Then I placed the blade next to the skin on my palm. A tingle arched across my scalp. The floor tipped up at me and my body spilled away. Then I was ….

Guard the portals of your mind..

I imagine you working on me as an algebra problem, reducing me to fractions, crossing out common denominators, until there's nothing left on the page….

You show you care, you die.You show you fear, you die.You show nothing, maybe you live..

Sometimes when we’re in situations where we feel we’re not in control, we do things, especially things that take a lot of energy, as a way of making ….

Inside my head I carry: my baby goat, my baby brother, my ama's face, our family's future. My bundle is light. My burden is heavy..

Simply to endure is to triumph..

A man who doles out sweets, and slaps, with the same hand..

Rochelle," she calls out, still looking at me. "Is there anyone down at the desk? I need something." I'm too startled to move. Is she going to tell o….

When I have run out of words to copy, I look out the window at this strange place called India. Inside the train, the people around me are snoring. I….

If you look hard enough, chaos turns into order the way letters turn into words..

Then I place the blade next to the skine on my palm. A tingle arced across my scalp. The flood tipped up at me and my body spiraled away. Then I was ….

Instead, we linger over a luxury that costs nothing: Imagining what may be..

This affliction--hope--is so cruel and stubborn, I believe it will kill me.

Arriving to class late is disruptive of the learning process. I think that it is disrespectful to both the instructor and the students. I generally f….

Ama wipes her hands on her apron, looks up at our old roof with new eyes, and lifts the baby from his basket. She twirls him in the air, her skirts f….

Long time I been on my own, but now really I'm alone. I survive the killing, the starving, all the hate of the Khmer Rouge, but I think maybe now I w….

Trying to remember, I have learned, is like trying to clutch a handful of fog. Trying to forget, like trying to hold back the monsoon..

Look. I have a strategy. Why expect anything? If you don’t expect anything, you don’t get disappointed..