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In their own words, a collection of girls from the 2002-03 season describe their experiences with Girls Write Now and their personal accomplishments over the past year.
My name is Sabah Aljahmee. I love writing, but I find it hard to express my feelings because I'm not a native English speaker. When I heard about this program, Girls Write Now, I thought that it would help me improve my writing. It helped a lot.
I am working now for the newspaper New Youth Connections (also on the web at youthcomm.org) where I had two stories and a poem published in April, May, and June of this year. I don't think I would have been able to work there if I have the same feelings about myself that I used to. Since I started to write in this program, I have a self-confidence about my skills in writing.
Thank you for having this program and thank you for all the mentors and my mentor, Robin.
My name is Salma Aljahmee. I am 17 years old and originally from Yemen. I love writing, especially poetry.
I participate in different activities, inside and outside of school. For example, Student
Government, Arabic Club, Museum of Natural History, American Kings County Supreme Court, National Honor Society, and Girls Write Now.
I joined different activities to help me decide who I am as a person and what I want to be in the future. Although these activities cover a wide range of subjects, I believe that all of them are interesting.
Regarding Girls Write Now, I was referred to this program by a teacher who knows how much I love writing. It is really an interesting activity to do. I also feel that it represents who I am more than some of the other activities. In fact, whenever a teacher in school asks us to write a paragraph about a certain topic, I write an entire essay. Even my peers always tell me, "you are writing a personal essay," meaning I write a lot. I take what my friends say as a compliment, even though they might mean it in a negative way.
When I was in my country, I used to have a journal for poems that I wrote. Now I keep two journals, plus the one I have from this program. GWN has helped me develop my skills in writing. I even started to write stories in my spare time.
Thank you.
Hi! I'm Cassie Alvarez and I attend Dominican Academy High school in Manhattan. I am in the tenth grade. This year I received the "cum laude" award for the National Latin Exam. In the past I have also received awards in biology and English. In ninth grade, I was awarded with an academic certificate for having the highest history average in my class.
I am involved in the Literary Journal at my school, and this summer I volunteered at the New York Aquarium.
I love Girls Write Now because it is an outlet for free-thinking and self-expression. There are absolutely no restrictions put on one's creativity. It is also a wonderful place to make and meet new friends. This program is great! Thanks a lot!
I am the only Jersey-girl in this Manhattan-based writing club. Girls Write Now has provided me with bountiful knowledge about many of the different writing genres.
This year, I have been published in Teen Inc., a nationwide art/literary magazine distributed to many American high schools (www.teeninc.com) and The Apprentice Writer, an art and literary magazine generated by Susquehanna University. The piece for The Apprentice Writer is called "The Runner," a first person narrative written from the perspective of an middle-aged male. It was chosen for publication from among 5,000 submissions.
I am currently a sophomore in high school and am creating works of art in my spare time, as well as writing.
I'm not sure what I want to do in the future, but this program has certainly helped me to open my eyes to many different writing options.
My name is Alexcia Foster. I am 17 years old and I am a student at John F. Kennedy high school.
Girls Write Now has shown me the different types of writing and has brought them to life through the workshops. I personally like to write poems and short stories, which involve a lot of drama and love.
Besides writing, I have some skill in basketball, track, and music.
From birth to present, I have lived in the Bronx with my three brothers and my parents.
Throughout high school, I have taken an interest in English and in particular creative writing. This is mainly why I was attracted to Girls Write Now. Through monthly workshops over the course of the year, we have worked on everything from poetry to essay writing.
I have truly enjoyed my time participating in the workshops and have found it to be very beneficial, especially since I soon will be embarking on my college career. The memories, bonds, and the knowledge I've acquired will forever stay with me as I prepare to face life.
Special thanks to all the mentors, especially my mentor, Andrea. It was an honor to work with someone who possesses such intellectual insight. The close friendship we've shared is something I'll treasure forever.
Thanks GWN!!
My name is Daphnee Jean-Francois. Writing is my passion.
When my AP Literature teacher told me about Girls Write Now, I was ecstatic to join.
GWN has involved me in a wide range of writing genres and writing professional opportunities. As a high school senior from the Bronx, I was in desperate need of writing advice for my college essay. I remember calling my GWN writing mentor at 2am to work on the final draft of my college essay.
It's been swell hanging with the girls and I'll never forget it.
My name is Jaselyn Justiniano. Before joining Girls Write Now, my Saturdays consisted of six to eight hours of violin and vocal rehearsals. After having to leave my music programs because of city-wide budget cuts and for various other reasons, I decided to join GWN to work on my writing skills and interact with a wide range of people.
Overall, I believe this program has enabled me to cultivate my interests and skills in poetry and essay writing. This program has also motivated me to join writing competitions, which was a completely new experience.
For instance, I performed a "wordless" poem in the National Youth Fine Arts Festival, qualifying for both the city-wide and national competition. The nationals were held in Syracuse.
I truly enjoyed all the workshops and interacting with such a talented, unique and fantastic group of young women. I believe this program also encouraged me to open up a lot more to people. As a result, I feel that I've grown as a person.
My name is Lisa Kuan and I'm from Washington Heights. I never exactly fit in with the people living around there and nor do I fit in with the people of my own race. It's like no one understands me.
Then I took up poetry to express myself. People told me that they loved my poems and I loved writing them. But I still wanted to improve my writing as well as learn about the different types of writing.
I heard about Girls Write Now from my school. It had what I was looking for and I joined. The activities were fun. I learned about different types of writing, and met people who have similar interests and goals.
I finally feel like I fit in somewhere thanks, GWN!
I first learned about Girls Write Now through the English department at DeWitt Clinton, where I attend High School. I decided to join this program because I was interested in strengthening my writing skills, and I think that I've accomplished this task.
The workshops introduced me to topics that I had heard about but never really tried such as travel writing. The workshops have also forced me to touch upon topics that I usually shy away from such as poetry. As a result, my poetry writing has greatly improved (and I learned that poetry can be in the form of a song)!
In GWN, there was always a sense of freedom when writing, which was great for allowing new ideas to come together for a piece.
I come from the Bronx, where there aren't many programs such as this one, so I'd like to thank you for this opportunity. Thanks!
This program is definitely a great idea. Best wishes for future workshops.
Girls Write Now gave me motivation to pursue writing more seriously. It's hard to convince yourself that something like poetry and fiction writing is worthwhile when career options seem dim. Parents are not thrilled to learn that their daughter is planning on becoming a starving artist. It's easier to make your goals more concrete, but I couldn't do anything for the rest of my life it if wasn't creative, and the amazing minds at GWN have helped me see that.
In the New York City Scholastic Competition this year, I won two gold keys — one in poetry and one in short story. In 2002, I also won a National Silver Scholastic award for personal essay.
Living in the Bronx, I never expected to join an organization like Girls Write Now. When my school's English department told us about the workshop, I jumped at the opportunity. Writing is the only thing that keeps me from complete boredom, so one fine day I ventured into Manhattan for the first workshop.
I have always loved to write and the workshops are an opportunity for me to write and learn. All the workshops taught me something, and have driven me to write more and question more.
The mentee/mentor experience gave me the wonderful chance to know more about my mentor, Elissa. Having one-on-one sessions helped my writing and taught me to live what I write. I have improved my writing and learned many new things like poetry, travel writing, and book binding. GWN gave me the chance to grow and learn in a friendly, all girls environment filled with positive role models.
Thank you!
My name is Sara Said and I come from a far away place called Yemen. Yemen is my native country and Arabic is the tongue I speak. However, English is the language I want to write. I want to be a journalist who writes about world affairs as well as the environment.
I joined Girls Write Now in fall 2002 because I wanted to increase my writing skills, mainly my journalistic writing skills. I also joined the program because it offered working with one-on-one mentors. I wanted a mentor to look up to as a role model and I got the perfect mentor.
I'm glad I joined this program because it helped me to develop my writing skills, as well as become a more open-minded person.
I want to be a writer because I want to show the world what I've got. I also want to be a voice for my people. I hate the fact that Muslims and Arabs are not heard and are misunderstood. Therefore, I want to help educate people about "my people."
"The enemy of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed." -Palestinian saying
The best part about being a member of Girls Write Now is meeting women who have the same passion for writing that I do. Seeing how good and diverse everyone's writing is has been very inspiring.
Being here, I got to meet and get to know my mentor, who has also become my friend. I've really come to value her opinion in my writing. I've also seen that as a writer, she has gone through a lot of what I'm going through right now.
It's possible that one day writing will pay my bills. My mentor has made me see this, which has helped with my family who encourages me to "be more practical."
In my year with GWN, I've continued to work with MCC, which is a youth theater company in the city. I've done two shows with them (We are The Streets of NY and Uncensored 2003) as well as a play reading.
This group has been a good experience for me and I'm happy to have been a part of it.
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