2012 Stories

(click on photo to read story)

Thanks to Grace Geller for taking the photos and to Cindy Wei for providing a camera.

Aaron D.		Aaron Dresslar lives with his wife, three children, and twenty cats in Yorkshire, England. Wait, no, that can't be right. Hold on. Ah, Aaron Dresslar actually lives in Berkeley with his parents and only one cat. That makes more sense, doesn't it? He hopes to attend college at an academically challenging school that understands his sense of humor and lets him play baseball, too.
Aaron F.		Aaron Frankel, better known as "Frankel" is a talkative Berkeley native. Being the first experiment of two deranged psychologists, Aaron is easily excitable, and has little sense of organization. At one time a spelling bee champion, Aaron retired at age 13 and now plays the much less competitive sport of Ultimate Frisbee.
Aaron K.		Aaron was born and raised in Berkeley. His mother hails from the Detroit suburbs and his from just outside New York City. Aaron has been playing competitive Ice Hockey since he was five years old and plans to play Division III hockey in college next fall or differ a year of college to play semi-professionally.
Adela		Adela Suwitra, a former resident of Indonesia, is young, restless & reckless. A product of the Berkeley public school system, her mischievous tactics have contributed towards her clever and hysterical child hood character. In the near future when she is not snuggling with her plush blanket as well as Ally Suarez, she hopes to travel to other continents aside from Asia.
Aime		When her family finally decided to settle down in San Leandro for a while, Aime met hormone crazed girls. In this memoir she learns that it is better to lay low so as to avoid being caught in love triangles. Aime plans on going to college and becoming a doctor who travels around the world.
Ale		Alejandra is 17 years old. She is the third sibling out of four children. She loves make up, and traveling. After high school she plans to study law or business in college. She wants to get married and have kids about three at the most. Alejandra is outgoing loving and a thrill seeking girl who likes to have fun.
Alex A.		Alex is an aspiring Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader who enjoys writing on the side. She suffers from early Senioritis, but still manages to enjoy Mr. Bye's class. Though a Bay Area native, Alex plans on attending a college far away from home.
Alex H.		Alex was born and raised in Berkeley. Thanks to her family, she has grown up in a world full of sports. She hopes you enjoy her tale about an extraordinary softball tournament. Alex believes that even though it's so hard to write about something you love, it's totally worth the struggle. Alex plans to attend college next fall.
Alex N.		Alex Nachtwey was born and raised in Berkeley, CA. When he's not writing killer stories for Mr. Bye, he likes to play soccer, hang out with his homies, and throw. He also likes chess, tennis, football, girls and hot tubs. He is deathly afraid of spiders and bees. If you do not like his memoir, you are ill-advised.
Alice		Alice loves soccer, photography, and spontaneity. She's extremely sarcastic and is often the only one who finds her jokes funny. She has learned to laugh at fear and grow from failure. Though no one believes it, she is indeed Chinese, and would like to remind people that she probably knows her own heritage better than they do.
Alix		Alix Feinsod loves to read, and loves to write, and she especially loved to write this story!
Ally		Ally Suarez enjoys yoga, the outdoors and sushi. She loves people. Ally hopes you enjoy her story.
Ananya		Ananya has lived in Berkeley her entire life but hopes to leave it as soon as possible for college. Her role model is Napoleon the pig from Animal Farm because everybody listened to him. If she could, she'd be a housewife and cook and clean all day, but instead she hikes and looks at trees, as you will find out in this memoir.
Annie		Annie was born and raised in Berkeley. After high school she plans on moving to Oahu where she will eventually attend the University of Hawaii. She hopes you will find her memoir relatable as well as entertaining.
Arthur		Arthur is a Berkeley native. Arthur comes from a long list of cooks, athletes, and musicians. Arthur hopes you find his short story very entertaining. Arthur plans on playing basketball and studying Kinesiology/physical education in college at Long Beach state. If your interested in urban fiction this story is for you.
Ben		Ben was born and raised in Berkeley, California. He is the third of four children. He enjoys playing sports, especially baseball, and is excited to continue his baseball career in college while also studying kinesiology or exercise science. Although his memoir is sad, he hopes that you are inspired by it.
Brian		Brian is an El Cerrito native who lives with his family. They feature in a memoir he wrote, about his house. He enjoys the plentiful food and sunshine of California, and hopes to study at a UC next year.
Brianna		Brianna was born in Berkeley,California but raised in Boston, Massuchusetts for much of her young life. She likes learning about different people's culture and traditions. She believes it makes people feel good when you take the time to learn about their culture. With an international experience, she doesn't like when people are treated unfairly just because they are different so she finds herself sticking up for people in lots of situation.
Charlie		Charlie was born and raised in Berkeley. His story encapsulates a great adventure that takes place in Japan. He is currently enjoying what life has to offer and plans to attend college in New York or possibly Miami.
Chris		Chris is from Berkeley California and was born and raised here his whole life. He comes from a line of italians on his mothers side and Germans on his fathers. Coming from a foreign background, Chris enjoys traveling and experiencing new cultures. He believes its important to enjoy life to the fullest. Chris intends to got to a university to study business.
Cindy		Cindy is an American Born Chinese and is proud to be one! She grew up in Berkeley and forever loves her family. She believes that writing is a way to express hidden emotions and that even though life may suck, she also believes that life goes on. Cindy hopes to study artistic and professional architecture.
Claire		Claire was born and raised in Berkeley. She lives with her Mother, Father and three puppies. Claire loves otter pops, Friday Night Lights and Orange soda. When she is not going ahead on Mr. Bye's homework, she is trying to learn Sign Language.
Clara		Clara has lived in Berkeley her entire life. She has two brothers, two step-brothers and has always been the middle child. She has played softball since the age of eight and hopes to continue in college. Next year, she wants to go to college on the East Coast.
Deanne		Deanne is a Berkeley native hailing from a long line of believers. In this memoir, she finds herself going down memory lane with some humor along the way. Come and join her on her journey.
Deborah		Deborah Gould has lived in Berkeley all her life, and is the younger sister of two boys, one of which is her twin. Because of her musical background she is endlessly drawn to Cazadero Music Camp, though it's not the music she stays for. She hopes to find a balance between science and art at UC Santa Cruz next year.
Defne		Defne, though born in Durham, North Carolina, has lived here for 12 years, is a California girl through and through. She enjoys Colorado's mountains. However, during her stay there, she was terrified she'd trip and crack her head open on that narrow marble staircase. Defne hopes to attend university in Massachusetts, where she will likely freeze not owning legitimate jacket.
D-lo		Delores Perkins is from Oakland, California. She is the only child, residing in Berkeley. Staying with her mother and older cousin. Her motto for life is "roll with the punches and smile big to show strength!" She believes with all that she has been through in life she can show how strong she is by being successful.
Devyne		A Berkeley native, Devyne comes from a sports-minded family. He hopes you like sports because this memoir is about one. Devyne believes life is a blessing to live to the fullest. He wants to play football in college and ultimately in the NFL.
Dominic		Born in San Francisco in 1994, Dominic moved to Berkeley at four years old. With a large amount of family in Oregon, he often spends time in the Pacific Northwest.
Donovan		Donovan was born and raised from a Latin American Family. Seeing the many cultures surrounding him, he did not feel like an outsider, even though he is Salvadoran, a minority within the minority. He hopes that his stories are to everyone's liking.
Elaina		Elaina was born on a hill in the foggy city of San Francisco. Her family moved to Berkeley when she was a year old. She lived with her english mother, her native American/Irish father, and her twin brother. When she was 8 my parents divorced and she was forced to switch houses to spend time with both my parents. Although this was a difficult transition for her she had her brother. Her mother moved to a house on 7th street and about 2 years later moved to a house on 66th. There she grew up for 8 years with a group of people that she now calls her family. They had been through thick and thin and had great adventures. In July 2011, Elaina moved out of the neighborhood that she called home. she visits there as much as possible, but will never forget all the time spent there and the memories that were made.
Elina		Elina Schenker moved to Berkeley from Espoo, Finland five years ago and has lived in a total of 13 different houses. She speaks fluent Finnish, and can tell you how to say "potatoes" if you ask her. She lives with her mother, father, two younger sisters and dachshund, while her grandmother lives in their backyard.
Emily		Emily is a bike racing nut, competing in road, mountain, track, and cyclocross events. When she isn't swamped with homework, she can usually be found training in the Berkeley hills, preparing for her next race. Emily hopes to attend CU Boulder next fall to study biology and paleontology -- and, of course, continue racing bicycles in the beautiful Colorado mountains.
Emma		Emma has a competitive streak that hippie school failed to squash. One of her life's ambitions is to make a pilgrimage to Dollywood with her business accomplice Sophia. She advises readers with tiger phobias to avoid her story.
Eric		Eric is your neighborhood Italiano. He enjoys spicy jambalaya chicken and riding his moped at the beach. Eric's story is about how clumsy he was as a young lad and how he broke his arm. Eric is hoping to attend UCSB next year majoring in Computer Science or Business. He hopes you enjoy his memoir.
Erik		Erik Leon is a homie from Berkeley. He kicks it with the other homies and he a great soccer player. He likes to eat a lot so if you got food you got keep your distance. Inspired by his family Erik looks forward into becoming a doctor. He hopes to attend at CAL.
Erin		Erin hails from both El Cerrito and Richmond, a feat accomplished by living in a house split in half by the limit line between the two cities. Both of her parents being artists, Erin enjoys art, but wants to study biology in college. She hopes you do not dislike historical fiction, as it will make reading her story rather not enjoyable.
Gene		Gene was born and raised in Berkeley coming from a family of immigrants. His parents had hoped to start a better life here in the states. They were also hoping to have another child, specifically a girl, but they got Gene instead. In his memoir he discovers his last name and what it means to be a He-man.
Grace		Grace is a Michigan native with a love for the occasional lime popsicles . Grace's dream job is to be a princess at Disneyland or part of a two man cover band of The Spice Girls with her partner in crime Ally. Grace hopes to study marine biology and conservation while playing college lacrosse. Please pay attention to her story or she may have to slam her nose in between two books.
Harrison		Harrison makes a point of connecting with his Polish roots through storytelling. In his short story he shares the existential triumph of his famed grandfather Aleksander, who saved the town of Lublin and in turn the polish race from an infiltration of culture. Today Aleksander is regarded as a hero in Polish history classes and a bronze statue of him has been casted next to the store he used to shop at in Poland.
Harry		Harry Meyerson, a Berkeley native, has always grown up around music. In his memoir, he writes about how he first became interested in music and eventually performed at the Monterey Next Generation Jazz Festival. Harry hopes to continue playing music in college, along with an academic major such as economics, history or English.
Hunter D.		Hunter is originally from Berkeley and has experience with many cultures throughout the world, including Iran. This cultural experience has molded him into a global thinker who aspires to make a living through founding a global corporation. To obtain this goal, Hunter wants to start college at UCSB and eventually end up at Harvard School of Business.
Hunter I.		Hunter grew up testing his boundaries at Bentley School. He loves to talk about the adventures he took with friends when he was younger. On occasion these adventures landed him in embarrassing situations. His memoir presents insight into those experiences along with a dash of humor.
Jana		Jana formerly lived in a boring suburb of Sacramento before coming to Berkeley in the middle of her sophomore year. She comes from a family full of many cousins, aunts and uncles. She plans to either go to New York and study psychology and dance or settle for the beautiful state of California until she's had enough.
Jeronimo		Jeronimo is a Berkeley native with one sister. After high school he plans on going to college where he will major in psychology and minor in photography. He loves iPhones.
Jonathan		Running is constantly on his mind, and that tends to come out in writing. Most of his friends call him crazy, though not nearly crazy enough to be insane.
Josh C.		Joshua Cho moved from Seoul Korea to Berkeley when he was 1 year old. He hopes to travel around the world, eating exotic foods, and meeting crazy people after high school.
Josh F.		Joshua lives in Berkeley. He is physically disabled. Some disabled people might think that the glass is half empty. He thinks, "At least my spasm didn't spill the whole glass." In the future, he wants to be a screenwriter.
Kayla		Kayla is 17 years old. She likes to do hair and make up. After high school she wants to go to Beauty College. After she graduates from college she wants to get married if she had a choice it would be to a baseball player.
Landry		Landry was born in Berkeley, and over the years she has lived in Berkeley, El Cerrito, and Richmond. She has a sister named Nicola who is Asian, and because of that, no one ever believes them when they tell people they're related. Read all about how this is possible Landry's memoir!
Layla		Layla was born in Fairfax, Virginia and moved to California when she was 5 years old. She enjoys playing soccer and writing stories for Mr. Bye. After college Layla wants to move back to Berkeley to find work. She hopes to raise three children in Berkeley and make them into star athletes.
Lev		Lev Facher has lived in Berkeley his entire life, and is a jazz drummer and avid baseball fan. He hopes you find his memoir about elementary and middle school more enjoyable than its content!
Lilly		Lilly is an 18-year-old student who lives in the Berkeley hills with her mom. Her favorite place to be is at home in her pink plush Snuggieï. When she isn't snuggling she enjoys soccer, drawing, ceramics, and hanging out with friends.
Linmin		Linmin, who was born and raised in China, went to California one year ago. He likes science so much, so he dreams to study engineering in UC Berkeley. This short story is about revenge from a dead man. Enjoy it!+++++
Madison M.		Madison has lived in Berkeley her whole life with her parents and older brother. She has danced for the past fifteen years and now teaches younger children. She is an avid traveler and one day hopes to have set foot in every continent.
Madison W.		Madison was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she lives with her parents, sister, schizophrenic cat and poodle named Ruben. She is currently the picture of good health.
Marisa		Marisa is a Bay Area native who volunteers and spends a lot of time in San Francisco. She plans to get into a UC but doesn't know yet what she wants to study. She hopes you like her short story about chaos in paradise.
Marquez		Marquez Monroe is an native to the bay area. He not only love to tell corny jokes, but he also plays football, teaches martial arts, and dances. Marquez has gone to Berkeley High all four years of his high school life, and he couldn't have wanted it any other way. He loves to listen to music, his dream car is a 1958 corvette, and his ideal career an architecture or engineering.
Maya		Maya spent her formative first two weeks in Arizona before moving to Berkeley, California. She has more experience than is really necessary with flooding, and prefers the sun to the rain all of the time, but especially during vacations. She hopes her memoir will inspire others to not experiment with mashed potato recipes, to take up hedge maintenance, and to be wary of Northern California winters.
Miranda		Miranda Swain is a free spirit who loves to have a good time. In her free time she enjoys yoga, bagels, and dance parties. She hopes you enjoy her story.
Nadia		Nadia loves drawing, designing, music, and dancing. She wishes to set up out reach programs in the future and travel all over the world. She hopes you enjoy her writing. In her memoir Nadia reflects on her experiences coming to America as a child.
Nicolle		Nicolle Allen was born in San Diego, but moved around quite a bit before returning to sunny California at age 10. Most recently, she lived in Helena, Montana. She maintains that, yes, people actually do live in Montana and that nobody actually rides their horse to school; most of the time.
Nikko		Nikko is from Berkeley. Her family is known for their sense of humor and owns a barbeque restaurant in downtown Oakland. Nikko's story is a reflection of society and stereotypes. She believes that words have power, writing is the greatest weapon, and conveying a honest feeling is the mark of good writing. Nikko aspires to go to Clark Atlanta and develop a chain of fashion stores.

Octavio		Octavio Hingle-Webster takes BART to and from San Francisco everyday for a dance program, which provided inspiration for his story. He has come across quite a few strange looking people on his commute, so he decided to make a story about them. He hopes to double major in Dance and Environmental Studies at TBA university next year, but he wants to continue writing as well.
Oona		Oona was born and raised in Berkeley. She is excited for college and intends to go to either UC Santa Cruz, Arizona State University or several other California State Universities for the fall 2012 semester. In this memoir she reveals a different side of her life, her relocation to London, England at a young age.
Ozzie		Is being modernistic, being creative or absurd? Modernism is introspectively only an idea of creation by those who have no intentions. Modernism is being poisoned. Have you ever felt like being rich? Ozzie is the son of a Cuban and English teacher and money ain't everything. I think modernism is farfetched so I choose not to write about it.
Paco		Paco, AKA Pacs, PWeezy, or Paco Taco, was born in Berkeley, and is a bizarre combination of Mexican and Chinese. His hobbies include playing guitar whilst watching Scrubs, and he enjoys long walks on beaches and scenic views. Paco spends most of his time playing soccer and trombone, often at the same time. He also thinks muffins are totally delicious.
Phoebe B.		Phoebe was born in her house in Berkeley, CA where she still lives today. She has a mom, a dad, and two older sisters. She loves printmaking, drawing, creative writing, Japanese Tea Ceremony, babies, Picante, popsicles, and view spots. Phoebe is serious about school but believes a social life is important too, the key is a balance.
Phoebe L.		Phoebe is fourth generation at Berkeley High. With roots sunk deep into Berkeley's history and pride, Phoebe grew up a rebel. She has always been very imaginative. As shown in her memoir, sometimes imagination isn't always as straight forward as it seems. She hopes you read and enjoy her memoir.
Quan		Quan loves penguins. She takes Bart frequently to SF and Oakland Chinatown. She currently lives in Berkeley with her parents and two sisters. She hopes you enjoy her short story and that you keep it in mind when life just seems to get a little too boring.
Rachelle		Rachelle is seventeen years old. She was born in Berkeley. She has lived in California her whole life. She plans to move out of state for college. She loves her family, her close friends, reading, and laughing. She is obsessed with Hello Kitty and anything that has to do with music. She hope's you enjoy her writing.
Raionna		Raionna is a 17-year-old Berkeley native. Born under the zodiac sign Pisces, Raionna shows her ability to care and love in every situation. In "A Relationship From Hell" you're shown how being charming and having good looks can play with Raionna's feelings.
Randy		Randy was born and raised in the city of Berkeley. He lives with his parents who are immigrants and his younger sister. He sometimes forgets information during crucial times. He may act friendly and active, but is shy on the inside. Randy wants to learn Japanese and one day travel to Japan.
Rick		Rick was born in El Cerrito but has lived in Berkeley since he was two. His family has always loved traveling, but none of them like planes anymore. And they all agree, after their trip to Africa, that British Airlines needs a different slogan than 'Fly the Friendly Skies.' Rick plans to travel the world climbing outdoors.
Rosa
Samantha		Samantha has lived in Berkeley for the past five years. Before that, she lived in Oakland under the shade of an overgrown trumpet flower tree. She has one younger brother, and she loves animals.
Sami		Sami was born in Santa Cruz. She has also lived in Honolulu, Upland, and Berkeley. Throughout many moves, her entire family continues to share surfing as a way to connect. Sami hopes you enjoy her memoir about family tensions, running away, and clearing chaos. She believes surfing is the ultimate meaning of life and intends on going to UH Manoa.
Samy		Samy is a native of Berkeley, California. Coming from a Northern African family, he is a fan of various sports and loves competing with other people. Samy really expects you to be drawn in by all his memoirs, yea he is cocky like that. "Anything the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve" is a code that everyone should live by. Samy plans to attend the University of California Santa Barbara in the future years to come.
Smriti		Smriti has recently moved from Nepal, a small Asian country. Traveling half way around the world, she is here to tell you about some of the changes she went through and some boy problem she had when she was in 11th grade. She hopes you will enjoy her memoir.
Sofia		Sofia was born and raised in Berkeley, and plans to have lots of travel adventures. Books, sunflowers, and strawberries are some of her favorite things. She understands the magical qualities of a good playground and hopes you do, too.
Sophia H.		Sophia is first generation American and was born and raised in Berkeley, California. She loves traveling both to see the world and to see her family. Sports have always played a big role in her life and she hopes to continue swimming in college.
Sophia V.		Sophia Vaccaro has long held an appreciation for jeggings and sarcasm. Her life plans include trick or treating forever and buying a country house at which she can employ her multitude of leisure suits. She has also always held an appreciation for those bold and uninhibited. If you are one such person, click on the photo to the left.
Tano		Tano was born in San Francisco and moved to Berkeley at age five. He loves going on crazy adventures with friends. He has know idea where the future will take him, but he hopes it is somewhere similar to the setting of his story.
Trichawn		Trichawn is originally from Oakland but has lived in many cities such as Fremont, Fairfield, Hayward, and now Berkeley. Coming from a large family of seven brothers and sisters, her musical talents shine bright, even behind dark clouds in her life. She also is a splendid writer. Trichawn plans on studying music and optometry at Tuskegee University.
Victor		Victor Guerrero is the son of two immigrants that came from Mexico. Because of this he has two lifestyles he must juggle. The Mexican life when he is around family and the American life with his friends. This has lead him to questionable decisions that made him who he is today. He is unsure of his future at the moment.
Will		From East Oakland, Will has lived in Oakland for many years. Will has this wild family that loves to have fun and enjoy life while they can in this crazy community that we live in. Will believes that life is what you make it.
Willie		Willie is an Oakland native who loves going to school in Berkeley. He somehow manages to get a laugh out of everything he does. During the school year he can be found doing anything but schoolwork. He hopes to laugh his way to a comfortable life of retirement in the future.

Yuan Der

Sato is an otaku who enjoys in video games. With his genius intelligence and special hobby, people don’t understand him and his life. Because he is isolated from others, he is always alone until he meets Mika.