Changing the Narrative
“Changing the narrative” is a phrase we like to define as changing the conversation and shifting the mindset on campus. We want to help change the narrative by normalizing everyday struggles and showing the beauty of vulnerability. To make this step, The Oracle will publish personal stories of strength, hope, healing and growth every other week.
Written by Vidur Thukral I know who I am. I’m the guy with the repetitive jokes, the guy who’s a huge aviation geek and the guy who has a weird obsession with Indian cuisine. I could keep going on and on. There are a million ways to describe me and I knew every one of them. What I didn’t realize is that there was a huge difference between
[...]Written by Isha Gupta Humans are social creatures; we pride ourselves in making connections and bonding with others. However, our constant focus on others causes some of us to worry about how others perceive us. Some of us care about this more than others. While I would love to claim that I am exempt from this, I unfortunately fall on the other
[...]Written by Lindsay Maggioncalda When my mom said I couldn’t leave the house after midnight on a school night, I’d go anyway. Several of my best friends were suicidal, and I would always come when they said they needed me—no matter what. Being there for them took priority over everything else in my life, not only because I loved them dearly
[...]Written by Krissy Ludemann I had always been a big kid, both tall and overweight. I was teased and bullied through most of my childhood—I have distinct memories of being spit on after getting off of the school bus as well as having a group of boys follow me around the playground calling me “Miss Piggy.” It was the 1980s and the zero
[...]Written by Tone Yao Lee How are you? How was your day? How are you doing? No matter how I was actually feeling, I always gave the same, robotic response—I’m okay. Growing up, I was taught to mask my emotions. Even when everything was going wrong, I still forced a big grin across my face. Everyone had their own problems, and I didn’t want to
[...]Written by Michelle Victor I have to admit that some things come pretty easy for me, like leadership, public speaking, playing softball, eating massive amounts of Taco Bell and even talking to strangers. Sometimes my strengths can turn out as, not necessarily weaknesses, but not great judgement calls, which I later realize are mildly poor life
[...]Written by Jacqueline Woo I hope that by sharing my story, you too can be inspired and re-evaluate what happiness and success means to you. Both volleyball and dance were my two main, positive outlets in my life. However by the time freshman and sophomore year came around, I was finding it difficult to juggle volleyball and dance along with
[...]Written by Mikaela Wayne For as long as I can remember, my oldest brother, Coby has excelled in school. He was solid at times tables, in touch on political issues and had an extremely irritating habit of always knowing the answer to everything. When he was in middle school, I distinctly remember him crying over a B+ while I took eight tries to
[...]Written by Shannon Yang Assistant Principal Miriam Stevenson grew up in an unstable household. Economically vulnerable, her family moved about 19 times before she turned 10. Throughout their childhood, Stevenson and her three siblings underwent emotional instability. Together they endured psychological and physical abuse, their parents’
[...]Written by Josh Spain “Sweet are the uses of adversity which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, wears yet a precious jewel in his head.” William Shakespeare. The first time I truly faced adversity in my life was in seventh grade. The morning of the first football game of the season, I broke my collarbone and was out for the entire season
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