
My Internal Journey
Ever since I was fourteen years old, the same routine has always occurred. Each morning, I wake up at the break of dawn, and I see my parents getting ready for another day of work in the fields, full...
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Trash Talk
Tiptoeing quietly out of the thatched dwelling, I slowly navigated the winding dirt path in the dim light. Past the tropical fronds and under the curving trunks of the palms I walked. Noises of the Vietnamese...
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To Italy with Chocha
Chocha is my grandmother. She was born in Rome, Italy and had promised me since I was a small child that she would one day take me to visit her homeland. This was a day that I dreaded! You might...
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Life Changing
To say I’m uncomfortable would be an understatement. With a cold sweat, I wake up from a dream where I’m running. It’s about 4:00 in the morning. I’m nauseous. I’m about to suffocate from...
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A “Thriller” Night in Biko, Mali
I shifted in the metal folding chair, picking at the threads of my shirt. Nervous, I glanced at my host family, who surrounded me in a semi-circle. Thirty eyes stared expectantly back at me. Intimidated,...
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Aspetta (Travels in Italy)
The first week in Italy, I lost my watch at (approximately) 12:47 pm. For someone always in control, I now felt powerless without it. I had relied on its safe rigidity, but now I stood in the piazza,...
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The Pennsylvania Hills
I learned to measure milk in a half an eggshell, found doppelgangers exist, fell in love with rollercoaster-like land . . . and decided family reunions had possibility. I truly tried to avoid my...
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