Our Greatest Hits

Our Greatest Hits Student Reflections on Music and Memories This book was written by the students of Helen Bernstein High School in Spring 2022.

The views expressed in this book are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of 826LA. We support student publishing and are thrilled you picked up this book.

Las opiniones expresadas en este libro son las de los autores y no reflejan necesariamente las de 826LA. Apoyamos la publicación de jóvenes autores y estamos felices que haya recogido este libro.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

This workshop is made possible with support from Paramount Pictures.

Editor: Maddie Silva Cover Artwork & Book Design: Puicón-Pérez for 826LA

Echo Park 1714 W. Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90026

Mar Vista 12515 Venice Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90066 Written by students at Helen Bernstein High School with support from 826LA and Paramount Pictures

Table of Contents

Introduction ……………………………………………… 9 Adulthood ……………………………………………… 11 ANGEL C.

Sweet Like Honey ……………………………………… 15 BRANDON R.

Playlist of Emotions …………………………………… 21 B R I S E I D A F.

Growth …………………………………………………… 25 C H R I S T O P H ER G.

The Unconditional Song …………………………… 31 CRISSNA J.

Moments in Time …………………………………… 35 DIANA H.

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Untitled …………………………………………………… 39

Reflecting ……………………………………………… 79

EMILY S.

KELLIE G.

The Blank Canvas …………………………………… 43

And No Matter Where I Go You’ll Always Be Here in My Heart …………… 83

GEIDY N.

P’al Dolor, Tambores ………………………………… 49 GISEL J.

I Need You ……………………………………………… 53 HELEN F.

Why Not ………………………………………………… 57 HISHAM S.

Smell You Later… ……………………………………… 61 ISAAC G.

In The Moment ………………………………………… 65 JACKIE P.

Untitled

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K I M B E R L Y N.

A Day in Quarantine ………………………………… 87 MELODY G.

Journey to Love ……………………………………… 91 M Y C H E L L E C.

Happiness in Mistakes ……………………………… 95 NAHUM C.

Looking Back to Head Forward ………………… 101 N A T H A L I E B.

Acknowledgements ………………………………… 105

JEREMY A.

Untitled JOSEPH A.

“Don’t run without knowing where you’re going” ………………………………… 75 KATTERIN G.

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Introduction

NOW PLAYING...

Cannonball

The Breeders

From The Smiths to BTS to Rocío Dúrcal, music grows up alongside us. It uplifts our triumphs. It soothes our strife. It motivates us, understands us, shapes us. It helps us forget just as it helps us to remember. The pieces in this book are an invitation to explore the question: How do the stories of music intersect with the stories of our lives?

When the authors of this book, students from Helen Bernstein High School, were asked to identify a song that held personal meaning to them and relate it to their lives, they ran far and dove deep, making profound connections between who they are and what they listen to.

This book was born of their hard work and the support of their mentors from Paramount’s mentorship program, Kindergarten to Cap & Gown. For over a decade, Kindergarten to Cap & Gown has supported students in raising their voices and expressing their creativity through storytelling.

This year, in partnership with 826LA, the mentors and students met over nine sessions to brainstorm, craft, and polish their stories. Students gathered in-person to meet with their mentors online, expertly navigating the hybrid world we are living in today. In the classroom and on Zoom, conversations abounded. Debates over musical taste, the exchange of memories brought on by certain songs, the creation of mixtapes, and the dissection of lyrics, rhythm, and flow. All of which were then transformed into the stories inside this book.

Read on now. The authors have much to tell you.

— M A D D IE SILVA, APRIL 2022

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Adulthood ANGEL C.

NOW PLAYING...

Billionaire

Travie McCoy feat. Bruno Mars

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My parents came to this country from Mexico to live a better life.

We lived a pretty normal life, meaning we weren’t able to travel around the world or country, and were wealthy enough to have a home where we had a lot of space compared to living in a small house. In the future I hope to live in a bigger house because I have always dreamed of having my own room, backyard, pool, and lots of space to have my family over. I usually didn’t have the things my friends had–playstations and video games in general. I only had the Xbox 360 as a gaming console my whole life.

I started watching Youtube videos of people achieving their dreams–buying whatever they wanted, being able to explore the world, building their own entertainment in their own homes like a basketball court or a soccer field. Watching their videos inspired me to want to live their lifestyle and do the same. “I want to be a billionaire so freaking bad!” I saw these videos when I was in third grade. Now that I am more mature and older, I know what I need to sacrifice in order to achieve the goals I want in the future.

The Youtube videos showed up in my recommendations.

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There was a video of some guys playing soccer and doing challenges like trying to hit the crossbar three times in a row or doing freekick challenges. I looked into their Youtube videos and saw that they were playing video games and making soccer videos as their job. That was something I wanted to do. I wanted to make money like they did by doing things they were passionate about.

If I was going to start this right now, I would make soccer videos and anything that has to do with athletics. Right after I graduate high school, I will make a plan to achieve this. I will start filming using my phone and upload it on social media and see how uploading videos on social media goes and then go to college, learn about computer science, and make my own website about athletics. If I was going to post video games for Youtube, I would want to use a game with a story and record my process of completing those stories. I would also like to show my process of lifting weights in the gym.

I grew up playing sports and I enjoy whatever sport I am playing. My family played soccer a lot so it influenced me to play soccer. My father played the most. Back in his day, he used to play as a goalkeeper. My father would take me to the park and play and then transitioned me to a youth league where I began to be passionate for the sport.

So far, I have only made videos related to school projects.

I made a video on how to target a muscle during quarantine using home equipment like dumbbells or gallon containers or body weight. I also made some interview videos. I interviewed myself during quarantine because my family was camera shy and I asked myself questions like, “What are your thoughts on the pandemic?” and “Do you think life will go back to normal?” and “Lastly, what was the highlight of your sophomore year?”

I realized I liked recording myself when I would edit my videos. When I would edit them and look back at the videos, 14 12

I would watch the bloopers that were funny. They were good memories with good moments. For example, when I would stutter because I would forget what to say, when I would zone out and forget what I was going to show or do, and just looking back to what I did during the pandemic. I can document my life and upload it online and relive those good moments. I posted these videos on Youtube for a portfolio we had to do. So someone could watch them right now.

I hope I can inspire other people who want to achieve a goal they have in mind. If they were to look at me achieving something I put effort into, then the viewers would have the motivation to start something they would like to achieve in life.

— Angel C. is athletic and enjoys watching and participating in any kind of sport.

He also enjoys watching trolling videos, gym vlogs, and lifestyle vlogs on Youtube, and enjoys watching people progress in the gym on Tiktok. He is health-oriented and goes to the gym when he can. He would like to explore new places and would like to go visit Europe, specifically Spain.

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Sweet Like Honey BRANDON R.

NOW PLAYING...

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out The Smiths

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When I first met Amy we were just teammates. Unbeknownst to me, it all started two years ago. It was a sunny day, which was normal during the fall season of cross country. We met at the track of the school, which was where we were meeting up for practice. It was the first day when all the new recruits were supposed to show up, which was why one of my teammates brought Amy. I am captain of the cross country team, so I was interested in seeing who these new recruits were. As with Amy, my teammate told me that she had experience running since she ran a lot back in middle school. Hearing this, I knew she would be a great addition to our girls team, which was struggling at the time. When I met her, the first thing I noticed was that she was really short. I didn’t focus too much on her, however, as there were many other new recruits too. Sure, Amy was cute, but I had just met her.

I noticed her more after. A week later, we were on the train heading to cross country practice, and that’s when I noticed her eyes and her smile. We were talking and that’s when I saw: her

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eyes were big and sparkled like the moon shining on water. Her smile was big and very pretty. I didn’t recognize it at the moment, but Amy laughing gave me encouragement to act dumber just to get a reaction out of her. While I do not remember what specifically I was saying, it sure did get a lot of laughter. Loud laughter that was like the kind of laugh that will echo throughout an empty space. I loved it.

Some months went by and I started questioning myself. Do I like Amy as more than just a friend? Why am I trying to make her laugh all the time? I would tease her over various things, like her height and her laugh, but yet both were things about her that I actually adored. Over those past months I started to get to know Amy more. On the outside she came off as this reserved person who was easy to get mad. Very easy to get mad, that is. However, once I started to get to know her more, that’s when the walls started to come down. We started to get a whole lot closer, a lot more personal, and from this I started to get to know another side to Amy. This side was more sensitive, gentle, and caring. She was sweet like honey, as I tend to call her. After a lot of loud laughter, I was finally starting to gain her trust and getting to know more about her.

I started realizing that Amy was someone I really cared about.

We would talk and check in with each other every day either in person or over the phone. One day after a track meet we both got a ride home. It was a long ride back, as we had raced at a school

by Norwalk. We were both tired, but her especially. That’s when she, as a person who did not like getting close with anybody, settled her head on my shoulder and fell asleep. I did not question it nor make a big deal out of it, although I found it unexpected.

She apologized, saying she did not mean to fall asleep on me like that and that it would not happen again. The funny thing was, right after that, it started to become a common occurrence

almost every day after practice. I still did not want to question it, even when it escalated to us holding hands, which also became an almost daily occurrence.

Now that I reflect, it occurs to me that I did not want to question what was going on between us out of fear. I feared ruining what had become to me a very important friendship, despite my feelings growing by the day. It was this very same fear that led to me pushing Amy away, which ironically ended up ruining our friendship. To cope with the loss of her daily presence, there was this song I discovered around the same time called “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” by The Smiths which I started constantly listening to. Every time the song would play, it would make me think about her and what once was, as well as all the questions I still had. Despite the song making me feel happy, it also made me feel sad because the thought of never talking to her again was one that I was not able to process. There was never a day in those 10 months where I did not think of her, but I still did not have the courage to bring myself to her and explain why one day I was in her life and the next I was not.

The bittersweet ending of the song where “there is a light that never goes out” repeats over and over again gave me a calming hope that maybe one day we would talk again as if nothing ever happened and be happy.

“There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” got me through that time period by giving me hope that I would talk to Amy again.

Thankfully, Amy had the courage to come up to me in an attempt to save our friendship, and it worked. We talked everything out, told each other that the feelings we have for each other are more than those of just friends, settled our differences, and we were left with one big question: what now? We agreed we could not go back to not talking to each other as those 10 months of not talking were plain awful. We were afraid of dating because we

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feared we would fight again, but as it turned out, those 10 months were what we needed to realize we could not take each other for granted again.

It’s crazy how the people you least expect end up meaning a lot to you. Three years ago I met this girl at the track of our school, and now fast forward to the present, she is my girlfriend and we have only gotten closer since. I never expected her to mean anything to me when I met her. Now when “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” plays, I still think of Amy. This time however, I think about how she’s my light that never goes out, and how she looks up at me with that gorgeous smile of hers and tells me, “You’re like home to me.”

— While Brandon R. is usually reserved with his thoughts, he is not afraid to voice them in hopes of inspiring others. When not trying to inspire through his stories, he is running the distance at cross country and on the track. He is also a leader to his fellow teammates, but otherwise, loves to joke around and have a good time.

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Playlist of Emotions BRISEIDA F.

NOW PLAYING...

Motion Sickness

Phoebe Bridgers

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The song “Motion Sickness” reminds me of my relationship with my sister. The song starts out with a very distinctive line,“I hate you for what you did and miss you like a little kid.” I think that line relates to me because as I grew older I watched my sister turn into something I didn’t recognize. She became very distant from me and my family. A little lost with her mental health.

Before, my relationship with my sister was very close and we spent a lot of time together. We did everything together. My sister is two years older than me and she was my best friend. There was one time in particular when we were coming home from a family party–we would usually stick together because we wouldn’t know many people at these parties, but this time was different. We went our separate ways and barely acknowledged each other. On the car ride home it was completely silent as we sat in the back seat of the car which was weird and awkward for us.

I think I also changed and that was what made the distance 21 23

with us even greater. I rebelled and didn’t want to do that involving my family. There were times when me and my sister would be close, but after she seemed to change, it was rare. I think my sister and I are similar but also very different and I think the differences overshadowed the similarities. We both like the same music, reading, and going to the same activities but my sister is really quiet and I am more outgoing. We’re very different but these traits usually work well together.

I love my sister, but at times I can also hate her. There also became a period of time when she was obsessed with her looks and lost herself. She hated the idea of not being fit. Watching what she ate and exercising. She never told me about my looks, but implied it. I never blamed her because her friends belittled her and were into looks. I love her when she is herself. I appreciate in her that she is caring but I can be a little mean. The lyrics in the beginning of the song, “I hate you for what you did, and I miss you like a little kid,” explain me and my sister. We were super close emotionally, so now that we have grown up and don’t have that relationship, it kinda derailed me. How does that make me feel? It makes me feel like crying.

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Emotional motion sickness. Whenever I think of my situation with my sister I think about that song. “Somebody roll the window down” when you need to breathe.

When I think about the line, “I faked it every time,” I realize that every time I was with my sister I was pretending. I was pretending we were the same when we were younger, but we weren’t. The next lyric, “I can hardly feel anything at all,” is how I feel because at some point I stopped caring about our relationship.

She is my older sister and I have a younger brother. Since she was older than me, I looked up to her, but when she lost herself I became the older sister. I resented that. Then I became angry and upset. She is turning 20 in September, still living at the house.

She went in a different direction by not going to college, and we all thought she was going. She had no motivation and decided not to go. I became sad and upset because she wasn’t the older sister we could look to, and the responsibility fell on me. I don’t think our relationship will go back like when we were young. She was going through a hard time, but it is getting better and me and my brother can rely on her again.

Now as I am older I regret stuff I said when I was younger.

I understand a little more about what she was going though, her own emotional Motion Sickness.

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Growth CHRISTOPHER G.

NOW PLAYING...

Love Yourself 2 Phora

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When I was in middle school, my older sister and I discovered the rapper Phora and we listened to his music together. He always says in his songs that he’s flying with broken wings but he keeps going because he’s strong. He says he knows it’s difficult to fly sometimes but you’ll get through the tough times. All of the bad experiences will help you grow and learn to be a better person.

This has definitely been true for me and my siblings.

My sister is 12 years older than me and my brother is 10 years older. My siblings didn’t have the best childhood, my sister especially. She is the oldest of us all and had to be responsible early on to take care of me and my brother. My sister and brother were born before me and had to deal with our parents fighting.

My parents would be yelling at each other, pushing each other, and wouldn’t show signs of resolving these issues. I can’t even imagine how it felt for my sister to have to tell her younger brother that it will be okay when she knows that she can’t guarantee it. They were both scared and didn’t feel safe, especially when later on (before I was born) someone else was there in

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the house with our mother. I don’t know who the man was–all I know is that he was not related to us. The man yelled at them and fought with our mother. The fight escalated and later law enforcement intervened.

Phora said, “I know what it’s like to feel your heart gettin’ cold. Like the house that you livin’ in that was never home.” My siblings and I can definitely relate to this because our home life wasn’t the best at all. There was a divider in the house, and that’s where people would be smoking and drinking. There were bottles and cigarettes, and probably other things that I didn’t notice because I was so young. Due to this, my siblings spent a lot of time with me and took care of me.

My sister would take me out with her friends or go eat growing up. We would always be doing something together so that we could distract ourselves from what was happening at home. I don’t remember much of what we did, but I remember I would always like going out with my sister. We would always have fun and be doing something.

My brother would do the same thing for me too. My brother had to mature fast to take care of me–he felt like he had to become the man of the house. He would always be serious and calm, showing that he was hardened in a way. He would usually try to take me somewhere or play video games with me. I always had fun playing with him. We would play with Legos or Minecraft, even Lego Star Wars. I remember my brother taking me to elementary school but I think he was always late going to his school. There was a time when he was walking to school but the police thought he was ditching so they handcuffed him and drove him to school.

He didn’t tell me this but my sister says that he would be trying to tell the cops off. What he did say was he remembers getting dirty looks from some other students who saw it happen. That he could feel the dirty looks and that it was a bad experience.

I take after my brother because I was usually around him a lot of the time since sometimes I didn’t want to go out anywhere.

My brother and I would spend time together and he’d talk to me often about how I should act. I also had to grow up fast since my brother was more serious sometimes, making me start to act more like him. My aunt and my siblings always say that we’re alike and that I’m mature for my age–I know I’m not always mature though.

When I was about seven years old, the court granted legal guardianship to my grandmother and aunt. Ever since then things have been better. My grandma always makes our food and takes care of us. She checks in on us all the time. My aunt does the same. She would buy us clothes, food, and just help us if we needed it.

Later my parents finally became better and they became a part of the picture again. They both had a long time to reflect, and came back to support the family. Of course, this took a long time and at first, it was mostly visits from my mother but under supervision. Eventually, the visits didn’t have to be supervised since my mom had a good job and was stable. My dad later started working at the same place as my mother–he originally worked as a janitor but now works as a security officer for them.

We all spent a lot of time together having fun, doing family karaoke nights, family outings, and dinners. The holidays would always bring us together by either trading gifts or spending time with each other.

Recently I entered high school, and now my brother and sister are working. My sister goes to college while doing work to try and get a degree to become an X-ray tech. My brother is pursuing his own dream, a passion project. He even found his own place to live. Our mom recently passed away so now personally I feel like I have to keep going, to keep flying and let go of my struggles and hardships, to free myself from them.

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I’m trying my hardest to fulfill my dreams like going to a good college, visiting Korea where my grandma, aunt, and mom grew up, and visiting Japan to see the sights and have fun. As Phora says, all of my siblings’ problems and mine just made us closer and stronger.

— Christopher G. is a 15-year-old high school sophomore at Helen Bernstein High School in Hollywood, California. He is half Korean and half Hispanic but was born and raised in L.A. He spends his free time video editing, writing, and playing video games with his friends and eventually wants to travel with his friends since he hasn’t been farther from L.A. than Las Vegas. One day he hopes to pursue a career in the film industry.

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The Unconditional Song CRISSNA J.

NOW PLAYING...

La Niña de Tus Ojos Daniel Calveti

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When I was really young, my dad would sing a song called, “La Niña de Mis Ojos.” This translates to “The Girl of My Eyes.”

Even when I was young and I didn’t understand the meaning of the song, I could tell it had a deeper meaning. Every time I hear this song, I am reminded of our church services we’d attend as a family. The times we spent getting ready together, advising each other on our outfits, my mom helping me with my hair.

Church not only served as a way of connecting with God but it also helped me connect with my family and friends. Songs similar to “La Niña de Mis Ojos” would always be playing in the background as food was prepared and served after the service. I can remember very clearly how the songs would mix and get lost in the sound of laughter.

As I got older I understood the song more and realized my dad’s unconditional love for me. Even if I’m frustrated with my dad, I know he still loves me. The song calms me down, and it’s 31 33

a good song to listen to and look back on those times. The song also reassures me whenever I’m feeling doubtful or when I have to make a hard decision. I know my dad will always be there to support me and help me get through what I’m going through.

He’ll always have my back.

I think another reason why I feel a very powerful connection with “The Girl of My Eyes” is because of my dad’s own connection with God. My dad used to struggle with alcoholism before finding God, and it was taking over his life. He would come home really late at night and miss going to work because he was hungover. Things started to get very tense between him and my mom until one day he showed up and said God had appeared before him. Ever since that day he made the effort to go to church and bring us with him. He stopped drinking soon after, it was almost unbelievable how quickly he was able to change his bad habit. He told me afterwards how glad he was to have been able to change because it meant he was able to be a better father to us. The song “La Niña de Mis Ojos” is, in a way, also a representation of his journey in life in addition to serving as a reminder of his love for me.

Music has always been a big part of my life, and my dad still sings this song to me during family gatherings when he is trying to show off or when he sees I need a bit of cheering up. He recently tried to sing it to my younger sister but she doesn’t like to speak in Spanish, so she tells our Dad, “I don’t know what you’re saying.” Her connection with the song isn’t really there, which reminds me why I am glad to have learned Spanish. I think it’s good I grew up being spoken to and sung to in Spanish. Speaking it at home taught me the language well enough to become fluent in it. I know in the future that it will benefit me, especially when working as a nurse. I’ve seen how much my parents have sometimes struggled understanding and communicating with their health care workers. Being bilingual will allow me to at least be able to make people of my culture feel more comfortable when they go to the doctor’s office. The language helps connect me to my own heritage and culture, as well as allowing me to form closer relationships with my family members.

— Crissna is a senior at Helen Bernstein High school, participating in her third year in the Paramount/826LA Mentorship program. She has written for two other books. She likes to read, play guitar, and hang out with her friends and family. Crissna is an aspiring nurse.

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Moments in Time DIANA H.

NOW PLAYING...

My Little Love Adele

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When I hear the song “My Little Love” by Adele it reminds me of a conversation I would have with my mom. Specifically the lyrics, “You know, mommy doesn’t like anyone else like I like you, right?” shows how I have come a long way to believing those words and that she will always be by my side.

From when I was born, my dad never lived with us. It was just me, my mom, my aunt, her daughter and husband. When I was younger I would ask if I could hang out with my dad on weekends, or when I could see him. I would ask my mom if we could call him, or just wonder where he was or what he was doing. I would ask questions about my dad and my mom would tell me he can’t always be around and he has his own family that he has to look after.

I have photo albums–I like looking back at them. There are only a few photos with my dad, but I was always smiling and looking at him (there is one where we are in the room–he is standing and I’m on the bed standing so I can reach him, and I have my arm around him smiling, missing my two front teeth).

Looking at the photos brought me a lot of joy. Sometimes it’s hard to see my friends or cousins when they can spend time with

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their dads all the time. We had a hang out spot (Sizzlers) that me, my mom, and my dad went to, but they closed down the specific Sizzlers and that made me sad because that was a place we would go to as a family.

I was looking back and realized as I got older I stopped asking all the questions of when I can see my dad or where he was or what he was doing. I realized when I was 15. At that moment I just thought of all the times I would ask. I somehow turned a switch off. I got tired of waiting and asking when and where my dad was. Now my mom asks why I don’t talk to my dad or try to have a bond with him. Now she tells me that I am his family and that I have to be understanding of the situation as well. My reaction whenever she tells me that is annoyance.

It’s hard to build a relationship when you don’t know much of someone or see them often.

My mom also had to grow up without knowing her dad so she doesn’t really ask me how I feel about it. She understands that I am hurt from her experiences, but she makes sure that I know that she is always there for me no matter what. It gives me reassurance that she cares. She always tells me to be who I am and not let anyone change that.

Growing up I viewed my mom as tough on me but now I realize that she is there for me through all the toughest times in our lives. In eighth grade there was a pin and ribbon where the parents went with their kids. It was a ceremony talking about how they’re half way through the year and that they’re doing good. The parents put the ribbon on their kid. My mom didn’t understand at first that I wanted her there and I was trying to explain to her what it was. Before the big day I was full of emotion and just broke down, overthinking that my mom was not going to be there with me when she has always been there for me. When it comes to expressing my feelings to my mom or

anyone in general for some reason, it’s hard. All the emotions inside want to come out and tell someone, but a part of me is scared, like something has a grip on me and is not letting me speak. Not having that good communication with my parents had a big impact on that and now that I’m older I have to go stepby-step to overcome that. I’m learning to express how I feel or something that happened throughout the day. Once, at night time I was talking with my mom, telling her of the new phone policies.

I was telling her how I didn’t mind it, but what got me mad was that they lock the restrooms 10 minutes before and after class ends and during passing period. I was ranting and she was just listening and understanding which just lets me know that I can confide in her.

Growing up, the people around me–some know I don’t live with my dad, some do–would ask irritating questions about how it was when I was around my dad. I think because they wanted to know how I dealt with it but it would just get me mad. Why was it so important to them? That’s all they would ask and never try to get to know me as a person. They treated me like a hopeless little girl, but I am strong and independent like my mother. I have read stories about people that didn’t live with their fathers, and one story stuck out to me. The girl was in the same situation with her father but it didn’t make her feel less than, which I understood and wanted others to know. I feel like whatever situation your relationship is with your father you shouldn’t let it define who you are. There will be many more situations I will go through but I will learn and grow from them.

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— Diana enjoys reading, working out, and watching movies. Diana takes self-care and sleep very seriously. Diana wants to be able to write stories many will enjoy.

Untitled EMILY S.

NOW PLAYING...

After the Storm

Kali Uchis (ft. Tyler the Creator, Bootsy Collins)

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I overheard a good friend of mine speaking to another student about my artwork and how childish it appeared when she told me the night before how much she loved it. At that moment I realized you could have acquaintances but not always good friends that can tell you the truth to your face.

Many past friendships can go downhill fast because people change and it’s something one has to accept. Looking back on friendships there were some red flags. People showed me in high school how I should rely more on myself rather than others.

The song “After the Storm” by Kali Uchis (ft. Tyler the Creator, Bootsy Collins) is about you being your own hero and how you should mostly rely on yourself and be your own shoulder rather than rely on someone else. It makes me want to learn to be more independent and mostly rely on me, rather than others. Knowing my own worth and knowing I can push and motivate myself in any situation. Try to do more things to uplift myself and think about positive things. They sell daily quote calendars which have inspirational sayings. Starting to think about

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starting a reflection journal to capture your thoughts and feelings for those days. Flip negative thoughts into positive thoughts so that you recognize you are in a negative thought process and stop yourself, then think of the positive thoughts.

Although being your own hero and finding independence is great, it doesn’t mean asking for help can be a weakness. The two lines, “Everybody’s going through it” and “But you can’t just give up now” are especially relatable now that everyone has been in a pandemic for over two years. I think of how my life was before March 2020, when I was a sophomore, when I was still thinking that this pandemic would last a few weeks, be a little bit of a break and not that different from how I was living life at that point in time. And now I realize that sudden shift catapulted me into adulthood overnight, to now be concerned for my siblings, become aware of mental wellness, and to learn to navigate this new frightening world. However, we were all going through this new experience together and had to lean on each other for support, guidance, and friendship.

I learned from being alone for so long that I really enjoyed my friendships, being around people, and that I need to take more risks to develop long-lasting friendships. My self-esteem and mental health has actually grown in the last few years.

Finding yourself and going through different paths of junior high and high school helps you go through different situations and grow as a person. Learning “street skills” help you move into

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the bigger world, college, etc. and go through more emotional experiences. In one of my classes, sometimes we do a mood board to see how everyone is doing. For warm ups (seventh period), we ask questions…. what do you expect for this week, etc. It is a good thing because it helps you think of how you feel and to open up. I’m on the shy side so it helps me build up those conversation points. Once I get comfortable then everyone sees that I am more outgoing, bubbly, outspoken, etc.

Going into college is a fresh start. There will be many obstacles that will test us as individuals. May make us doubtful and stressed, but at the end of the day it’s okay because as we grow and go through different stages in life, we realize these types of things actually helped us. The obstacles that come with transitioning from a teen to an adult helps mold us into a better version of ourselves. This year as I finished my first semester as a senior and walked into my second semester, I realized many of these things. Over the past several years I definitely have grown, gone through stages, and met people that, in a way, helped me become who I’m shaping into as I walk into adulthood. With college applications and writing out my personal essay/question, it makes you stop and think deeply–who really am I? Who do I wish to be? It can be confusing when it comes to my time to think about this. I was stuck at the moment. I wasn’t sure who I was or what I actually wanted to be. I can definitely say it’s not something we all entirely know. We all are still growing, changing, and becoming better versions of ourselves each day. It’s more of a never-ending journey because every day is a new adventure.

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The Blank Canvas

GEIDY N.

PRESENT...

NOW PLAYING...

Ribs

Lorde

When I think of boredom, I think of Lorde, but this isn’t me calling her boring, in fact, it’s me realizing her music does wonders.

LOOKING BACK...

I am home alone and I’ve finished the chores my mom assigned me to do. After the hard and dangerous work of washing dishes and doing my laundry, I can finally sit on my bed and scroll through my phone without being told I am “lazy” and that “el telefono, te va dañar los ojo”’ aka, “the phone will damage your eyes”’ because I have been using it for too long and have done nothing productive with it.

While the remainder of my chore playlist continues playing, I notice I don’t feel like “damaging my eyes” so instead I sit, and stare at nothing. I hope I’ll eventually want to do something, but after the longest seconds of my life… I still don’t know what 44

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to do. Homework is not an option, I am not hungry enough to make food, mom’s out running errands. I could read a book but all the books on the shelf have been reread too many times; at this point, I just don’t feel like getting up.

So I sit in bed and try to convince myself that I am a movie’s main character who has a very interesting and successful life. But being in bed doesn’t seem to fit with a main character life, so I imagine the successful life I will have when I am older.

I stare at the empty wall in front of me and project illusions of success onto it. Soon enough, I realize that rather than hanging on to the hopes and wonders of growing up, I overthink the projections and notice I am not ready to grow up. My hopes of growing up turn into fears.

The fear of growing up is something I was supposed to experience years ago. Not right now, not when I am at the edge of childhood about to be thrown into the seas of adulthood.

My playlist continues in the background, and I suddenly pay attention again when I hear Lorde’s voice singing, “Mom and dad let me stay home, it feels so scary getting old.” These lyrics throw me overboard. Lorde’s lyrics collide with the fears that had just been flowing through my head.

The waves of fear softly muffle Lorde’s music. For a second, I don’t think I can make it. I don’t think I have what it takes to have an interesting and successful adult life. I think I am going to drown. I think about the way life works and its purpose, I wonder, “Will I financially survive? Nevermind that, what is my life’s purpose?”

Lorde sings about being home alone because she’s old enough, exactly the situation that I currently find myself in. I remember, when I was younger, being scared to be left home alone even for the tiniest minute. But my fears were different back then, I was scared of doing something stupid —like

knocking over a lamp while playing the floor is lava and causing a fire— not about the fact that being left alone was one of the very first steps of growing up because my parents trusted me being alone. I noticed as I got older that it was less scary to be physically home alone because the idea of growing older and having the responsibility to make decisions for myself was far more frightening.

The same voice that threw me overboard earlier helps me back up as Lorde sings, “We can talk it good, how you wish it would be all the time,” and it’s exactly what I want to hear. The thoughts that drowned me like water quickly became paint for me to use on the canvas of the empty wall I was projecting my imagination onto.

I harness my thoughts and the fear I have of growing up.

A bucket of paint glistens with glitter and bright neon colors.

Lorde’s words echo through my head as I grab a paintbrush and paint a curly pattern of circles on the empty wall. “We can talk it good, how you wish it would be all the time,” she sings. I paint the ways I wish life could be when I grow up. As pretty, fun, and colorful as the current paint on the wall; maybe even a little bit crazy and exotic, an adult with a fun life I can rule.

Lorde takes life as it is though, she sings, “​​This dream isn’t feeling sweet, we’re reeling through the midnight streets,” and the bucket of neon paint becomes dark. My brush turns into a large pallet knife. I paint on the corners of the canvas with thick, violent, and heavy strokes. Lorde knew that growing up is not a simple dream, therefore, I understand that there will be times I’ll wake up realizing that there will be problems throughout life that I will have to face alone.

Just as the feeling of being alone grows on me, I hear, “And I’ve never felt more alone” and remember her saying earlier, “it drives you crazy, getting old.” I smile because I know how crazy I

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get when I am alone–I think I am doing that now, getting twisted with overthinking– as the bucket of paint reappears and I find myself holding it and splashing paint all over the canvas. I know as I grow up I fear I can lose friendships, jobs, even happiness, and although loss is a part of life, it’s the certain uncertainty of life that drives me crazy.

I pause and make sure I have enough splashes of paint on the canvas. Lorde starts singing about wanting to keep her child mind and memories, staying with her friend, “Laughing till our ribs get tough,” and I get to release my excitement. The bucket of paint becomes bigger and I splash my hands into it. The colors slide on my fingers and I press them against the canvas. I connect Lorde singing about her ribs with my body; it will also grow and change as I get older. I paint small details with my fingers and nails, my prints on the empty spaces, and my knuckles on the dark strokes. It completes the painting. And the song starts to end.

The lyrics bond together with the thoughts, and the thoughts with the paint, and the painting only gets bigger and bigger. The canvas shakes, it’s as if it starts to dance a bit. Lorde finishes her last lyric, “But that will never be enough,” and I step away to see the painting I have made.

I get confused for a second.

I struggle to understand my painting.

I stare at the canvas. But, it’s blank.

The canvas is blank.

PRESENT...

And so I think Lorde’s music does do wonders. I can paint a canvas with the emotions I feel when I hear Lorde’s lyrics. I identify with her fears and realizations of growing up so much.

As I stepped away from the canvas to see what I had made and saw that it was blank, I got a bit confused but then laughed and realized why...

My fears of growing up and being alone contributed to the colors of the paint and the strokes I did with the tools. Overall, the painting is created from music and fear.

Of course, it is blank, the paint I used was made because of fear. At the end of the day, fear should not matter; my “what if ’s” are not real. I learn, maybe growing up is realizing that “what if I am not ready?” is the wrong question to ask and be scared of. I can’t see the picture of worrying and stressing over the unavoidable.

Maybe there could have been a beautiful painting that danced at the end, but I realized the paint, the fear, won’t get me anywhere if I worry too much.

— If you don’t find Geidy (Jay-dee) doing school work, you will most likely find her working at her desk writing poems, reading dystopian books, or hearing music. Aside from being at her desk, she enjoys running and photography (especially when she is surrounded by nature).

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P’al Dolor, Tambores GISEL J.

NOW PLAYING...

Pegate

Ricky Martin

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My parents liked going out on the weekends so often and our favorite place to hit up was Malibu Beach. While enjoying the waves, sand, and sun, we happened to walk upon a Food Festival.

During the festival, Ricky Martin’s song “Pegate” was playing at the beach food festival and there was tons of Latin food like Carne Asada, Pollo al Carbon, marinated Red Potatoes, Spicy Fruit salad, and even some Asian/Spanish fusion foods. I felt very at home with all the Latin people around, from people wearing Guayaberas and slacks to wearing a simple tank top with a snapback hat. You could taste the smell of sandalwood, salt, and perfumes. The mob seemed to have people from all walks of life and experiences. Walking, dancing, or Dancing and Walking is what the mob seemed to subscribe to in this Latin Hysteria.

The electrifying ambiance, the flavors of food, the cooling breeze under the warming sun, and the company of my family all together was a sensory overload that led to my first invigorating

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experience that was fueled by music and the people in the event.

This event set the stage for personal growth and learning.

Last summer my family and I moved into our first house.

I remember for two weeks or more, all we did was paint and unpack. I know it took me a bit longer to get settled into my new room because all I wanted to do was dance to Ricky Martin’s song “Pegate.” One specific lyric that made me dance my heart out went, “Que cómo decía mi madre, bailando todo se arregla, Venga” which means, “As my mother used to say, dancing fixes everything, let’s go!”

As an energetic teenager, excited for what was to come, the lyrics, “Y esta noche quiero más, Y esta noche quiero fiesta, yeh yeh” which translates to, “and tonight I want more! And tonight I want to party, yeh yeh”, dancing was all I wanted to do. I just wanted to dance and sing because I was so happy I had my own room and a private backyard to use for what I wanted. The reason I valued this new room and backyard was because I didn’t have privacy at our old apartment complex. I can work out freely in my backyard and not have to worry if a car was going to hit me simply because tenants were returning home from work.

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When I feel down or stressed, I can rely on this song to cheer me up and help me let loose. Even at moments my family will detect I am in “Pegate” mode when my shoulders start moving and my feet start tapping rhythmically. Then they tell me to go to “A otro lugar” (someplace else) to shake off that energy.

In conclusion, it’s pointless to feel down and not live life. I choose to become happy and spend time with those who make me feel good, whether it be cooking, skating, accomplishing a new goal, or hanging out with family and friends. I have learned that through music we can handle whatever life throws our way–it can be moving across the country, losing friends, making new connections, or entering a new stage. It’s easy to get lost in them and not move forward with life. For me, moving forward is getting over emotional hurdles, graduating high school, and becoming a better version of myself. I refuse to live life without living life because I know that with my life I can make many people’s lives happy.

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I Need You HELEN F.

NOW PLAYING...

More Than Words Little Mix

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No matter how many years pass, I’ll always remember one of the hardest moments in my life.

I remember waking up on a morning of January in 2020 and seeing my mom hurrying to the bathroom to take a call from her doctor over some exams she had done. I walked closer to the bathroom to try and eavesdrop on my mom’s call. After a few minutes of listening, I heard her say in a broken voice, “How far along am I?” It was at that moment, when I heard her say those words that I felt fear, worries, and sadness fill every part of me.

I had just found out that my mom had breast cancer. After I heard her voice break, I started to break too. She came out of the bathroom, and I know she knew I had heard. She hugged me and led me to the living room where she confirmed to my dad and I about her illness.

After she told my dad and I, there was a moment of silence.

But that silence was broken by my dad saying, “Through our faith in god, I believe that your mom will make it out of this and will at some point be back to being the healthy person she

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usually is.” Hearing those words did help, even if we deep down still felt uncertain about it. She had a long process to go through that everyone talks about. Like any other cancer, she had to go to chemotherapy. Seeing her lose her hair and feel very fatigued a day or two after the sessions was one of the hardest things to see her go through. For a while, I didn’t have the energetic, healthy mom that I see everyday. I missed seeing her that way during that time. When she started to recover, we noticed it instantly, for she was slowly starting to do the activities she used to do before being diagnosed. It felt like a relief to know she would at some point be back to being the active and outgoing person we know.

I remember, then after talking together as a family for a while, there was a lot of sadness. I knew I needed to talk to someone about this. I wanted to show that I was strong to my parents.

They wanted me to be ok and I wanted to show I was ok and everything was ok. But I needed to at least let someone know how I was truly feeling. I spoke to my friend and right when I was talking to my friend I remember I heard the song by Little Mix come onto the radio. I thought it was really weird since American radio doesn’t really play a British band. The song was called “More Than Words.” Although I’ve been a fan of theirs, I never listened to any of their past albums.

After I heard their song, I knew I needed my parents and this specific friend in my life because after my parents, she was the only one who could hear me and would listen to my worries about my mom.

I think of you, I’ll never be alone I sometimes don’t know how to express myself in a verbal form and this song represents what I want to say to both my parents and my friend.

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Oh, I need you more than words can say Oh, you save me in ways that I can’t explain Always been there for me, now I’ll do the same I really needed them, they helped me a lot. Looking back now, maybe the song playing on the radio made me reflect on how much the people close to me mean to me and how much I am there for them.

One knows you really need them, when you go through something you realize you need them more than you think and say.

As time went by, I listened to the song. It made me feel better because it made me reflect on how much I need the people in my life, and it also made me feel positive because things will be ok.

I won’t lose my mom and I know no matter what happens there will always be some sort of light and people there for me.

Yeah, I-I-I’ll be there with you, you, you, you, you You’re a part, you’re a part for me now Ju-ju-ju-just as mu-mu-much as I’m a part of you — Helen F. is an 18 year old female raised and born in Los Angeles. She is the oldest in her family. Even though she is still young and in high school, Helen has already released two stories for 826LA. Helen is said by peers to be a nice, helpful, and loyal person that tries her hardest in what she does. In her free time, she likes to write, read, and listen to music. Although she doesn’t know what she could pursue in the future, she knows it will be something that she feels passionate for.

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Why Not HISHAM S.

PAUSED...

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Why Not is an Arabic show (Laish La is the Arabic name for the show) from childhood. It is a group of friends, just like the Youtube channel Yes Theory, going around helping people out, packed with emotions.

I was probably eight or nine when I first started watching it, back in 2014. I still go back to rewatch it online.

One big episode, S2 episode one, in the city where I was born, there was a huge tower and a TV screen, and they played FIFA on the world’s biggest screen. There was a fan meetup and I went to go meet and see the group. More than 200 people were in the group. It was the first time I was inspired by that fact this was reality here. I wondered if it could definitely be possible to live like this.

They played FIFA because it’s the most relatable video. And then the TV screen itself was the most unrelatable thing ever.

So the group tried to combine those to create a community experience since football was a shared experience on the big screen. Used a Xbox 360, then just had a chair and some

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controllers, and played on a big vertical screen.

The crew was just using normal amateur equipment like DSLRs, so it really was, “if they can do it with inexpensive everyday equipment, then what’s stopping everybody else from doing it?”

There was a crew of five people, Saudi Arabian guys in their 20s, when Youtube was still this new thing, and they wanted to utilize it and do good. So they did the craziest and weirdest ideas to entertain people. Had a bucket list to complete, not their bucket list but all the fans. And then they completed the bucket list as much as they could. So then it was very intriguing. I tried to recreate some of the bucket list items. Brought me a passion to do it.

With me, I was born in Saudi Arabia, but I’m an immigrant from Palestine. Having someone be completely different to everyone else, it’s tough. The show made it so that we can all be relatable, and inspired me to connect to other people. Emotiondriven, people from all walks of life, and then have them achieve a small dream they had or have.

When I went to the FIFA event, when they finished the event, they played the song “Home.” That was an inspiring moment to see the music played in real life after seeing it on TV. It made me realize that these dreams were definitely possible and that I could live my life to that extent too.

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In their outro, they had a drone shot in a beach pier with five different paths. Then they had each of the guys walk separately on each path, not knowing that it was going to be their last episode together. They split because life happens, some of them got married and others couldn’t fully commit to the show full time through the year. However, it doesn’t dilute their message and goal from the beginning of the show, as it did tackle the questions about “what you want to do in your life?” and how he wants to live life after that.

I want to create content as a full time job hopefully. I have a part time gig right now as a video editor for Youtubers, so I’m on that path. I want to pass on that feeling I had when I was watching Laish La, and pass on the story to others.

I want to do the strangest challenges and experiences with friends, just like similar videos, like “Hiring 50 bodyguards” or “Buying out an entire airplane from friends.”

The common theme is “doing things that are defined as not possible, showing that it can happen.” Like “how to fly a fighter jet?” Just doing it and showing it’s possible. Others think it’s not possible either because of resources or that it’s outside convention.

The song “Home” is wholesome, brings a positive vibe, a feeling of a good thing. Matches the vibe of the show. Feels a little nostalgic too. Song is more emotional, through the lyrics, because it lifts you up.

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Smell You Later…

ISAAC G.

NOW PLAYING...

Are We Still Friends?

Tyler, the Creator

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In thinking about the idea of friendship, I was looking back on moving away and past friends from my old city of Azusa. I chose this song because I was questioning Friendship. I was thinking back on moving away and my past friendships from my old city. And this is the song that really ignites the memory and the question. Now I think back at what could have been if I stayed back with my old friends and who I might be as a person now. All my neighborhood friends and I would go skateboarding around town. But I don’t talk to any of them anymore. That was around the age of 12 or 13. We listened to music back then. Listening to those old songs and that type of music brings back old memories, some that I didn’t even remember I had. We’d go to the skatepark.

The feeling of arriving at the park, getting ready to skate as the sun is setting and the wind blowing on me are all the feelings and memories that go through my head when this song plays. One friend who was younger and right next door–he was nine when I was 12–I saw on Instagram and he’s gotten really good and could go Pro. Videos. And clips. He has suppressed so much that he can

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do 10 sets of stairs. He is on a better level than me. Once I moved out of the neighborhood, a bunch of other friends and kids also moved. This is what gets me thinking if I had never left, would my life be different? If it sets off a chain reaction? It was probably a coincidence, not one particular set of circumstances. The skate park was a nice part of the city. As well as everything being so close by and just in reach. These are the memories that flood back when this song plays and I really start to think.

The way music can change the way you view life, memories, and feelings is amazing. It is a love-hate with this song because it brings back the good but also the sad memories. My life was tough when I reminisce about who I am and where I came from.

But these experiences and people I have met along the way have really shaped me to be the person I am today. I know some friendships and relationships are supposed to be left in the past but I thank the people who did me wrong and the people who really cared. Because I learned a lot from the people around me and was shaped to be the best version of myself. This is what music does for a lot of people. It creates a world inside your head where the people you love are there and the creative imagination of one’s mind. This is why we associate music or certain songs to certain people because it connects to us like no other.

— Isaac is a senior at Helen Bernstein HS. He is a very friendly, understanding, and funny person. He likes movies and finding the Beauty in anything. He loves music and will always be listening to music. He likes to game and talk to his friends in his free time and read.

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In The Moment JACKIE P.

NOW PLAYING...

Feel This Moment Pitbull

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Over the years I’ve often reflected on the past while thinking and having a lot of anxiety about the future. It never feels like I’m grounded in the moment, mostly just dwelling in the past or pondering my future. The summer before senior year I worried a lot about life after high school, choosing a college and major, and rushing through my senior year.

Since freshman year I‘d been thinking about running for class president. I’m not really a private person. I like to be outgoing, and I wanted to have that stay with me throughout my senior year. In a way, being class president would help ground me my senior year and give me the privilege to meet new people and make new friends. This year I also began doing photography for the sports teams. It’s outside of my responsibilities, but I was interested and thought this would be a fun way to be a part of school events. I was also named cheer captain so I had a lot of commitments. A lot of people think it’s lame to participate in school activities but looking back in a few years I know I’ll look back and be proud of my senior year. My goal this year is to not look back and think “what IF.”

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Something I’ve always loved has been music and dancing. A song that I loved back then and still do is “Feel This Moment”

by Pitbull. When I first heard the song, it had a vibe of dancing like no one was watching. Years later after the song came out, I have a deeper understanding and appreciation for it. The song goes beyond just its rhythm and sound. I can now understand and relate to its lyrics. This song makes me go back to eighth grade and I remember how I used to wish that high school would fly by quickly. Now that I am in high school, I want things to slow down.

When I began my senior year, I started going to all the volleyball and football games. We started the senior fundraiser and began taking pictures at assemblies and other events. Going back to the song, Pitbull says “like a stopwatch, let’s stop time and enjoy these moments.” I told myself that I would enjoy all those moments because they were going to shape my senior year.

Pitbull also sings, “I see the future but live for the moment.”

Now with less than two months left of school I can relate to that line. I see my future, I’ve decided on a college and a career that I want to pursue. However, I still have these two months left, so I want to enjoy what is left of it. I have prom, grad nite, and graduation to enjoy. I have been proud of my senior year so far, and I’m thankful for those who were a part of it. My friends, cheer team and teachers all shaped my senior year and I enjoyed living in the moment with them.

— Jackie is a senior at Helen Bernstein High School. She’s a very outgoing person. At school, she is student body president and can be found at any school events. If she is seen with AirPods on, she is probably listening to Bad Bunny on full volume. During her free time she is usually out trying new restaurants, vibing at a concert or out driving, putting her driver’s license into good use.

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Untitled JEREMY A.

NOW PLAYING...

Nuketown

Ski Mask the Slump God

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I met Jelani in eighth grade. The school was College Place Middle School which is in Edmonds area, Washington. It was my second semester. Met each other in the detention room. According to him–I don’t remember exactly. At the time I was really close to the detention lady–I messed around in the detention room and she didn’t mind too much. We were talking about Dragonball Z which is an anime. I liked the same thing. That’s how we met each other and we became really good friends after that.

In seventh grade I had a lot of detentions. I wasn’t well behaved. Somewhere in the third or fourth quarter of seventh grade, I didn’t get along with my English teacher. We clashed a lot. I don’t really remember why–there was something he did that didn’t sit right with me. From late seventh grade to early eighth grade, I was developing anger issues. Pent up aggression over years of my life. Started manifesting, and I started retaliating. I was retaliating against teachers, my mom, my dad. I wasn’t an easy child to keep under control at that time. Got to the point where I didn’t want to be in his class. He told me to wait outside.

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I would act very immature. At the time I was a year younger than everyone else. He told me to wait until I became the same age as them. I was very much a smart alec. I waited there for a long time and he asked me why I was still out there, and I said, “It hasn’t been a year yet.” That’s when he got really mad at me and sent me to detention. So he said I couldn’t go to his class for the rest of the year. Instead I had to go to detention and do my work there.

Every time we had class, I would go to his classroom, get the work assignments for the day, and then I would go to detention.

Jelani was just in detention that one time–and then we became friends. I think I wasn’t in detention that time–I just wanted to say hi to the lady.

The detention lady–she just supervised the detention. Wasn’t a teacher at the school. No clue how old she was. Maybe mid-30s, late 30s. She had children.

Became good friends with Jelani. When I completely trust a new friend, I become very loose and not shy/reserved, and a lot more physical. He’s a lot taller than me–about 6’2 and I’m 5’6– but I’m the dominant one in that relationship. It’s like a brotherly relationship. I’m younger too. During high school, he came over to my house a lot, we’d go visit our friends’ house. We’d hang out after school. I’d walk to his house, or he’d walk to my house. I was grounded my freshman year because of my bad grades (my mom grounded me) and he would come over and “kidnap” me.

My mom would be mad but she understood what happened. It was like a brotherly relationship.

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We ended up going to the same high school. Second quarter of first semester, he moved away. The place he was living raised the rent and they couldn’t afford it anymore. He had to move a bit past Seattle. He had to transfer to a new high school. It was pretty far from me. Sometimes we would pick him up and he’d stay at my house for a week or so. Summer after my freshman year, I moved back down to LA. He was a big fan of X (XXX Tentacion) and Ski Mask. (X and Ski Mask were best friends. They met each other in prison.) I started listening to Ski Mask the day before Jelani told me about the song. I wanted to know who he was. He was in a lot of songs with X. I started listening to it. We were leaving school one day, and Jelani was telling me to listen to this song by Ski Mask. After I finally caved in, I ended up enjoying the song a lot. I listened to the rest of the album and I enjoyed it, and to this day I still enjoy listening to that album.

I think this was around September/October of freshman year of high school. School starts there around September sixth every year and it was in the first couple months of school.

After Jelani had moved away, one time, he came over for a week to visit. At the time I had half online, half in person school.

He was at my house, we were listening to music, one of my friends showed up at the time (my mom and sister were gone, so it was just me). We were horsing around, play fighting. The song came on, we got really hyped, and we were throwing each other on the inflatable bed. We were going nuts. We were singing the song and wrestling each other. Just the three of us. Us three, we like to associate each other with the group–Ski Mask would be Jelani, Joseph would be Juice WRLD, and I would be X. I would consider both of them as brothers.

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Untitled JOSEPH A.

PAUSED...

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First time I had tried out for the Volleyball team, I tried out in the tenth grade. Wanted to do it freshman year but was intimidated, so I ended up not doing it. I guess I realized that there was no reason to be intimidated. If I get in, I get in. If I don’t, I don’t. It matters if I tried. A friend said that I was good, so that encouraged me. Gave me the push I needed.

The first time I actually played was in PE in sixth grade, middle school. When I went to high school, my friends played vball so I just played with them. It was the intensity of the game, how intense it can be at times. I am tall enough to spike, but can’t do a spike just yet. I’m trying out this year for volleyball, and have to leave early for practice. Very cool to watch for sure.

It’s pretty silent, not really playing music while in the gym with volleyball. Gym volleyball, not beach. One day, I would like to try beach volleyball. First time I quit, I felt not good enough compared to other people. Even with JV and Varsity. I just show up without a lot of equipment, but knee pads are important.

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“Don’t run without knowing where you’re going” KATTERIN G.

NOW PLAYING...

Paradise BTS

In July of 2021, I got a job in the summer. Soon August rolled around and I started school and volleyball season. I would go to school from 8:30 to 3:30, then go to volleyball practice from 3:30 to 5:30, and finally to work from 7:00 to 11:00. It was then when I realized, I felt like I was rushing myself to feel like an adult. I was starting to have “real” responsibilities.

I was feeling overwhelmed with responsibility and I was pressuring myself to meet all these expectations that were being set around me. The way my parents raised me played into the pressure I was feeling now. Growing up, they always had me dealing with my own things. Doing my own applications and they would just sign. I had to explain to them and they’d just sign.

Now I was applying to colleges and it was scary. I didn’t have much help filling out the applications. Wherever I end up going is 76

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going to change my life because each option is a different path I could take.

I was applying to college, going to school, working, and playing volleyball. I was so overwhelmed, yet unaware. I got to this point where I needed to reflect. I remember seeing something on my phone about the song. I was just scrolling through Tik Tok and it was a nice scenery video of Korea. The song playing was called “Paradise” by BTS and the lyrics were being displayed on the screen. “You don’t need to run without knowing why, It’s alright to not have any dreams, If you have moments where you can feel happiness, It’s alright to stop.”

These lyrics opened my eyes to all the suppressed emotions I had been feeling all this time.

I had been doing my best at school and my friends were telling me I put too much on my own plate. I would always end up really stressed and a lot of the people around me told me to relax. That I needed to take a step back and let things go at their own pace.

I started to not stress myself out too much and I began to work around my own schedule. I finished my college application with no stress or worry. I began to let myself enjoy my life more.

I went out with my friends more often, treated myself to certain things, and took all the naps I liked. I’m typically stingy but if it made me happy, I wanted to let myself have those things. Overall, I didn’t want my last year of high school to slip by. I wanted to enjoy every moment I had left with those I care about the most.

Seeing that song on my phone was comforting and eyeopening. Others might be going faster in life, or I might be going faster than others, but it’s important that I have those moments in life where I feel happiness. That I’m comfortable that I’m doing what I want to do. Not feeling pressure from those around me.

— Katterin G. was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. She enjoys different types of music, food, and playing volleyball. She plans to pursue a major in the STEM field and hopefully make a change with it one day.

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Reflecting KELLIE G.

NOW PLAYING...

Amor Eterno Rocío Dúrcal

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When I hear “Amor Eterno” playing, my head immediately goes to thinking of my grandmother. I think of her because she is who I relate the song to, about losing a close loved one, and also because I would listen to it with her and because of her I found it. I remember my grandmother and I would sing along to the song in the car and we bonded over it. It’s a slow pop song that has guitars and violin in the background. She would talk about what the song would bring to the surface and what it reminded her of and how she loved the song because it was just so beautiful. I loved the song before losing my grandmother but soon after when I lost her, I connected to the song much more. In the beginning I grew a hatred of the song because of how much I now resonated with it and I didn’t want to. I was in disbelief that I was able to connect with something so much that it hurt. I hated that, a song I once loved because of how I admired the beauty of it and its history, was now a song I avoided and didn’t want to be reminded of. It took a long while for me to come to terms with reality and realize that it wasn’t good for

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me to hang on to this feeling, and I wasn’t going to be able to avoid the song forever so I knew within me I had to somehow find the little light there was in the dark tunnel. Throughout this process, I grieved with family, but who I most connected with and grew closer with, was my mother. With her losing her mother I had to be there for her and along with that, she was there for me. We helped each other by talking about it and how we felt. This was a big help in my grieving and I feel that it was a big help with my mom as well because we created a safe space where we could talk about whatever it was we needed to talk about–this way we avoided bottling things up, which did not help with our mental health. Once we somewhat overcame the hardest part, it was time for us to reflect and think about how we were going to keep moving forward without always being stuck in the past. We figured that we could no longer view the past so negatively and had to somehow view it positively so we wouldn’t be so sad whenever we did reflect on the past. As we were able to “succeed” with this we were able to feel more at peace. I, specifically, was able to finally view the song I had grown to hate so much with love because I held it closer to my heart than ever before, especially knowing the amazing memories it held. I now thought of “Amor Eterno’’ as such an admirable piece and was able to listen to it with tears of joy and beautiful sadness that was no longer built on hate. I was now at peace.

— Kellie G. was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She enjoys going to museums, learning history, baking, and almost anything else art related. She has also written and published two other stories alongside Paramount.

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And No Matter Where I Go You’ll Always Be Here in My Heart KIMBERLY N.

NOW PLAYING...

Immaterial SOPHIE

To say that SOPHIE changed my life is an understatement.

SOPHIE is a producer and artist who made mostly experimental pop. I found her through her work with Charli XCX and it blew me away. Its vibrance, energy, and ability to be a good kind of different amazed me. I wanted all music to sound like this.

Her debut solo album came out in June of 2018. Upon first listen, the song that immediately drew my attention was “Immaterial.” “Immaterial” is an ode to being unapologetically yourself. You’re your own special source of light, love, care, and talent. This song gave me strength and courage that I still carry with me to this day. Not only was it the most in-your-face, upbeat glossy pop song ever, but the lyrics were something that I had 84

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been yearning to hear my whole life. Her line, “I was just a lonely girl in the eyes of my inner child, but I could be anything I want,” taught me that I could truly be anything if I put my mind to it.

SOPHIE shook me to my core. She taught me that I am special, that I am 1 out of 1, and my own amazing self. She made me realize there’s universal love around us, whether we know it or not, even if it’s within ourselves. The release of this song was also the way SOPHIE came out as a transgender woman. She wasn’t just telling us all to live our truth, but living hers as well.

SOPHIE passed away on January 30th, 2021. Her death was an immense loss for me because she opened the door in my head to truly accept myself. “Immaterial” made me establish many connections (both physically and online), not just with friends who were also changed by SOPHIE, but most importantly with myself. Because of her, I am connected to my truth of knowing that I have the potential to do anything. While there are so many material reminders of SOPHIE, the immaterial ones shine just as much. The love in her work transcends genre and will be a part of my spirit for the rest of my life. There will never be another SOPHIE ever.

— Kimberly is a high school senior from Los Angeles. She enjoys fashion, makeup, and collecting vintage toys. In her spare time, Kimberly loves watching Sofia Coppola films and listening to Crystal Castles. You can usually find her at a concert or writing in her journal.

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A Day in Quarantine MELODY G.

NOW PLAYING...

Time Today

Kero Kero Bonito

My days in quarantine were similar. Each day was a repeat of the day before.

I wake up from the sound of Early Riser, my phone alarm. I get up and brush my teeth. Afterwards, I pick up my laptop and get ready for another day of Zoom. I sit on my chair waiting for classes to start at 8:30 after I’ve debated with my sisters on who’s sitting where. By then my parents are on their way to work.

6:00 AM

I go to class wearing my PJs. I have my camera off and so do my teachers. Class goes by slowly. I easily get distracted by the things around me. My cats and cell phone occupy my mind and I don’t pay attention. I feel like I’m not learning anything new.

8:30 AM

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I get out of class for lunch. During the hour and 30 minutes I work on my assignments and eat. It usually consists of a fruit cup and a sandwich. I also listen to “Time Today” by Kero Kero Bonito while I wait for the next class to begin.

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Time for my favorite class, Physiology. I like the teacher and the work we do in the class. She makes it enjoyable and interesting. She is one of the only teachers with her camera on and it is engaging. She gives us projects such as creating a model of a human skeleton. She demonstrates how to do fun experiments using the things we have at home.

2 :00 PM

Class finishes. I talk to my sisters about how their classes went. We also chat about the homework we have to do.

Their class experience is the complete opposite of mine. Their teachers have their cameras on and are more interactive.

During quarantine is when I start my hobby of making jewelry. I make bracelets to eventually give to my friends when we go back to school. They are bracelets made from a box of beads my mom gave to me.

3 :30 PM

4:30 PM Time to unwind. I hang out with my cats and wait for my mom to come home. I have three cats named Jiji, Bailey, and Mitzi. I throw their favorite toy ball and they chase it. They let me take the ball from them and I throw it again. Then I play video games like Animal Crossing and Minecraft with my sisters and friends.

5:00 PM …is the time my parents finally come home from work. My mom talks to me about work. My mom is a receptionist in a surgery center. She tells me about the clients and coworkers she has to deal with. My dad talks about the latest news in the world. Then my dad, with my sister’s help, cooks dinner.

7:00 PM After I finish my homework, I listen to music, the same songs over and over. I draw doodles while listening to these songs. Then, before bed, I take a shower. I get ready to do the same thing over again the next day.

— Melody is a high school senior from Los Angeles who loves to draw and play video games.

Melody has three cats and has written a story about one of them in the book, Memory Lane. Currently Melody is trying to decide which college to attend.

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Journey to Love MYCHELLE C.

NOW PLAYING...

Love Myself BTS

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During my adolescence, my body was often criticized by adults, friends, and especially my family. Listening to the negative comments made me cry so I decided to act like a narcissist so that they would stop paying attention to my appearance. I would act arrogant to cover up the fact that I was a vulnerable person. Also, I would act like a self-centered person to fit in with my friends.

I did not realize that I was trying to escape from my problems that were causing me a lot of pain until I came across a particular artist that I did not know would change my perspective of life for the better.

During the last year of elementary school, my family moved from the Philippines to California because my parents wanted us to have better opportunities and a better future. After that, everything went downhill for me. I was having a really challenging time communicating with other people, and making friends seemed so foreign to me. For example, when I wanted to communicate my thoughts to my peers and teachers, I was too shy, and the words would not come out no matter how much I wanted to talk to others. I was most of the time alone because everything was too new for me, and I was overwhelmed with the new things I had to learn, like a newborn baby. As an 11 year old child everything was stressful especially learning how to adapt and move forward with my fresh start.

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It did not help that my family was adding more pressure on me to be a certain someone I am not. I could not live up to their expectation of perfection and their negative comments did not stop, especially comments from my family like, “You’d be prettier if you’re skinny.” The expectation came from my parents’ desire to lead me in the right path with lots of opportunities they were not given. The worse yet is that it became like a daily thing for people to comment something bad about me, especially when I gained more weight.

I started to be more insecure about myself as a woman. Their words became like a drug to which I had been addicted.

When I was constantly distracted and slowly losing my motivation to continue working on myself and on the tasks I was given, I realized that I was losing myself as a person, student, daughter, and friend. While losing myself as I grew older, a friend in middle school introduced me to a K-pop boy band called BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan). At first, I tried not to get deeply attached to the group because it was never a thing for me to like artists too deeply. I am not someone who shows interest in artists of music that I listen to and feel the need to be emotionally, physically, and mentally attached and adore a famous person who would not remember me after the first meeting or so. However, as I dug for more information about the group, I found myself falling in love with their songs, especially songs that speak to everyone who feel that they are alone in life.

BTS is the first group I know to talk about issues through their lyrics and spread awareness about loving oneself through their campaign, UNICEF. Some issues they have talked about involve youth like mental health issues, and lofty expectations from society. All the members of the group try their best to use their voice and share their own experience so that others who feel alone will feel a sense of comfort and know that they are not

alone in this cruel life, full of uncertainty.

For example, in their “So What” song, they use their lyrics to congregate people who are struggling with difficulties in their daily life by comforting and giving them confidence to pursue their dreams without fear.

“In a sigh, lots of worries are hiding Stop thinking about it, you already know it all In the middle of the road, in the moment you want to give it up Shout out louder So what” “Answer: Love Myself ” is a reminder for myself that I am not alone in life, and it is okay to get lost while trying my hardest to find a part of me that was missing, to completely love myself.

The song made me realize that obstacles that I struggled to overcome are a part of me and made me who I am today. It helped me be more mature, preparing me for the future successes and failures that I will face through my tough times. I realized that there will be people who will try to bring you down at a youthful age so that they could easily overpower you when you are old enough to make your own decision. Decisions for myself that will help me grow as a person like deciding for what I really want instead of listening to others who completely disregard my own opinion. Also, being a mature person benefits me eventually as a new adult who will gain responsibilities that I have to commit to. Caring about unnecessary stuff is just a waste of time. Use time wisely with the important stuff that will impact what the future holds.

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— Mychelle is an 18 year old student raised and born in the Philippines. She is a senior at Helen Bernstein High and is in her third year at Paramount. Mychelle is the youngest child and likes poems and listening to music.

Happiness in Mistakes NAHUM C.

NOW PLAYING...

Happy

Pharrel Williams

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During eighth grade I heard the song “Happy” by Pharell Williams. I heard it in the movie Despicable Me. It immediately opposed all the feelings that I felt. I was in a dark place and going through rough patches because I was overworked, so I couldn’t relate at all to this song. In a way this song made me mad and jealous about how people were feeling, especially because in the music video people were dancing happily.

The rough patches: I was overworked because I was going through so many things–I was going to four different music academies where I played music, took private classes, and played in band. Each music academy presented its own challenges and was very time-consuming. At the same time I was working with my dad in construction and painting jobs because he wanted me to gain life experience (it’s not the type of experience you gain at school, and he wanted to teach me as a father). I was still in middle school. I was 13 years old. On top of that, my whole incident happened which included expulsion, court, then the expulsion school where expelled kids attended. It was just a generally bad vibe. Not a happy environment.

My mindset at the time: How am I going to get out of this situation? How am I going to go back to regular school? When

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are my court cases going to end? How am I going to get out of this expulsion school? There were students who said they came to expulsion school in ninth grade, and now they were seniors and still there… I didn’t want that. I wanted a normal life, normal high school. I wanted to be included with my friends, the school events, and participate in school sports. Even one of the teachers that worked there said, “You’re going to be here for some time, get comfortable.” This made me feel trapped and hopeless, but I knew I had to find a way out.

When I heard “Happy” at the time it made me realize that these people were all free, but I was not. I felt like I was contained because that school didn’t allow you to do things you do in normal high school such as school events and school sports. You are monitored all the time. It felt like a mini jail. I couldn’t see my friends or go to normal school. I didn’t have much of a perspective because I never experienced actual High School. I had been looking forward to high school and everything that came with it, but unfortunately it got taken away from me. In an average high school you can spot a wild person every once in a while. However, over there in that school, there wasn’t a single one who wasn’t wild. There was a reason they were there in the first place. Not only were they wild, they were literal criminals.

They lacked morals. It gave me a bigger perspective on life because there is more bad out there than you think. Many people, including myself, live regular lives and don’t comprehend how much crime is being committed.

I had “Happy” on my playlist. I always thought, “Why can’t I be like that?” During moments when I was sad I listened to it. It made me jealous, but at the same time, when I was happy, it made me even happier. It was annoying, but at the same time inspirational.

The song started taking on a different meaning when things

started getting resolved. There were two court cases, one with LAPD and one with LAUSD. Both cases got finalized. Once the court cases ended and the expulsion ended, I got back to normal life. I finally felt like a free person because I could choose what school to attend. I was finally able to hang out with my friends during school and was able to socialize. Being able to choose my classes reminded me how many decisions were taken away from me.

I listened to the song a lot, it was my first song on piano, so I listened to it a lot. I decided to learn it on piano because it is a pretty easy song, the perfect beginner song. I listened to it and watched the music video because I was curious. Every song has a music video and I wanted to know what this one was. I thought it was going to be colors and rainbows, but it was just normal people dancing. It was random.

The song is a good reference to the past. That time is over.

When I think about it, I think about the past. And it’s crazy how you change over a few years. I have a significantly bigger view on the world now and have become way more mature. It hasn’t even been that long, but it feels like my personality has had a full makeover.

When there are inconveniences I just shrug them off. The hard patch I went through gave me hard skin. My troubles at the time were life-defining, so problems after that have lost their value. I became more adult through inconveniences. For example, when I miss an appointment or get a worse grade than I thought, there’s no reason to stress. Unless it’s something that’s extremely important, it is what it is. My dad used to stress about everything and I don’t want to be like that. My mom tells me that too. Take the best thing from your parents. I don’t want to be like my dad.

My dad… any inconvenience he gets mad. Even if it’s something small. When it’s a small convenience, why even care? There is no

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reason to stress over something that won’t have a big impact in your life.

Care about the important things, but don’t let small things derail you. If something impactful happens, it can and should affect you, but something small… you can leave it alone. It’s stressful and useless. That makes you happier. Less to worry about.

Today, I don’t really listen to the song “Happy” anymore.

I listen to Japanese music, in my eyes it is better. A friend introduced me to it. At first it was from a show called Jojo, the intro song is really good. There’s a lot going on in the song and I like that. It’s upbeat, too. Sounds pretty good. I don’t look for the song “Happy” anymore, but if it comes on my playlist it is still there. It brings me nostalgia because it reminds me of the whole story behind it.

— Nahum C. is the author of the story “Happiness in Mistakes.” He writes about his choices in life and how they have affected him. Outside of writing, he expresses his thoughts through playing instruments.

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Looking Back to Head Forward NATHALIE B.

NOW PLAYING...

Ao No Waltz EVE

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I always wanted a nostalgic song that reminded me of my high school life that is soon to be over. Being scared of the unknown future that is about to come, I wanted to find comfort that a chapter of my life is soon to be over. When I heard “Ao No Waltz,” flashbacks of my high school life went through my mind.

Spending time with my loved ones, the outings we went on, the people I got close to and will soon have to let go.

Different memories come to mind whenever I listen to this song. The good times, the bad times, and also trying to capture all of these memories as if it were in a film. Collecting moments and having it engraved in my heart and mind because one day I may forget them as I age. There’s also a kind of comfort and also a way of coping now that a chapter is over and a new one is about to begin. But it also comforts me in trying to pursue my life goals and to not be as afraid of change as I was before. Trying to face it head-on instead of going around it.

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“I learned about the days of expectation and anxiety with the taste of regret”-the beginning of high school, and the anxiety that comes with it. Middle school me expecting that friendships won’t change despite the new environment, but the disappointment in knowing that it wasn’t going to happen.

Looking at it from my perspective now as a senior I know that these changes were meant to happen and I now don’t regret my past friendships.

“I want to remember all the pain that surrounds my kindness”-during the first years of high school I was in a state of depression due to the change of environment along with family and I didn’t know how to cope with it. Just living every day was tiring and I was robotic with my feelings and could not let my emotions out as I wish I would have liked. As time went on, my friends and my partner that I have now, stayed with me through it all even if they thought that they didn’t do much, their presence was enough.

“The taste of tears flowing down my cheeks is a promise someday, just be in love and be vague”-living in the moment and embracing it after. To the new foods I got to try thanks to my childhood friend Katterin, playing volleyball and becoming captains with her, leading us to become league champions. Going to the mall and City Walk with my friends. The warm hand that always reaches out to me, and the happiness I received from my partner Tom. Meeting his family, going to the mall, the movies,

Knotts Berry Farm and prom together. The bittersweet tears knowing that I’m not going to be seeing my close friends or my significant other as much as I’d like but also being hopeful our memories can stay with us and that we can continue on our relationship despite going to different colleges.

“Even if I am reborn, I don’t want to forget an uncertain future forever”-thinking about the future. Going through another cycle of being in a new environment and not seeing my loved ones as much as I’d like to. Being away from my family now that I’m going off to college and creating my own path. The anxiety of being alone and trying to handle things on my own as an adult.

The new experiences that are about to come make me excited but it’s still scary going into the same worries as I had early in high school, but the only difference is that I’m prepared to do it differently. Instead of letting fear put my head down, embrace it, and strive forward to not regret anything anymore like before.

— Nathalie, who previously wrote “Devotion” and “Dancing Until Dawn,” is now looking back at her high school life and going down memory lane. Embracing the bittersweet memories to head into the unknown future with her head held high.

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826LA and Paramount Pictures would like to thank to following for their support in making this project possible:

Erin Jordan

Alejandro Ramirez

DIRECTOR CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY — PARAMOUNT PICTURES

PRINCIPAL — CINEMATIC ARTS AND CREATIVE TECHNOLOGIES MAGNET

Jaime Balboa EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR — 826LA

Andrew Jick Areli Quirarte

Jamal Salmon

Bella Mumma

Jeannette Estrem

Billy Cutler ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...

Jennifer Lynch SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY & INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Bryan Goh Jenny Tartikoff EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS — PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Brian Robbins CHAIRMAN & CEO PARAMOUNT PICTURES

David Sartory Diana Martinez

Joan Filippini

COORDINATOR/LEADERSHIP ADVISOR — HELEN BERNSTEIN HIGH SCHOOL

Jon Gonda Juliet Conroy

Durand Williams

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Justin Broederdorf

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Marco Lopez Martin Mayr Maya Marinoff Mike Dunbar P R O G RAMS & OPERATIONS M A N A GER - 826LA

Mike McAdam Nikki Jee Pamela Amaya M A G N ET COORDINATOR & C O M P UTER SCIENCE TEACHER — C I NEMATIC ARTS AND C R E A TIVE TECHNOLOGIES M A G N ET

Puicón-Pérez D E S I GN MANAGER — 826LA

Rachel Kiner Ross Klein Samantha Jacobs Stacey Goldstein Stephanie Aguilar S E N I OR COORDINATOR OF S O C I AL RESPONSIBILITY — P A R A MOUNT PICTURES

Tiffany Osorio Zack Pasquarelli

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About

826LA

TUTO RI NG

W O R K S H OPS

From Monday to Thursday, students attend 826LA for free individual tutoring in all subjects. Once homework is completed, students read books from 826LA’s library and write stories based on a monthly theme. Students submit their writing for inclusion in chapbooks, which 826LA publishes throughout the year. To celebrate students’ hard work, 826LA unveils these chapbooks at book release parties, where students read their work to thunderous applause from their volunteers, families, and peers.

826LA’s workshops bring students together with artists, writers, and professionals for creative collaboration. Whether the subject is journalism or preparing for the zombie apocalypse, our workshops foster creativity while strengthening writing skills. This includes two long running workshops, our reading development workshop Barnacle’s Bookworms, and our Journalism workshop.

IN-S CH OO LS

F I E L D TRIPS

Because not all students can come to us, 826LA brings specially trained volunteer tutors into under-resourced public schools.

There, volunteers provide one-on-one or small group assistance with writing projects. 826LA works with teachers to craft all projects, which are designed to engage students while targeting curricular issues. In addition to visiting twenty schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District each year, 826LA has additional sites within Manual Arts High School (South Los Angeles) and Roosevelt High School (Boyle Heights), called The 826LA Writers’ Rooms.

During the week, 826LA invites public school teachers and their students to our writing labs to participate in a morning of collaboration, creativity, and writing. Whether Storytelling & Bookmaking, Choose Your Own Adventure, Memoir, or Personal Statements, field trips at 826LA support teacher curriculum and student learning by offering a safe space for students to be their most imaginative and to work on their writing skills. In a few short hours, students brainstorm, write, edit their work, and leave with something tangible—a bound book or a revised essay—as well as a renewed confidence in their ability to tell their stories.

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STAF F Jaime Balboa Executive Director Diego Quevedo Chief of Staff Shani Foster Director of Education Shawn Silver Director of Advancement & Events Cheryl Klein Senior Communications Manager Pedro Estrada Programs & Operations Manager, Echo Park

Mike Dunbar Programs & Operations Manager, Mar Vista

Angelica ButiuCoronado Program Coordinator, Writers’ Room Roosevelt High School

LaTesha Knighten In-Schools Program Manager

Cecilia Gamiño Program Coordinator, Workshops, Mar Vista

Melissa Long Institutional Giving Manager

Maricruz Pool-Chan Program Coordinator, Tutoring, Echo Park

Alma Carrillo Development Manager

Monica Arellano Program Coordinator, Tutoring, Mar Vista

Carinne Mangold Store Manager

Maddie Silva Program Coordinator, Field Trips, Mar Vista

Puicón-Pérez Design Manager Jennie Najarro Senior Volunteer Coordinator, Mar Vista

Andy Alcaraz

ADVISORY BOARD

Susan Ko President

Adriana Centeno

J.J. Abrams

Matthew Cherniss

Judd Apatow

Sarah Rosenwald Varet Vice President

Dave Eggers, Emeritus

Miguel Arteta

Nancy Yang Treasurer

Jodie Evans, Emeritus

Mac Barnett

Scott A. Ginsburg

Steve Barr

Eileen Shields

Joshuah Bearman

Belinda Tan

Amy Brooks

Ben Au

Holly A. Thomas

Marina Aguayo Marketing & Communications Coordinator Wilson Swain Echo Park Time Travel Mart Staff Larry Hansen Mar Vista Time Travel Mart Staff Marco Beltran Echo Park Time Travel Mart Staff

Mari Zerbe Program Coordinator, Field Trips, Echo Park

B O AR D O F D I RE C T O R S

Chad DePue Secretary

Ariana Ponce Evening Tutoring Programs Associate

Father Greg Boyle, SJ Stefan G. Bucher Mark Flanagan Ben Goldhirsh Rebecca Goldman Ellen Goldsmith-Vein DeAnna Gravillis Spike Jonze Miranda July Catherine Keener Keith Knight

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Al Madrigal Krystyn Madrigal Tara Roth Katie McGrath R. Scott Mitchell Lani Monos B.J. Novak Miwa Okumura Jane Patterson Keri Putnam Sylvie Rabineau Sonja Rasula Luis J. Rodriguez Terri Hernandez Rosales Brad Simpson J. Ryan Stradal Natalie Tran Sarah Vowell Sally Willcox

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