Written by Alexis Shumack, a young adult.

“Just stay on your side of the road. Don’t look at the other cars, Lex. Just keep looking forward.”

In the last few months, my dad has been teaching me how to drive. I have this habit, however, of freaking out (a little) whenever another car comes tearing up the other side of the road. I shall paint you a picture:

I am jamming to Lizzo...

Written by a BRITE young adult spokesperson.

You are your father’s child.

Half of him and your mother.

He watched you become the woman you are today.

She helped groom the woman that now stands before them.

Mommy’s little gem.

Daddy’s little sunshine.

They both saw greatness in you.

You are the product of their love.

Their greatest treasure.

She took her time in raising you.

He...

Written by a BRITE young adult spokesperson.

With a world covered in grey,

A heart filled with rage,

I am the flower.

I am the flower in the garden.

The one that was chosen,

Fully blossomed, I stand tall.

Proudly on my own.

With no hand to hold.

I am the flower.

I may not be as needed as the trees.

That’ll give human air;

Just for them to ungratefully breathe.

I am not as small as the...

Written by a BRITE young adult spokesperson.

Aren’t you tired of the isolation?

The running, hiding

Aren’t you tired of the constant battle between your present and your happiness?

What happens when you run out of fuel and you’re no longer useful in this sick game of reminiscence?

You need to allow yourself to glow.

To grow.

The past is a place of reference

So why do you still...

Written by a BRITE young adult spokesperson.

In primary school, we were practicing for a school play and I remember there was a guy that didn’t want to play his role because it meant being alongside me. I never knew what the issue was but that day after school I went home and cried because I felt that something was wrong with me. My mom saw me, and she asked what had happened and I just...

Written by a Frontier High School student. Artwork by a Medea Creek Middle School student.

The timeloop. Two souls, Rachel and Ian, were trapped in an endless cycle of fear and confusion. They would wake up in a room with a countdown of 1 hour. They would have to find the answer out of the room to escape wherever they were trapped; the only issue is they would never get to the end. They...

October is the month of Halloween, which means costumes, spooky decorations, and parties. Celebrating with food and drink. Pumpkins. Candy. Alcohol. Teens will go out and celebrate with friends, and may be peer pressured to drink alcohol. It’s a good time to set some house rules and responsibilities, and talk to your kids about how to say no when offered alcohol, and what to do...

Written by Sofia Noriega, a Ventura County high school student.

Vaping can bring out the worst in you

It can turn your world around

Thinking that’s the only solution

For you to deal with problems

But it’s just causing addiction

And leading to bigger problems in the future.

Imagine your lungs,

Your heart,

Every organ in your body 

Keeping you alive, 

Only til you...

This post was written by Sofia Noriega, a Ventura County high school student.

Buying my new books makes me feel

so happy as if I was watching a beautiful

sunset. Nothing compares to how you feel

while being so excited to read a new world

in the palm of your hands. Exploring new

worlds almost as if you're traveling without

leaving. The weight of all those feelings

and experiences all in a form...

What can you do to help reduce drug overdoses in your community?

The DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is coming up on Saturday, October 29th, 2022. Rx Drug Take Back Day addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue. According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 9.7 million people misused prescription pain relievers, 4.9 million people misused...

This post was written by a CSUCI student.

Peer pressure in school is a very widespread issue affecting young people, myself included. Going to school every day throughout my life, I was able to see just how widespread it was and still is today. The biggest issue was the use of drugs. 

I have memories back in middle and high school of drugs being discussed. This was somewhat intimidating...

Written by a senior at CSUCI.

My parents divorced when my sister and I were young. (I will refer to my sister as Janet). My mother, several years later, began dating a new man, let’s call him Dave. Dave had two children – I will refer to them as Samantha and Tom. Samantha was my sister’s age, and Tom was my age. We all became fast friends (we were 8 at the time) and enjoyed...