The 2019-2020 Rising Voices Fellows reflect on their time in the Fellowship and on their collaborative zine-making process.

Of all the interview questions I’d prepared for, I didn’t think of this one: "Why are you a writer?”

In my notebook, I recount anecdotes that bear the mark of the past I am reckoning with today.

With "Since Parkland," I tried to celebrate other kids' lives and acknowledge the failures that ended them.

Because my life has virtually become virtual, writing is now one of my primary means of connecting.

I believe that, if Emma Goldman were alive today, her emphasis on writing and lecturing would reshape the modern feminist movement.

Forming strong opinions is easier said than done, and for me, the exercise of writing helps me get there.

I love butterflies because, to me, butterflies represent freedom and bliss.

Because of my privilege, I had a head start: I knew where I was going, and I had support. I still had to work hard and set goals for myself, but I recognize that privilege is one of the things that has helped me get where I am today.

Last summer, I embarked on a URJ Mitzvah Corps service trip to Costa Rica. As part of our program we spent a week in Yorkin, a community located in the Indigenous reserve of Bribri.

While my brother’s intention was to help me better clarify my writing, that isn’t what my mind told me in the moment. During our conversation, I became resentful of him, and doubtful of myself. I started to question the value of the ideas I wrote about, the ones that he claimed were too big and detached.

When I was five years old, I was diagnosed with dyslexia. My parents were told that I’d need extensive therapy in order to read and write. At five, I never thought I would read. I threw books on the ground and refused to even try. I would yell, “I don’t need to read! I hate reading!” over and over again.

Teenage chaos is inevitable. I speak from experience when I say, plenty of mistakes are made and it can be hard to find our voice. We don’t always know how to grow. We don't always know how to learn from our mistakes. For the first time, our questions don’t have answers. 

I wouldn’t really say I write for change. In theory, yes, that’s a wonderful idea: the idea that everything can be changed through the power of the pen (or should I say keyboard), but I honestly don’t believe that’s true in my case.