FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

PHOTO: A participant examines an orange during creative writing exercise.

The participants are randomly given free write opportunities. The following are from those sessions...

"Today I noticed how empty the streets were while I was on my way to work. Then I seen how gray the sky was this morning and I knew that it was going to rain soon. That’s when I started to speed up my walk before I got caught in the rain. The people who were outside wore clothes for a hot summer day. They had on shorts, tank tops and wife beaters, without any umbrellas in their hands. When I finally got to work I stood there for about fifteen minutes watching the cars and people pass by. People smiled as they passed me. I even got an occasional “hi” or “how are you?”"

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"I think it’s time I tell my mother I’ve fallen in love with journalism. This program is excellent. They asked us to write how we feel and if anything scares us about the program. Nothing scares me so far. I love this program. I’m getting paid to do something that I love. It’s more like a mini career. I can’t wait until we interview people, take pictures, make graphics and what not. That’s always fun! We had three activities today. One on values, one on communication and we had to write our own obituary if we passed today."

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"My days are like Novelas in the making. My father is sick. My mother works too much. And I’m the oldest, meaning the next one to bare the responsibilities when they can’t. I have a little brother who is 15 years old and I have to be a big brother/sister to him. He needs to be taught things that my parents can’t teach anymore and that are now my responsibility. I don’t have a chance to be a teenager and I can’t regress to childhood, so what am I now? I’m not an adult because no one gives me that respect. Yet I’m not a child nor teen because I’m working to help provide for a family. Is there a category for the “overworked, overwhelmed” teen? Because I know there’s plenty like me … maybe even closer than I think."