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| Brighton Earley, Los Angeles, CA: As heard on NPR`s All Things Considered, June 2, 2008. Every Friday night the cashier at the Chevron gas station food mart on Eagle Rock Boulevard and Avenue 40 offers us a discount on all t... | more |
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| Wenyan, Hangzhou, : Four days ago, on a very normal math class, my desk mate nudged me to wake me up from my “half-focusing” in geometric figures, and whispered, “An earthquake just hit Sichuan.” I nodded, seemed to b... | more |
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| Maria Zapetis, Miami, FL: As featured on NPR’s website, April 21, 2008. Last year my beliefs changed. Until last summer I had a very comfortable life: winter vacations skiing and summer cruises. My parents spent ... | more |
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| Onnika, Qing Dao, : I believe in the power of the helping hand. My grandmother once said that one of our goals in life should be to make the world a better place. I have been thinking about this for a very long time and ... | more |
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| Courtney, Wilmette, IL: If I were given the opportunity to get a free ride through life (all the cash I needed, good health and everything I ever wanted at my fingertips), my first reaction would be to accept it. I could acc... | more |
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| Bobby, Louisville, KY: Wednesdays With Yahweh The cool night wind pulls at my hair as it slides into the car. The streetlights reflect off the wet pavement as we go beneath dark overpasses. We were simply driving out i... | more |
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| Emily, Farmington, NM: I remember entering a classroom for a two-hour after-school class and thinking, ``This is going to kill me.`` Don`t get me wrong, the class was well worth it but my classmates were not. The room lack... | more |
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| Yoo In, Qingdao, : I believe that passion to express oneself is the most important human need. We express ourselves by chatting to friends or family, messaging and e-mailing. But, myself as a teenage girl who dreams of ... | more |
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| Shirley, Vienna, VA: I remember how Natasha hated looking in mirrors. How mercilessly she would pinch and tug at her skin, committing aggressive acts of punishment for each imperfection she found. Bruises stained her arms... | more |
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| Kamaal Majeed, Waltham, MA: As heard on NPR`s All Things Considered, May 7, 2007. “Why don’t you ‘act black’?” Since my middle school years, I’ve been asked this question more than any other. It seems to me that to... | more |
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| Ying Ying Yu, Princeton Junction, NJ: As heard on NPR`s Morning Edition, July 17, 2006. I am a good child, obedient. I grew up in China, a country where education is the center of every child`s life and a grade less than 85 perc... | more |
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| Jake Hovenden, Fairbanks, AK: As heard on NPR`s Weekend Edition Sunday, May 13, 2007. Only a handful of people know this about me, but five years ago my father died of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS. This is a fata... | more |
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| Joshua Yuchasz, Milford, MI: As heard on NPR`s All Things Considered, October 16, 2006. What if everyone in the world was exactly alike? What if everyone talked the same, acted the same, listened to the same music, and ... | more |
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| Amelia Baxter-Stoltzfus, Hopewell, NJ: As featured on NPR’s website, October 8, 2007. I believe in semi-permanent hair dye: The kind that lets you have a few wacky purple-headed weeks in the depressing months of winter term, but... | more |
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| Jessica, East Syracuse, NY: You would have thought I had given her a million dollars From the age of three I was brought up by my grandmother and grandfather. I came from a house where there was a swear word in every sentence... | more |
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| Josh Rittenberg, New York, NY: As heard on NPR`s Morning Edition, February 27, 2006. I’m 16. On a recent night, while I was busy thinking about important social issues, like what to do over the weekend and who to do it wi... | more |
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| Dylan, San Anselmo, CA: The Bird Who Broke Through the Window My whole life I have viewed myself as a spectator. Telling myself I’m not someone who can make a difference. I wished I could be. I thought that maybe, someday... | more |
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| Andrea, Seminole, FL: Click It or Lose It What is the first thing you do when you get into a car? Turn on the radio? Adjust your mirrors? Start dialing a friend`s number on your cell phone? The first thing I do is b... | more |
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| Cari, Sterling, VA: Almost every day I encounter prejudice; usually it is subtle, but occasionally it is more obvious. I have endured judgmental stares and I have overheard rude comments. I`ve felt uncomfortable in my ... | more |
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| Ashur, Atlanta, GA: I Believe in Other Words Bindolway. Larmo. Trimunly. Fidge. If these words don’t mean anything to you, there is a good reason for that. Until about a minute ago they didn’t exist. The particu... | more |
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| Nadia, Everett, WA: I believe in the power of love and friendship and that it can heal that of one who`s been torn down to the wire. When I was in the sixth grade, my class was assigned to be buddies with first and se... | more |
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| Samantha, Charlotte, NC: This morning when I woke up and rolled out of bed, I really did not want to go to school -- even though I know I need school, I feel there are better things I could be doing. If I died tomorrow, I wou... | more |
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| Trisha, Wichita, KS: Overcoming Stereotypes I am black. To some people, the term “black” could refer to their current state of being, or a description of their overall personality. I refer, however, to the terminology us... | more |
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| Stephanie, Dallas, TX: Waking up to a piercing crash is without a doubt less comforting than the traditional radio, but slightly more efficient, I must add. I remember jumping out of bed and sprinting straight into the kit... | more |
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| Jordan, Springdale, AR: Discrimination vs. Compassion Ever since I was a little boy I`ve been pounded with the fact that as a Christian you fight discrimination and persecution with compassion. ``If someone says some... | more |
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