I love fall. The air softens and cools following the sweltering August heat, the sun dips a little lower in the sky, casting a golden haze across the city, and trees shed their embers, freeing them to...

Half awake, I walk towards the Walled Lake Central High School entrance for my water polo tournament. But instead of being met with the usually empty hallways leading to the pool, I’m met with glitter...

I was eight the first time I wished I could change my skin. Standing in front of my pink bedroom mirror, I stared at the poster of Princess Tiana and imagined what it would be like to have her deep brown...

Most of my childhood memories consist of the joys of swim meets. Me and my friends running around with our caps tucked into our suits and our goggles wrapped around our wrists, writing on each other's...

For most people, home is a place that they want to come home to. A place where they feel safe. But for 16 years, that was not my reality.  My relationship with my mom was never the stereotypical loving...

I’d led my touring group in Reykjavik, Iceland to visit the city’s renowned cathedral – home to one the world’s largest organs. As I walked from the vestbule and neared the pew closest to the altar,...

The photo was crumpled, its edges worn and dogeared. My fingers brushed over its surface, leaving a faint smear as I scanned the image. An old oak tree stood tall, and there, hanging from a sturdy limb,...