Blog

Student Writing: Mariana’s “Freedom of Mexico”

As soon as I took my first step in Mexico, I could feel my lungs
taking in the word “freedom.”

The people with joy in their faces made me feel
That I belonged here.
They sky was so blue and alive
As I continue to enjoy my day.
The food was filled with colors
And having to eat it was like fireworks in my mouth.
It’s almost the end of the day, so my family decides to take a hike.
When we get to the top, the sunset was roaring throughout the land,
Acres and acres of green all over.
We end the day with the stars dancing through the night, thinking

“This is what you call freedom.”


Touching the Clouds As I Go is a critical collection of reflections, poems, and stories from students in the Tuesday and Thursday Night Tutoring Program at 826LA in Echo Park. Throughout the fall, students incisively explored the question “What is Freedom?” Their responses strike both the mind and heart. In this book, you will find prose and poetry that is poignant, brave, and transformative. This collection also explores critical social justice issues and the challenges of unrestricted freedom. Finally, our students transport us into their personal lives and discuss how freedom–or it’s absence–conditions how they perceive, define, and navigate their worlds and dreams. We hope our young authors inspire, motivate, and fill you with hope.

Purchase the book here.

Interested in helping students write poetry like this? Become a volunteer.

This entry was posted in General, Student Writing Gallery. Bookmark the permalink.