America is great. At least that’s what I try to convince myself of because sometimes I feel unsafe because of my religion. I’m Muslim and I feel like now the world is trying to destroy believers of my religion. Islam’s holy book, the Quran, states that a Muslim who harms themselves or others purposely is […]
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Long black clothes and long white beards symbolizing their length of ignorance and color of their opinions. It’s these minions that cause the shame, that ruin the name, that make us all look the same. It’s the fundamentalists that hold us to less, that tell us to bless but are blind to the mess they’ve […]
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Thousands of Ethiopians leave their home every year and many of them arrive in America. Like my family, they start their lives from scratch. My family’s story of global migration started a few years ago when my parents moved to the United States from Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. An immigrant is a person who moves […]
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“Now, what you hear is not a test. I’m rappin’ to the beat, and me, the groove, and my friends are gonna try to move your feet.” According to rapper Jay-Z, rap has changed America immensely to improve race relations and has done more than any leader or politician. In fact, the influence that rap […]
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The sugar cane fields of Los Cañaverales are acres upon acres of tall bamboo-like plants that create one of the sweetest tastes on earth. As we whizz past them on a narrow highway their vibrant green leaves lazily wave at me, trying to reach up and touch the cloudless blue sky. My family and I […]
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It is hard to imagine that such a small country, the size of Indiana with the population of Alaska, tucked in the Himalaya Mountains, accessible only by two airplanes, is the “Happiest Country” in the world, the last standing Buddhist Kingdom and has one of the fastest growing GDP’s in the world. This country is […]
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Ever since elementary school, I have dreamed of becoming a doctor – I wanted to cure illness and make people feel better. My dream job was specifically to be a pediatrician, because I thought getting to talk with kids and to work with their parents would be fun and really cool, and I would be helping them. […]
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Fifteen years ago, two scientists in their twenties gave up their respectable jobs and their cozy apartment, bid farewell to their family and friends, left their hometown, and came to a new country—America. All they had were a yet to be born baby, 4 suitcases and a thousand dollars. They studied hard, worked diligently and […]
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Washington, DC is among the cities with the highest rates of STDs infection in the United States. The term STD refers to a Sexually Transmitted Disease. Teenagers between the ages of 15-17 years old are the fastest growing age group to join this dangerous statistic. Our city’s mayor, Adrian Fenty, said in an interview about […]
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As one would say “welcome” in Arabic, salamo alaykom! My Syrian origins from my dad’s side of the family are reflected in different aspects of my life. I have eaten Syrian food, listened to my parents and other relatives speak Arabic, and used Arabic expressions my whole life. My family’s Syrian culture ties all of […]
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As a child, I was pretty chubby. According to the Body Mass Index (BMI, the measure of someone’s weight in relation to their height), if a child is over the 95th percentile for BMI, he or she is considered overweight. My BMI was always over 100th. Fortunately, my parents realized this tendency early on and […]
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