIWP Student Sometimes those with the loudest voices have the most empty space in their hearts. They yell and with their shrill screams they pierce your ears until they ring, their ideas laced with selfishness and ignorance. They wash out the voices that have not been acclimated yet to the battles of…
Identity
By Ben Davis, TIWP Student My identity? Well, I don’t really know. I mean I go to a much better school than most, live in a safer neighborhood than most. So I’m more privileged than most, which defines me I suppose. I’m certainly empathetic, sometimes too much at times, but I can’t really feel sympathy.…
Silver Linings
By Sophie Corbett, TIWP Student, College Program Right now we are in the midst of a global pandemic and a war on racial inequality. People are suffering, dying, and angry. However, these challenging times have created an interesting dichotomy. While the world seems to be erupting into chaos, there is also a sense of peace…
I Can
By Rebecca Gunderson, TIWP Student “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way” -Martin Luther King, Jr.If I cannot make immediate change, I can protest. I can make signs. I can wear a mask. I can march alongside the black community in solidarity.If I cannot take action, I…
Counterfeit
By Maya Hanck, TIWP College Program”Race balls-out toward the extraordinary life that you’ve always dreamed of.” — Sophia Amoruso I’ve never been the type of person who knows exactly what career path she wants to take or even what field she wants to work in. On the contrary, I’ve always known what I don’t want…
Pens of the Pandemic 