(click on photo to read memoir) 

Thanks to Selamawit Mersha for taking the photos .

 

Aaron

 

   

Ever since he was a child, Aaron had a passion for learning about nature. Between watching every episode of Crocodile Hunter to exploring the remote landscape of Bryce Canyon, he was always interested in learning more. At the age of seventeen he was old enough to go on his own adventure into some of the most beautiful places on the planet. This his story of his first independent adventure.

 
 
 

Abel
     Abel was born in Oakland, CA. He emerges from a rich heritage of Ethiopians, with a Californian twist. In this memoir he writes of his vacation in Africa and his "luck" with love. A deeply rooted young man in culture, humor, romance and unity, his memoir was written to represent. He plans on majoring in Audio Tech at American University.  
 

Alma

  

Alma was born and raised in Oakland. Living with her mom and her younger brother, she feels the urge to help her family and be a role model to her brother. There are no limitiations to your success. She hopes to attend San Diego State or San Francisco State.
 

Adrian

   

 

  

Ashley

 Ashley was adopted when she was 6 weeks old. She plays soccer nonstop, loves hanging with her friends, and LOVES Maya Angelou. Her memoir is about her head injury during a soccer game, and how she manages to handle the situation and come back a stronger character. She hopes to attend her top college choice in the fall.
 

Avi

 Avi has lived in Berkeley his whole life. He is a serious academic student and an avid volleyball player. He is a determined person who wont back down from a task even if it's difficult. He plans to go to college next year and study engineering.   
 

Chris

    

Chris Allen has lived in Berkeley, California his whole life. He lives life on the edge; he crosses bridges when he gets to them. Chris wants the reader to not feel sympathy for him in his story, things happen for a reason he claims. Chris plans on attending a 4 Year University in Los Angeles.

 
 

Claire

Growing up in a musical family, Claire Engan has been exposed to many types of music. She enjoys singing with her father at home, and playing various musical instruments. In her memoir, Claire describes the memory of an amazing choir performance. This year, she is singing with the Berkeley High School Jazz choir, and hopes to have an equally amazing performance at the Folsom Jazz festival in January.

 

 

Danny

   

Danny has lived in Berkeley his whole life. He enjoys playing baseball, hanging out with friends, and watching movies. Danny has many nicknames such as Dannyboy, Dboy, Roldy, Harold, and DanDan. He hopes you enjoy his memoir and encourages all underclassmen to take short stories senior year. Danny has no immediate plans for after high school.
 
 

Devante'

   DeVante' moved from Elk Grove (Sacramento) to Berkeley in the middle of his junior year. Finding friends has never been something that was hard for him to do. Losing them is the hardest thing for him. This memoir shows what he had to go through and what he felt when he had to face one of the biggest changes of his life. He hopes that you enjoy it and says, "Class of 2010 rocks!!!!!!"
 

Djuna

 Djuna has never left Berkeley for more than two weeks. She's been here forever! Coming from an adventurous, fun loving family. She loves to have fun. she hopes her memoir is 'meaty' enough fro you. She strives to study Forensic Anthropology at any college that will take her in.   
 

Donnay

Donnay M. Givens is a senior at Berkeley High School. She has lived in The Bay Area her whole life. Next year she plans on going to Spellman College in Georgia. She wants to study to be a lawyer. Her second choice is to study to be a writer. She enjoys watching football and spending time with her family.
 

Elana

   Elana Cohen is an average teenager in America today. She enjoys whistling a good tune and the juke box. Elana knows that nothing con stop her on her road to happiness as she walks through life without a care. Elana knows not what life will bring, but always invites the future with a smile and a good laugh.
 

Emma L.

     

Emma Lydon has lived in Berkeley all of her life. When she's not rescuing wildlife, she spends her time working for The Jacket and playing rugby. She plans on majoring in political science and attending law school.
 

Emma S-S

Emma is from Oakland. She is an only child who balances the clenched-abdomen repression of her father's side of the family and the shrieking chaos of her mother's side. She wishes her personal philosophy was “And that (Said John) Is That,” but really “La Vie Est Belle,” when said with a terribly sad expression, seems to sum it up better.

 
 

Evan

Evan Cohen has lived in Berkeley for his entire life. However he loves to travel. Hiking and backpacking have always been two of his greatest passions, and he hopes that you enjoy reading about one of his many adventures. Evan is an aspiring computer programmer and web designer, and hopes to study these fields in college and beyond.
 

Frances

Frances Tiffin was born and bred in the Bay Area.  She has no free time,
or rather all of her free time is spent doing circus.  She fancies herself
to have family across the country, as that is where the members of Smirkus
hail from.  She enjoys hanging upside-down, stretching till she cries, and

Ugly Betty. She takes clowning around very seriously.
 

Francisco

   My name is Francisco and I live in Berkeley,Ca. I like to do many things like play video games or just kick it with my friends but mostly be with my girlfriend which is mentioned in my memoir. I am also a big Jordan Head (Jordan Collector) I like to collect sneakers but ruin my life in a way when I can be studying or reading because I plan to go to a California State College as soon as I graduate. 
 

Giovanni

Giovanni has lived in Berkeley for nine years while the other eight he spent it in Mexico living in the beautiful state of Michoacan. Having seen the many sacrifices that his parents had to go through, makes him motivated to achieve all his dreams. With his memoir, he hopes to help other teenagers realize that family always comes before anything else. "Always love your family and appreciate everything they give you." He hopes to graduate high school and attend a four year college to study engineering.

 
 

Haley
Haley learned her only valuable life lesson at the age of 11, and if you read her memoir youl learn it too! She hopes that the degree in psychology she plans to earn will not lead to a career in teaching like the rest of her family. Instead she aspires to study at Whittier College to become a psychiatrist.
 

Hannah G.

  

     Hannah grew up in Pt. Reyes Sta. and has spent the past three years in Berkeley. Her family taught her to love adventures in the great out doors. She hopes you don’t find her memoir to childish. Like Dr. Seuss, Hannah believes, “Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.” She hopes to study international relations and diplomacy in college and work alongside Dr. Patch Adams.

 

Hannah M.

Though Hannah has grown up in Berkeley, she was born in North Carolina. She has been on the BHS crew team sence freshmen year. And would like to go to collage. She would also like to win ten million dollars and have the ability to fly, but we can have everything. She has now idea what she wants to do with her life, but will enjoy finding out.

 

Hector
Hector has lived in Richmond for a long part of his life, but he is currently living in Berkeley. His family comes from Mexico. He hopes to go to college and study some kind of engineering, maybe in construction.

 

Ian

Ian, simply put, is just amazing. He resides in Berkeley and enjoys playing violin, hiking, and going on long bike rides. Ian has a black belt in Kuk-Sool-Won and has raced for Berkeley High's Mountain Bike Team for one year. You could easily pick him from a crowd due to his distinct appearance, ungainly stride, sexy model-like-figure and erratic behavior.
 

Jambaldorj

   jambaldorj was born in ulaanbaatar, mongolia. At the age of 11 he came to berkeley, CA. he hopes that you will find his memoir diffrent from the other memoirs that you have read before. jambaldorj also hopes to go to SF state college and major as biologist.  
 

Jasmine

   Jasmine was born and raised in Berkeley California. At  the age of twelve she discovered that she wanted to be a obstetrician. She would love to attend Spellman or UC Davis. As you read her memoir, know that she is a different person today.
 

Jenna
Jenna has lived in Berkeley with her parents, older sister, and their cat, Fergus, all her life. But it wasn’t until she was ten that two surgical stainless steel plates were implanted in her arm. If you’d like to find out why, click on her picture and read “My Favorite Arm.” Rated PG-13 for mild gore and social politics.
 

Jeremy

 Jeremy Gleick has always been interested in knowledge and learning, in many fields. He is currently applying to a number of highly academic colleges with intent to go into professional research and development in the field of neuroscience.
 

Kali

   Kali has lived in Berkeley all her life. She comes from a big family, three
brother and two sisters because of that she often feels overcrowded at times.
Like her favorite teacher has said "You can't say you like to write but don’t
like to read, they go hand in hand". Kali doesn’t know what college she wants to
attend yet but she does know that she wants to pursue what she loves which is
writing.
 

Katie

Katie has lived in Berkeley her whole life and has enjoyed every moment. She lives with her two brothers and mother and father. Her friend, Helen, from her memoir has become like the sister she always wanted. Katie always tries to find the bright side of life and hopes that she will have a wonderful time through out her life.

 

Keke

  
 

Kevin

  

Kevin Yu is a first generation Chinese American. He was born in Boston MA, but moved to California when he was five. He enjoys rock climbing and going to the beach. He hopes to attend UC Davis to study ceramics.

 

Lauren

 

Lauren is planing on going to a four year collage, her first choice is Chico State because it is close to home but not to close. She loves to go to the beach and listen to music, as told in her story. Something you would never know about Lauren from looking at her is that she still is a sucker for disney movies especially Pocahantes.

 

Leah

   Although she now lives in Berkeley, Leah grew up in Canyon, a tiny town that is home to more redwoods than people. She would like to go to college somewhere where there are actual seasons, preferably not in California, so she can appreciate home all the more when she comes back. She plays the fiddle. You can find out just how obsessed she is with Irish music by reading her memoir.   
 

Liza

 
Liza is one of six  siblings. When she got lice her mother called her
“Lica” for months. Her mother, father, and brother each believe in one of
the 3 monotheistic religions. She will swim in the dirtiest parts of the
San Francisco Bay. One leg is longer than the other. Liza loves Michael
Jackson, hot sauce and salt.

 
 

Madeleine

  Madeleine has lived her entire life in Berkeley, California.
She lives with her parents and has two older sisters. she is now a senior at
Berkeley High and plans to go to College next year.  

 
 

Maxx

Maxx Koerner has spent most of his living memory in Berkeley, he spent the first few in Richmond. Being German in heritage, he comes off as stubborn and at times resourceful, though most of the time he is layed back. Currently he juggling between being a history teacher or a chef. He also speaks broken German.
 

Maya D.

Maya Drexler was raised in Berkeley, California. She lives with her parents and sisters. Family is a very big part of her life, and so is her job as a Peer Health Advocate. She hopes to continue this work in college and in her future. Her favorite thing to do is laugh, and she tries to find humor in most situations.

 
 

Maya M.

Maya comes from a quirky family (her house is orange with yellow polka dots), which has raised her to be a relatively outspoken young lady. She hopes you enjoy her memoir about one of the many consequences due to her large mouth. She aspires to become a lawyer and to avoid debt by attending UC Berkeley.

 

Mi-Re

Mi-re is a Korean-American girl who was born and raised in Berkeley. She loves art, horseback riding, and food. She also enjoys traveling around the world. Her dream school is UC Davis. She wishes to travel abroad to Korea or Italy for further studies after college. Mi-re and her family are very family oriented and she owes her life to them.
 

Molly Rose

 Molly Rose Morrissey has lived in Berkeley her whole life with her mother, Lisa, father, Paddy, and sister, Caitlin. She firmly swears by the practice of cognitive therapy and says that therapy is the best thing that has ever happened to her. She plans to stay in California for college.

 

Nathan

 
 

Nubia

  

Nubia spent her childhood in Mexico City, then moved to Berkeley and is currently living San Pablo. She has three siblings, two brothers and a sister whom she love spending time with. She hopes you enjoy reading about the first time she fell in love and all the things she went through. She believes everything happens for a reason and lives her life with no regrets. She hopes to attend SF State next fall.
 
 

Patrick

     

Patrick was born in Oakland, but spends time in Berkeley. Coming from an East Coast family, he is often traveling to Massachusetts. He has high hops for his memoir and hopes that you do to. Patrick believes that writing cannot be forced, but when it is ready, the writing will flow swiftly. He has aspirations of finding his passion in college.

 
 

Rachel Ch.

     

Rachel Chernick started dancing at age two.  Forcing her parents to video tape
her,  no person was exempt as she rounded up her audience. Formally, she began
dancing at four- participating in tap, jazz, hip-hop, ballet, and modern dance
ever since. Not only has dance brought Rachel joy, but it has brought her a

community.

Rachel Co.

 

Rachel grew up in Oakland. Daughter of a hairstylist, she knows her mom will hate how terrible her hair looks in her picture and her dad will just laugh. She wrote her memoir about an epic adventure through a creek and hopes you will find it funny enough to call entertaining. She plans to live out the college experience at Georgetown University.

   
 

Sally

    

Sally obviously has some issues in her life that she needs to sort out.
 
 

Samantha

     Samantha was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where her birth parents were attending college. Shortly after being adopted, she moved to Maryville, Tennessee, where she stayed for the next ten years. Despite her wishes, she eventually had to move to the Bay Area and has lived there ever since. Samantha enjoys astronomy and spending time with her cat, Peaches.
 

Sareena

  
 

Selam

Selamawit Mersha is originally from Ethiopia, but has been living in Berkeley for six years. She is a senior at Berkeley High School. After high school she hopes to go to San Fransisco State and be a medicine student. She hopes you enjoy her memoir and learn a little about her trip back to her home country and her friendship with, Sarah.




Tai

Tai was born and raised in Berkeley, CA, except for the three years she lived in Hong Kong. She speaks fluent Japanese, thanks to her mother who has spoken in Japanese to her from a young age. Tai has danced at Berkeley City Ballet since the age of six, and hopes to pursue dance in college.
 

Tessala

 Being the true Berkeley native she is, Tessala is a bit strange by most standards. She enjoys walking around town barefoot and listening to trippy music. A few things that she can't stand on the other hand, are bad remakes of good songs, grape flavored candy, and fish. She hopes to study art and psychology in whatever college ends up accepting her.
 

Trevor

    

 Trevor has lived in Berkeley his entire life and knows that his views, no matter how hard he tries, reflect his up bringing in Berkeley. He recognizes the importance of travel and gaining perspective. Next fall he is sure that he will be attending a college but is still unsure of where he wants to go.
 

Valerie

Valerie Dohrer was born and raised in in the wonderful city of Berkeley. Though she loves Berkeley with all her heart, she hopes to go to college in a land far far away. Valerie is deeply in love with theater and for the past four years she has dabbled in a love affair with costuming. She hopes you enjoy the most exciting and terrifying moment of her theater career and don't forget to follow your dreams, wherever they may lead.

 
 

Violetta

 Violetta was born in the Bay Area, then moved to New Jersey. She then, of course, found her way back to Berkeley, where she was raised. She hopes you don't find her memoir too gruesome. She aspires to live a fruitful life.
 

Zoe

 Zoe Tamaki was born and raised in/near the city of Berkeley. She has two sisters: one who likes nature and one who likes nature occasionally. She prefers the city over everything, but ventures out occasionally into nature for a one day camping trip or nature hike. One summer, however, she was persuaded into going on a TWO day nature adventure. Her experience is recounted in her memoir, Better with Bat Poop.