My essay focuses on growing up in an Asian household. I share my experiences self-reflecting and how it led me to truly appreciate connection and diversity.

My poem is about me, how I experience life, how I view problems in the world, and how my faith and weak understanding of God is the filter through which I try to view everything. It includes an art project that I carved out and printed, a stamp of Masjid Al-'Aqsa in Jerusalem, which as a Muslim, is a very important place in my heart.

This poem is about my identity as a person who has experienced domestic abuse. I am a survivor, and I hope writing about abuse helps end silences that contribute to its continuation. 

Hello dear MiraCosta departments, teachers and classmates,

This is the fourth time that I have restarted adult high school. But this time I am serious about getting graduated. Together we all can make our dreams come true!!!

I am exploring life writing in a MiraCosta Life Writing class. I am slowly finding my own voice and enjoying every minute.  This piece illustrates my resourcefulness in difficult situations and the humor I can have in spite of the difficulties. 

This story started as my teenage self struggling to understand and express herself; now it's become adult me helping her to find her voice and process the overwhelming storm of emotions welling up within her.

Transgenerational trauma is the inheritance that I never wanted but received anyway. My family of origin shaped my identity in ways that I'm still trying to understand and unpack.  

The poem "Femme" relates to life experiences that contributed to my sense of self, and the poem "Voyager" relates to a personal element of my values and beliefs that shape my identity.

This story is about my identity. I am half native Hawaiian from my father and half Scandinavian from my mother, so I am this character that I wrote about.

I am a writer on a journey of self-discovery, enrichment, and actualization, leveraging written word as an ever-expansive, deeper mode of expression, enlightenment, connection and change.  As a writer of fantasy, horror,    sci-fi, and afrofuturism, I am working on writing stronger stories—deeper in meaning, bolder in messaging, and more refined and intricate in quality.  

I hope to share my dreams of the stars with everyone through interactive art. Hopefully my creations can help you see the world, its issues and triumphs, and yourself, all from new points of view.

This poem, "Unseen," connects to my identity as a daughter. 

My poem is about the disconnect I feel from the rules our society puts on socialization as an autistic person.

This drawing is my celebration in being able to leave all of the pain of self-hatred, shame, and insecurity behind, leaving that image I was forced into, and being able to discover who and what I want to be.

My poem looks at the ways this country forces Black men into narrow paths, where the streets become not a desire, but a means of staying alive. Through my writing, I aim to challenge the narratives that criminalize Black life and to tell the stories that continue to be overlooked, misunderstood, or silenced.

I dedicate this to every international or first-generation student who has felt the weight of responsibility or the quiet ache of impostor syndrome.  You are not alone, and your story matters.

I am a diverse multi-media Studio Arts student at MiraCosta College. I find the convergence of poetry and nature intermingles with mankind’s endless conundrum of feeling lost and wayward. This is what inspired me to create this inky somewhat haunting sketch. 

I find my identity in the things I love. Graffiti, handmade things, mortality, plants, and painting are all aspects I have tied into who I am.

My story deeply relates to my identity as it explores the journey of leaving home for higher education, facing feelings of isolation, and gradually discovering a sense of belonging within a new community of friends. It reveals that identity is not static but evolves.