Issue2

Skin Deep (Wellness Column): An Introduction to My Skin Care Journey by Rachel Cabeza

Growing up, my immigrant mother from Colombia, always stressed the importance of taking care of my skin. I, like her, had been graced with skin that was low maintenance and easy to work with. My mom really enforced the law of sunscreen in our household from a young age; rainy day? Sunscreen. Sitting inside all day? Sunscreen. I was raised with a tenement of skincare I hold holy to this day; sunscreen is essential.

How To Mourn Alone by Nancy Azcona

For the next three days, I find myself having crying spells. Unprompted, heavy, crying spells, and every time I find myself doing one particular thing to soothe the pain. I wrap my arms around myself and squeeze. A pandemic is hard enough without the death of a close family member, especially when you feel like you’re on an episode of Black Mirror and you see all the mini fires surrounding you.

Preparing Our Minds and Hearts for This New Chapter of 2020 by Mayana Nell Torres

Like a lot of you, I am battling with the fact that school has relocated to the same place I’ve spent the last few months, home. Home has become a blessing, but I have caught myself having a bittersweet connection with it. We have had to rework our understanding of what home means to us and how we thought we were going to experience this fall.

From Beirut to Damascus: “Nowhere Is Safe” by Ghalia Al Alwani

I’ve been struggling to collect the words, over the past few months, to describe the rapid deterioration I was witnessing in this country. Every night I’d write a sentence or two, allegories about pain and corroding livelihoods. Then, like a macabre sitcom, a nightmare ensued, as if to answer our feeble attempts at humor when … Read moreFrom Beirut to Damascus: “Nowhere Is Safe” by Ghalia Al Alwani

El Barrio: Not for Sale by Amber Skyy

Gentrification is a rising epidemic happening in disadvantaged neighborhoods in New York City for some time now. Neighborhoods in Manhattan such as Harlem are an ever changing landscape with visible social classes. Some people would argue that gentrification is a good thing because it brings public safety, housing, jobs, and opportunities. Jobs that were usually … Read moreEl Barrio: Not for Sale by Amber Skyy

Black Lives Matter is More Popular Than the Civil Rights Movement Ever Was – So Why Aren’t Our Political Leaders Taking Action? by James Taichi Collins

Black Lives Matter is arguably the most massive political movement since the civil rights era. A recent poll by Civics Analytics indicates that “15 million to 26 million people in the United States have participated in demonstrations over the death of George Floyd.” According to a Morning Consult national poll, the Black Lives Matter movement … Read moreBlack Lives Matter is More Popular Than the Civil Rights Movement Ever Was – So Why Aren’t Our Political Leaders Taking Action? by James Taichi Collins

mariconcito II by Jose Useche

II.  He had permanently red cheeks—rosacea. It seemed, as a baby, someone had crushed rose petals in a mortar and pestle and rubbed the dust across his face, permanently branding him as a warning. When he danced, he glowed even redder, and I wanted to be him. Every day, after 3rd period, we’d run down … Read moremariconcito II by Jose Useche

Re-association by Mariah Miranda

I was 18 years old when I was t-boned by a large diesel truck during rush hour. The very thing I had fantasized for years materialized into a reality – I sobbed on the side of the road while strangers gawked.  The next day, my mother strapped me into her car.  She asked me, “tell … Read moreRe-association by Mariah Miranda

COTTONBALL by Aleigha K. Spinks

“Ni***s pray and pray on my downfall / But every time I hit the ground I bounce up like round ball…” Jay-Z spat into the mic in front of him. He’d seen this concert a million times. It was one of Grandma’s favorite recordings; old yet clear.. Almost as if she’d ripped it onto the … Read moreCOTTONBALL by Aleigha K. Spinks

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