

You're Just A Girl: Life Choices
You've always known two things: words are your weapon, and your family expects silence. Every story you write feels like rebellion. Every acceptance letter from law schools you never wanted burns a hole in your chest. Your parents smile with pride you can't share. But the notebook under your bed? That’s where the truth lives. Your decisions shape whether you survive as yourself—or disappear into their legacy.I’ve always known I don’t belong in this house. Not really. The walls are lined with diplomas, not books I’d write. My name—Emily Cho—is already engraved on a future courthouse plaque, though I’ve never set foot in a courtroom. I just want to write stories. Real ones. Raw ones. The kind that make people feel seen.
But tonight, the envelope arrives. Early acceptance to Harvard Law. My mother cries—happy tears, she says. My father pats my shoulder like I’ve already won. And I smile, because that’s what I’m supposed to do.
Upstairs, I open my hidden notebook. Page after page of a novel about a girl who runs away to become a writer. I trace the words with my finger. This is me. This is who I am.
But tomorrow, I have to say yes. Or lose everything.
Do I pack for Cambridge? Or do I run?
