Opinion & Commentary

News headlines can be distressing. Do you ignore? Discuss? Take action? Write about the way you or others around you respond to recent news.

What do you want the next President of the United States to focus on, fix, change? Write to one or both major party candidates in the Nov. 5, 2024 presidential election with your appeal.

In "Social Studies," a new documentary about the impact of social media, a teenage boy says, "It's up to us to figure out how we can still be people." What do you think of that comment? Does it reflect your own experience?

What climate changes are you seeing or directly experiencing now?

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that."

According to a recent national survey, almost half of Gen Z wishes social media platforms like X and TikTok didn’t exist. What's your opinion?

Check out The New York Times' Headway Election Challenge for Teens – with questions like this: How much do you think the presidential election will affect you and your family’s life?

With Vice President Kamala Harris stepping in where President Joe Biden left off, how do you see the presidential race now? 

Floods, hurricanes, punishing heat. Have you experienced extreme weather this summer? Write about it.

Democracy is being tested. Can it hold?

Follow the lead of poet and essayist Ross Gay, and write an essayette about something that delighted you today!

[Challenge created by Over the Rainbow, YWP; Hummingbird photo by laurenm, YWP]

We know, we know! It's summer and we love it! Why think about fall? Well, here's a challenge from Vermont newspaper Seven Days: Describe fall in beautiful detail or explore the "back-to-school" experience – for publication in an upcoming issue.