Hi, my name is Yusuf and it is my final year of high school but it feels like it was just freshman year. I've spent the last 4 years consistently getting either good grades or just above average. The last 4 years of my life have been a rollercoaster and there have been many ups and downs. Although there have been ups and downs in my personal life and school life the past 4 years, I am more than happy to say that I am glad that those bad things happened to me. If it wasn't for the bad moments in my life, I wouldn't be the man I am today. Recently this year, I've learned to find the beauty in the bad moments. I guess you can say I've learned to dance in the rain. Now that I'm sitting down and really thinking about it, there's truly beauty in the struggle and suffering and once you truly realize that within yourself you kind of get some sort of mastery of the mind. All the things I've spoken about I've come to realize recently because I was too young to realize why some things even happen, back then. 
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My parents brought me and my family to America from Kenya when I was 1 year old. My parents came to the land of the free with nothing to their name besides pieces of paper that only proved our existence. At the time there was a civil war going on in my hometown so before coming to America, my parents decided that our family would go to Kenya, a neighboring country to Somalia (where we are from), where there was a refugee camp. At this point in my family's life, we were hopeless and looking for hope in a place where hope was supposedly given. My parents, having the courage to come to this country with nothing to their name, is what motivates me to better myself and better my loved ones. My name is Yusuf Abdi and I am proud to say that I’m glad to be the man I am today.

Furthermore, I can't wait to see what other things life challenges me with because I know I can get through them, and I will prevail. 

My name is Zyiona. I am a singer, scholar, leader and advocate. I can be very caring towards others and be very helpful at times. I am a hard worker. I am someone friends come to when they feel no one else can be there for them. I am someone friends come to when they need something, and they think I can. At times though I know another side of myself which is the unmotivated drained side, and it can be very daunting and make me feel detached from myself in many ways, wanting to do the work but not being motivated enough.
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Having to go to work but not wanting to go to work because of something that made me bothered during school but pushing it aside and still coming in to do my job because it’s what I must do no matter what. I am someone who wants to go to college, but I am scared of the reality of me not getting into the dream college that I want to because I have academics but no sports. I have extracurricular activities but feel as if they don’t equate to sports itself. 

Who am I? I am someone who wants to be a CEO and a professional singer but am scared I will not become either because I feel as if my passion does not help as much as it should to chase the dream. I am someone who wants to make a difference in people’s lives even if it isn’t something that is significant, something that can be smaller but still make an impact on their lives. I am someone who wants to be better than certain people in my family and not someone who is jealous of others around me because of something petty. I am someone who would like to travel the world while I’m still young. I am someone who wants to have a lasting and permanent impact on the world. I am Zyiona Khori Dean Beasley.

My name is Monasia but everyone calls me Mo. I am Jamaican, I identify as she\her, and am currently a senior. I have been going to East school for 5.5 years, but I only claim 2 of those years. In middle school I was a very troubled child, I didn't really get along well with my teachers, and I disobeyed them a lot. 
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Now I am one of the kids in class that tries to hand my work in on time, come in on time, respect the teachers, respect the teacher’s time, and from now and then I revert back to my old ways of being distracted but at the end I always get back on track. I currently play five sports: volleyball, softball, bowling, flag football. I am going to be running track in the winter. I love playing sports because it gives me something to be excited about and to care about.    

I live with my grandma, because my mom and dad aren’t really in my life, but I still have a great life because all the opportunities my grandma has supplied to me. She gives me all the love and care I need. Enough about that anyway. I always thought high school was going to be like the movies just a bit, but it definitely is not. It's more like a horror movie. It's almost over so I'll be fine, finding a good college to attend for 4 years is hard. I never thought it would be this hard, but I know I'll choose the right one for me.  

My name is Yovany. I’m 17 years old and a senior at East High School. I've been going to East since sixth grade. For most of my middle school years I never had any idea of what I wanted to do with my life or what I wanted to do after high school, but during my 9th grade year I started the vision care program. Honestly it felt boring, and I didn't really like it, but I found out the opportunities that came with it, so I stuck with it, and I’ve grown to love the program. Working with patients and meeting other doctors has been a great experience. I am now an intern at Flaum eye institute and hope to work there after I graduate high school.
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“Who am I?” I've never really thought deeply about this question. My answer would always be my name, the things that I do or that I'm interested in. Honestly, I feel like there's some things I've been ignoring about myself for a long time, and I'm afraid of those things. I ignore it because I’ve always felt that when I think about who I am or who I’m meant to be, I can never find an answer, so it just feels like a never-ending search for something that's right in front of me but not fully there yet.  It's like  “crying for the moon.” This is something an older friend of mine  would say to me. What he meant by this was that no matter what you have you'll always want  something that's out of reach like the moon. I feel as though this resonates with me because I feel like even when I try to figure out this answer I never get the result I want, and even if I do find something new about myself it's never enough for me. I never feel satisfied with the answers I find. This is part of the reason I've ignored this question for so long. But I like to think of this  as  part of who I am now as a person because I always feel that I am constantly changing on the inside and my views on who I am are always changing but as long as know the shape of my soul and who I am now I’ll be just fine. “Who am I?” You ask, I don't fully know, but what I can tell you is that I'm on the way to becoming the best version of myself that I can be.

Introducing Ayasha Cherry-Fayton
 
My name is Ayasha, meaning “one who lives well.” I am 16 years old, and I am a current senior at East High. I have been here since the beginning of 9th grade. I am strongly driven by the desire to help others even if I can’t help myself. After high school I wanted to major in Biomedical Engineering with a business minor or sports medicine. I set my standards high because I know I can achieve and go beyond them.
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I was strongly driven by basketball and track but April 2024, I tore my ACL playing girls flag football. This healing process has caused me to miss out on school activities, human interaction and I for one can say I did see a change in my mood and mindset after that. It was a very traumatic experience for me, but I am slowly overcoming that obstacle. 

I want to major in Biomedical Engineering because I want to help others. Yes, you get paid a ton but it’s worth it when you get to make someone smile and feel good about themselves. I’d need a business minor so I can start and run my own engineering business. Whether it’s an internship for teens that are interested in biomedical engineering or running my own Biomedical engineering company. 

“Who am I?” That’s such a loaded question, isn’t it? It’s been asked of me dozens of times in my life, and each time, I have no idea what to say. I live under the personal belief that every person has a universe inside him, no matter how dull or boring their personal life is. Your universe is made up of everything in your life, everything that makes you you. I’m not concise enough to introduce you to my galaxy belt in only a couple, short paragraphs, but I’ll certainly try. Hi, I’m Kayla, a senior in this school and soon-to-be 18 years old. If you hear the most annoying, mind-numbingly stupid valley girl accent in the halls, then it’s probably me. 
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This is my first and last year writing for this newspaper, so I’m really hoping to make the most of it. I’ve got no interest in school events, and I’d be dead before I go to our sports games, but I could totally tell you about anything new in computer world! Or console modding, because you know, I’ve got a dirty little DSi that I’ve just been dying to tell people about. My interests lie in electronics, video games, and music, and I’m hoping to write articles that are aligned with those interests. As a journalist for this newspaper, I want to be reliable, honest, and accurate, but above all else, I want to be interesting. The former qualities are essential, but if readers don’t find my writings interesting, then who’s going to be reading them? I’ve really gotta Madonna it down for all of you! I’m excited to write more for the school newspaper, and I hope others take interest in what I have to say.

My name is Kimya, also known as Mya. I’m a senior here at East and every day I tend to question who I really am because sometimes I wake up and don’t feel like the same person I was yesterday. I see myself as a hardworking and quiet person at times. I don’t talk much if I'm not talked to first. I make A’s and sometimes B’s and I strive for good grades because after high school i want to go to college/ nursing school for nursing. I’m very serious about my education and future plans so when someone or something comes in between that I cut everything off. Throughout these 4 years of high school, I've struggled a lot with my relationships with people and my mental health. I grew apart from people or things that don’t benefit me in any way. 
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“Who am I”?  I am a young woman growing up figuring out life. I’m very kind, helpful, respectful, independent, and responsible. I play volleyball, I work at Highland Hospital in the Emergency Dept, I bought a car during the summer, and I’m a sister of 6 siblings. All my siblings look up to me, even my older ones. I will be the first out of all my siblings to go to college to start a career. In my family I look up to my great grandfather (on my mom’s side) and my grandfather (on my dad’s side). My great grandfather raised me on his own, helping me become the young woman I am today. My grandfather retired from the military and even though he’s retired he never stops working hard. I want to be like both of them in the future. successful. Overall, I'm very proud of the person I'm becoming today and very excited for those around me to get to know who I'm becoming. I’m so blessed to have the things I've been provided with and having a great support system around me. The most important thing in life is to never give up and keep going. 

Hey, I am Nye’Asia Jones and I’m a senior in Journalism class. Sometimes I wonder “who I am” as a person but I know my life is just really getting started and still figuring out what I want to do with my life. 
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The years I've been in high school weren’t as pleasant during the beginning because I came into high school thinking it would be fun, but you know when I went to 9th grade covid just slowed down and it was super hard for me to attend school due to quarantine and online/hybrid classes. And I also was in a bad area during school. I didn’t really feel like I was in aa a safe environment because of the school I was going to which was franklin high school. I went to Franklin for 3 years since 7th grade. It wasn’t so bad, but I just felt a lot of negative energy while going to Franklin. That’s why I am now at East. I transferred my 10th grade year and ever since I’ve loved it. I was able to go to school with my brother who is now in 11th grade and my younger brother who is in East Lower. Also, I feel as if the teachers and advisors at East care and there are so many more resources and activities I never experience when going to Franklin so I’m happy that East high school had an even better impact on my life.

 I grew up being the oldest of 6 siblings and yes, my mom has 7 kids. It definitely gets stressful being an older sister because I’m like the 2nd parent and have to boss them around even though I don't want to but it’s ok. My family is a blessing and a beautiful impact on my life because I strive harder and harder every day for them. I’ll continue to work hard because I love them with all my heart. My family has a huge impact on my growth, and I love them so much for it especially my mom. I definitely can say that I am proud of myself because 10th grade year my grades weren't the best at all and same goes for 9th grade year but my 11th grade year, I started realizing my problem with my grades. Throughout the years I had to help my mom with my siblings even if I had school because she was doing it by herself and as the oldest, I will have to watch my little sister because she wasn't old enough yet to attend school so I would be absent a lot and that was a problem also that affected my grades. So, me and my brother will take turns whenever my mom needed us and I had no problem with it but the consequence of it was failing classes and I realized I needed to actually be in class to understand my work and ever since then my grades have been great. 

Overall, this me and who I am and what impacts the greater good in my life, and how I changed over the years and got better grades.

 
I go by Nani, and I’m a 12th grader at East Upper High School. This is my second year at East. I was at Franklin before I came here and I tell you, East is so different from Franklin. At East the hallways are cleaner, and the staff are so welcoming and nice. I run track and I'm also a cheerleader for East. I love the East high track team because they make me feel at home; some of them are like family. The classes are good, and the teachers are so understanding and sweet, but some of the teachers are alright I guess lol. I also like the color pink, and I love everything about Stitch.  
 
I'm going to be talking about the sports at East high school. I'm going to share the games that are coming up, the date of sports tryouts and the scores of games. I will also be naming the top Athletes of every sport and asking them questions about the sport they're playing. So, follow my writing this year!

“Who am I?” is something I ask myself all the time most of the time, but it could come from many different perspectives and you never really know because over time people can change and grow which means that myself and everyone else have their own pictures to paint.

 My name is Jayla Lewis. I am 16 years old. My birthday is February 13th and I’m the youngest on my dad and mom side. I have 4 older sisters and 2 older brothers. My parents always encourage me to be the best version of myself and to do my best. My mom graduated from Franklin High School and now she’s currently a nurse. She's been a nurse at her job since she was 19 years old. 

My very first day of 9th grade I was so scared because it was my first day at a new school where I knew nobody, but 1 person and he was my cousin. In my 9th grade I often went through a lot of obstacles, and I didn’t take my 9th grade very seriously as I was supposed to, but I faced those obstacles to be the better version of myself today. 

As an early graduate I plan to take my very last year of High School very seriously. I’m not a very social person. I don't have a large group of friends. Being in a large group doesn’t really make me feel the best so I just stick with the people I am with every day. If you would've asked me in 9th grade what would I want to be I would’ve said I have no idea but now I can proudly say that I am currently a nail tech and I’m going to going to focus more on that and then when I graduate I am going to be more on the nail tech career and after a while I am going to a program to learn how to be a LPN nurse. 

I would say that I am passionate, Introverted, Independent and an honest person. I wake up and come to school and get the work done even if I don’t want to, but I still do it. I am very proud of the achievements I’ve made throughout my High School experience. I wouldn’t be able to do this without the amazing people in my life that always encourage me to do my best.  In my free time I like to listen to music, sleep, talk to my friends, hangout with my boyfriend, family and do nails. I don’t really have a music type depending on my mood I just listen to that type of genre. I have a playlist of different genres and whatever mood I’m in I just listen to that. Doing nails is what I love to do even though I started doing them in the summer. I’ve noticed that since I started doing them I love doing them and doing them makes me happy and knowing that I’ve been loving the sets I do makes me proud of myself. Doing things that I love to do makes me happy.