The world is now dominated by several conflicts, which has sometimes put many of us on opposing sides. Throughout our personal lives, we also go through disagreements – with family, bosses, partners, friends.
The Department of Journalism and the Writing Professions invited students to write personal essays about a recent conflict or disagreement, but written from their opponent’s point of view. Students were asked to be creative and embody the other person in their quest to see the world from a perspective different from their own.Dollars & Sense is publishing a selection of the winners from the Spring ’24 fourth annual essay contest.
First Place: Meola Shaka
We hardly ever spoke of any serious matters, and maybe it was because we hardly spoke at all, of the questions that were buried or feelings that lingered. Me and my father only had frivolous conversations; about the history of our ancestors or the fascinating world of biology. I asked him about the origin of the mitochondrial DNA or if our people were always Muslim. He would answer with such ease as if leafing through his encyclopedia stored deep in his brain.
Second Place: Nairobi Rivera
When the cops pulled up you were in the middle of packing for Dubai. Or was it India? They knocked so hard the sleeping cat curled by the window shot straight up. When you are in shock, noises sound distant and muffled, your body freezes and the world seemingly moves on without you. I imagine you there, doorknob still in hand, unable to respond when they told you they were looking for your husband. You almost told them he’d gone out— he sold energy drinks.
Third Place: Karlston Jin
You started painting around the same time I began learning the violin. From the lessons you afforded me at the Brooklyn LX Music School, you listened to me grow as I moved from Bach to Vivaldi to Dvorjak. Our creativity bonded us when I was younger, but as time passed, you urged me to practice medicine, thus giving up my interest in the arts. Although I found more kinship with music, you remained concerned about my ability to survive in this world. Survival, which you taught me, hinges on financial success, though relegated all of life’s wonders to a series of paychecks, all of which you were so familiar with.
Honorable Mention: Melani Bonilla
As I sit by the window, I remember the dreams of forming a family I once had. The daily disagreements with my ex-husband, trauma, and roles instilled in me as a little girl is why I stayed even when my daughter pleaded with me not to. It’s a topic that has lingered in the air between us, unspoken yet palpable, like a delicate web woven between generations, culture, and tradition.
Honorable Mention: Sovereign Mack
A free-spirit is great until you experience the true meaning of what it insinuates: nothing to grasp, nothing to hold onto, nothing to rely on. I was a lone island, constantly accepting wandering, broken visitors. They took my resources and left me empty. Then she came, and everything was different. She took, because I love to give, but she gave even more. Around her the wind seemed to sing, the sun burned brighter, the skeletons of the castaways decayed into rich earth which she planted the most beautiful flowers upon. She was the ocean: great bursts of kinetic energy, whimsical movements, constantly rearranging the shapes of my coastline, each being more beautiful and surprising than the last.
Honorable Mention: Emma Delahanty
“Do you really need that right now,” she hissed.
After the words left her mouth, it felt like time stood still, as everyone looked at me waiting for my reply. I felt naked, the invisible line had been crossed. As the five of us stood on the corner of Waverly and Broadway, with the rain splashing on us, I felt like I only had three options: 1. continue and pretend like nothing happened, 2. go to the shop and get the forbidden drink, or 3. go home. I chose three.