Most high school students look forward to spending their Saturday mornings sleeping in, but I love waking up at six A.M. with the knowledge that I may just change someone’s life today. My community service hours for my eighth grade confirmation were spent volunteering at a barn that gives therapeutic horseback riding lessons to disabled children. I had found out about the place at the beginning of my eighth grade year and thought it’d be the perfect...

Orange used to be my favorite color, until October 26, 2009, a day I remember so well. It all started a little over a month before this date. I dreaded going to swim practice because SHE was there. Believe it or not, SHE used to be my best friend. The bullying became a weekly routine. Being hit many times and referred to as “that thing” was dehumanizing. Fear held me back from talking about the situation. That all changed, however, the day...