When the pollution appeared in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, I began to wonder how bad the air has been since I’ve lived in the United States. The toxic air that fills your lungs makes you cough and makes you wear face masks all the time.   On Dec. 9,...

This New Year’s Eve, like every New Year’s Eve, my dad hauled a table and camping chairs to our roof for our annual firework-watching countdown. He lovingly decorated the scene in Christmas lights, turned on “Auld Lang Syne” and brought out a...

It was 2022 when I received the worst news in my life. Little did I know that 2022 and half of 2023 would follow suit. In December 2022, my father was diagnosed with Stage 3C colon cancer, which was one step away from metastatic cancer, which is cancer...

I remember pushing through the heavy iron doors, taking a breath of air that smelled 50 years old and tasted like a sour spider's web. I greeted the man at the front desk and told him my grandpa said hi on my way to the classroom.  I was probably...