Their pink and white exterior gleamed at me like jewels. I put one in my mouth. Instant gratification. Ecstasy flowed over my skin.
So starts one of the stories from this summer's 110 Degrees: Tucson's Youth Tell Tucson's Stories. Kids*, ages 14-21 years old, offer untold stories, through words and pictures, about themselves and a variety of other people from their communities in Issue 7 published June 1, 2007 online and in the Arizona Daily Star.
Written in the first person, story themes and topics include immigration, the war in Iraq, divorce, brotherhood, motherhood, self-esteem, depression, phobias, drugs, sexual harassment, sexual assault, feminism, racism, ageism, trains and often school, religion, family, health and politics.
Liberian refugee Hawa Bealue compares her school in Nigeria to Catalina Magnet High School, her school in Tucson, and shares her dream of being a doctor.
Reyes Suarez writes about his grandfather and what he's learned from him. "My grandfather...has taught me to work hard, to stay true to my responsibilities, to do more than what's asked, and to be involved in the community."
To tell these stories, youth are coached in research, interviewing, writing and photography by professional writers and photographers through Voices: Community Stories Past and Present Inc., a Tucson-based nonprofit that works to document community stories and inspire individuals to explore their own stories and their connections to their communities. Voices staff believe this is important, that through this storytelling "they can strengthen their cognitive, artistic, emotional, leadership, and higher education skills. Youth who are creative, resilient, educated and active citizens are youth who benefit themselves, their families and our community now and in the future."
Many of the stories are not easy to read -- or create.
"This year, I tried to tiptoe around my personal life, but I ended up doing a project just as intense as the story I published last year. I couldn't escape doing this...," wrote Isabella Soto in her comments that accompany her story "The Inconvenient Gender".
Other stories on Voice's website include "Casting a Vote is Empowering" by Nneka Okonkwo, an editorial about racism, ageism and the power of the vote and "Supporting my Brother" by Dillon Bouma, a piece about the war in Iraq and his brother's service in Bagdad.
"By being abstinent, I’m protecting my heart from breaking," writes Hannah Waddell in "Abstinence is Respect for Yourself," an editorial about her reaction to her parent's divorce and self-esteem originally published in the Arizona Daily Star in January.
All the stories in 110 Degrees can be read online on the Arizona Daily Star's website. Hard copies of this year's issue can be gotten at Voices' offices at 48 E. Pennington St. in Tucson. Some back issues can be ordered on Voices' website.
* I use the word "kids" in this story deliberately, knowing some kids will not appreciate that term and some journalism professors surely will say it is slang or too informal. One kid I'd worked with through PICTURE THIS Projects told me calling him a kid suggested he was a baby goat. Back when I freelanced for the Chicago Tribune, photo assignment editor Stan Policht would call me kid. I was not fond of this; I was a colleague. As I got to know him a bit better, or at least get used to him, I decided he wasn't being patronizing, but friendly. A friend told me that some people think "kid" is a reference to the devil. "Young people" works for me, but not often as it is a bit long. I can't use "youth" much. It feels cold, clinical, distant, the language of a grant application or research results. Teenagers might sometimes act like them, but "children" doesn't work either. It makes them sound younger than they are, implying inexperience or a certain amount of innocence. "Kid" it will have to be for now, but with it all the respect these emerging writers and photographers deserve for taking up the challenge of sharing some personal stories.
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