In personal essays, teenagers express their views on serious subjects like violence, racism, and teen parenting, and discuss common teen experiences like dating, getting a job, and starting college. This collection contains the following: (1) "Brotherly Love" (Jessica Vicuna); (2) "How To Survive Shopping with Mom" (Chris Kanarick); (3) "A Shortcut to Independence" (Anita Chikkatur); (4) "My Father: I Want To Be Everything He's Not" (Troy Sean Welcome); (5) "Saying Goodbye to Uncle Nick" (Josbeth Lebron); (6) "Dad's Home Cooking" (Loretta Chan); (7) "Home Is Where the Hurt Is" (Zeena Bhattacharya); (8) "The Crew from the Parking Lot" (Ferentz Lafargue); (9) "At Home in Coney Island" (Sheila Maldonado); (10) "Antigua: Almost Paradise" (Jillian Braithwaite); (11) "Chinese in New York, American in Beijing" (Kim Hoang); (12) "A 'Nice' Neighborhood...Where Nobody Knows My Name" (Sung Park); (13) "Revenge in the Hood: A Deadly Game" (Michelle Rodney); (14) "I Ain't Got No Culture" (Lara Coopey); (15) "Yo, Hollywood! Where Are the Latinos At?" (Jessica Vicuna); (16) "Color Me Different" (Jamal Greene); (17) "The 'N' Word: It Just Slips Out" (Allen Francis); (18) "My Lebanese Passport" (Mohamed Bazzi); (19) "Asian by Association" (Jessica Vicuna); (20) "My Journey Home" (Anna Song); (21) "Single and Lovin' It" (Latrice Davis); (22) "Dream Girl" (Rance Scully); (23) "Tired of Being a Target" (Loretta Chan); (24) "A Girl Takes Control" (Troy Sean Welcome); (25) "I Hated Myself" (David Miranda); (26) "What Would You Do If I Was Gay?" (Gina Trapani); (27) "My First Love: Too Much, Too Soon" (Anonymous); (28) "Becoming a Vegetarian: A Matter of Taste" (Victoria Law); (29) "A Designer Addiction" (Delia Cleveland); (30) "A Rap Fan's Alternative" (Allen Francis); (31) "Moving into the Mainstream" (Slade Anderson); (32) "Climbing the Golden Arches" (Marissa Nunez); (33) "Growing into Fatherhood" (Julio Pagan); (34) "My Road Doesn't Lead to College" (Brandy Scelzo); and (35) "Dorm Life Is Heaven" (Donna Hutchinson). A final section contains a discussion by six contributors about the writing process. (SLD)