This commentary originally aired on WAMU, American University Radio in Washington, D.C.

By Rohjanae Mathis

When we were younger, all of my friends wanted to become lawyers, doctors or veterinarians. Everyone had big dreams, the kind of dreams that require years of college and maybe even grad school.

I'm excited as I head to college, but only a few of my friends will be doing the same.

I've spent hours online researching schools, participating in campus tours, pricing laptops and finding decorations for my new dorm, but most of my friends are spending their time getting ready for the next party. They either dropped out of high school or are three grades behind.

We were all now supposed to be getting ready to go to college together, but I can count on one hand my childhood friends who'll be doing that.

If you think of us as flowers, where you're planted affects how you grow and whether you bloom. As I look around my neighborhood, I'm not surprised that many of us never got a chance to blossom.

By William Nelligan

I’m an intern on Capitol Hill this summer for a member of the Senate who voted against the debt ceiling deal today and who spoke for nearly an hour yesterday about how much he disliked it.

As I watched the vote in the Senate Gallery, I found myself feeling some very mixed emotions. I asked myself, is this what compromise is supposed to look like?

The whole debate has been a major topic of conversation among my friends in DC. Trust me when I say that this town has no shortage of informed and opinionated young people willing to offer their two cents on what has been going on in recent weeks.

Ryan Sellinger is a recent college graduate who works for another Senator only a few steps away from my office. Ryan and I argue, in the best sense of the word, almost daily about whether the President is a skilled negotiator or a flawed political leader. I tend to think closer to the former, he the latter. Accordingly, I can almost always count on him to push back on my logic. He didn’t today. “I still believe in the President,” Ryan said to me over lunch. Before I even had a chance to cut him off and tell him to get to the point, he continued, “I just believe in him a little less.” I was genuinely shocked. Ryan, who was always apt to blame the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue, hadn’t been able to keep the faith? “I’m not sure anyone could deal with some of these House members,” he said, “at the same time, I can’t get away from the thought that he could have done a lot differently.” Ryan is fortunate enough that he doesn’t have to worry about student loans. That said, the end of his internship will likely not mark the end of his political career. “I am starting to really worry about what kind of mess this generation of leaders is leaving for the next,” he said.

This commentary originally aired on WAMU, American University Radio in Washington, D.C.

By Lalaram Guyadin

I remember the first time the cafeteria server put a sealed plastic cup on my tray. I asked my friends what it was. "A fruit cup," they said, laughing. I had never seen anything like it: grapes, peaches, pineapple and pears cut into small squares and put into a cup, weeks or months before being eaten. They looked nothing like the original fruit. And when I tasted it, I realized just how far from home I was.

This commentary originally aired on WAMU, American University Radio in Washington, D.C.

By Genevieve Ludwig

One of my earliest memories is of being woken up by my dad in the wee hours of the morning to be shown a glassy-eyed baby something, staring at me from behind the glass wall of an unused terrarium.

This commentary originally aired on WAMU, American University Radio in Washington, D.C.

By Calvin Jackson

In many D.C. Public Schools classrooms, teachers face a lot of disinterested or uncooperative students. But I can vouch that there's a wealth of hidden talent and intelligence waiting to be tapped -- if the teacher has the right skills. To define those skills, we have to look at professions way outside of education.

This commentary originally aired on WAMU, American University Radio in Washington, D.C.

By Roger Wood

America has long touted diversity as one of its strengths, and according to a Pew Research Center survey, six in 10 Americans say they’d prefer to live in racially-mixed communities. But diversity may be more of an ideal than a reality.

This commentary originally aired on WAMU, American University Radio in Washington, D.C.

By Ciara Smith

Most moms dream of one day seeing their baby girl in a beautiful white dress walking down the aisle at her wedding. And most moms dream of the grandchildren who may come later.

Girls are princesses to their moms. So, how do you tell a mother that her princess likes other princesses?

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This commentary originally aired on WAMU, American University Radio in Washington, D.C. 

By Beza Mesfin

I remember the last time it happened. My friends called me outside, and when I got there, I saw them in the car… fighting.

He had her by the hair and was punching her over and over. “Stop him!” said my friends who had gathered outside. “She needs your help!”

He and I are close – we grew up together, and his girlfriend has become a good friend. But even so, for a few seconds, I just stood there and watched. I knew even if I stopped this fight I probably couldn’t stop the fighting. It’s been happening several times a week for over a year now.

A group of young people graced the stage yesterday at a three-day event called the Grad Nation Summit, which began this week in Washington D.C. The goal of the summit is to promote President Obama’s goal of having a 90 percent national high school graduation rate by 2020.
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This commentary originally aired on WAMU, American University Radio in Washington, D.C.

By Katisha Frederick

So I’m texting a guy at night. You know, having a general conversation about nothing. And somewhere along the way he asks a very simple question: “Do you smoke?” For a second I’m stuck -- why is he asking me this? But then I decide not to put too much thought into it and just respond with the truth. “No.” Then comes his next text: “Good,” he writes, “it’s not ladylike.”

There’s that annoying word again. Ladylike. Every time I hear it, I picture this imaginary woman. She wakes up in the morning and puts on a skirt, a pretty little blouse, a pair of heels and make-up. She crosses her legs when she sits and speaks in this soft gentle voice.

If my image of being ladylike seems outdated, that’s because it probably is. I’ve never met anyone like that and probably never will. And even though I don’t really want to be that woman, sometimes in small ways I find myself trying to live up to this standard. If I’m talking to a guy and he tells me he prefers me to look more feminine, I’ll choose a skirt and flats even though I’d rather wear jeans and tennis shoes.

But if I step back for a second, I find it strange that I – and people my age – still care about being ladylike, considering how far we’ve come in other ways. Like in school -- we’re all equals, and we’re all taught to dream big.

As a high school senior, I’ve already sent out my college and scholarship applications, and am now waiting for acceptance letters. My family, friends, and mentors expect me to succeed so that I can live out my dream of becoming a graphic designer. And it’s good to know that I’m going through the same tough process as my guy friends.

So why is that even though we’ve made so much progress in school and with our careers, some of us still hold onto some old-fashioned definition of femininity?

I can’t help but wonder how this standard will affect my future. Fast forward 7 years and I’ll be 25. Maybe I’ll have my career and a family -- and what will being ‘ladylike’ mean then? Will it mean that I’m expected to cook, clean, and practically raise a child on my own WHILE working?

That’s definitely NOT a standard I want to hold myself to.

These commentaries by D.C. area teens are part of a collaboration between WAMU's Youth Voices program, Youth Radio and the Latin American Youth Center.