Contributors
Nile Bernal is nineteen years old and was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He doesn’t really like to talk about himself so here are a few statements from people who know him fairly well: “His grandparents seem chill,” “He makes some trash beats,” “He’s just alright at playing guitar,” “I guess his writing is okay too,” “He has nice hair,” “He’ll never let you forget he graduated from highschool before he came here.”
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Hilary Block lives in Westchester County, New York. A typical teenager, she likes to write about all her breakup stories and funny anecdotes on life. She will continue to do so as a comedic arts major at Emerson College in the fall. When she isn’t blowing off schoolwork, you can find her binging the same five shows on Netflix, eating truffle mac and cheese at her favorite restaurant in Connecticut, or complaining to her friends about why she doesn’t have a boyfriend.
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Skyla Case is based in New York City and primarily focuses on art and illustration. She is going to school at Moore College of Art and Design this fall. In her free time she enjoys playing piano, drawing, and singing.
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Tim Cools is a Belgian expatriate student who currently lives in Westchester, New York. Although born in Hong Kong, he has moved through Europe during his childhood years and may return there to study psychology. In the rare instance he is not developing an incomprehensible philosophical theory regarding utter nonsense, he may be spotted flaunting his mystifying Spikeball expertise or dressing head-to-toe in the life-altering color bordeaux. Please note that he will lose all respect for you if you make a corny joke about his last name.
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Taliya du Boulay has been at Masters since 5th grade. She enjoys drawing and nature. In the fall she will attend Haverford College where she will study social sciences and agricultural studies. You may know her mother, who has worked at Masters for almost ten years, as the strict and well-dressed French teacher.
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Anecdote of a Black Girl and the Sun
Neoma Emery lives in Yonkers, New York. She will be attending the University of North Carolina at Asheville to study music technology in the fall. Next year, catch her in the studio dual wielding guitars and selling beats to trash rappers. When not hustling or tussling, Neoma can usually be found wired to a pair of high-frequency headphones, surrounded by empty cans of LaCroix.
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Reed Gilmore is eighteen years old and currently resides in Westchester County, New York. He will be attending Kenyon College next year where he intends to major in any stereotypical liberal arts subject (likely English or philosophy) that will ultimately result in him living out of his car through his mid-twenties. He also doesn’t know how to ride a bike.
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Vasilisa Ioukhnovets lives in Putnam County, New York, but tries her best to spend a majority of her time outside of it. A fun fact about Vasilisa is that she does not like writing about herself, so she will keep this short. She will be attending Barnard College in the fall but isn’t quite sure what she wants to study.
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Anthi Likitsakos currently resides in New York City but spends the least amount of time possible at home. Her friends make fun of her for asking for their “highlights and lowlights'' of their weeks and the fact that she is almost eighteen and does not have her learner’s permit. What she will miss most about home next year is most definitely not her little brother, who goes by the rap name of “juicy plumz.” Anthi plans to study international relations in college and to continue pursuing her hobbies of creative writing :), photography, and music.
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Emma Listokin currently resides in Westchester, New York, but she has lived in ten homes in the past four years and will most likely be moving in a month or so. She may be eligible for a Guinness World Record for the most number of places lived in a decade. When she is not moving, she is either crocheting baby blankets, baking French pastries, or taking her beloved dog, Kato, out for a walk. In the fall she will be pursuing a double major comprised of classical studies and biochemistry.
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Mariano Russo resides in Westchester, New York. He enjoys working out, watching anime, and taking naps. Mariano is also a big animal lover, especially dogs (he will be getting one as soon as he can). He will attend Hamilton College in the fall with interests in environmental science and economics.
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Tucker Smith lives in Westchester, New York. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, and doing jigsaw puzzles. She once bought a 1940s typewriter from a flea market for hundreds of dollars below asking price, but never got around to repairing it for use. She will be attending Smith College in the fall.
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Rachel Erin Solomon is eighteen years old and lives in Westchester, New York, where she is a senior at The Masters School. A proud born-and-raised New Yorker, she will be continuing her education at Colgate University in the fall. There, Solomon plans to study psychology and education, while continuing to pursue her passion for creative writing and photography. She started writing and illustrating stories as a little girl and hopes that Before 19 is the first of many future publications to feature her work.
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Zachary Spivack lives in Sleepy Hollow. He enjoys long walks in the park and time with his dog (insert third cliche here). In other news, he is excited for an entire year off from formal education. He is, however, worried that due to lack of work, he will have no reason to procrastinate, a habit that he has grown fond of. Likely, he will find a way.
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Neighborbor
Mattilynn Stone is eighteen and has lived in more places than she can count or remember, the current being Kampala, Uganda. Next year she will be attending Mount Holyoke College where she will most likely double major in English and chemistry. Currently she works as a hostess at Harvest on Hudson with hopes of paying for college and maybe writing about some of the very (not so) lovely people that she seats.
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Sophia Viscarello is eighteen years old and has lived her whole life in Stamford, Connecticut. She had an exceedingly difficult time crafting this bio as she loves to write about others, but rarely has much to say about herself. She supposes that’s why she decided to take this class.
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