About Promised Teenage Years

“You are only as pretty as your friends are” is a quote to live by. With the help of Twine, an interactive storytelling generator, you adapt to the behavior of the people you surround yourself with. Inspired by the quote, the plots of this interactive storytelling piece leads the reader down different rabbit holes, exploring the power play between different social groups and the stereotypes in society. By putting the reader in another’s shoes, I hope to inspire the breaking of these stereotypes and encourage the audience to rise, speak and inform change.

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Process​

My goal as a writer is to create realistic but mind-modifying materials that inspire change by exploring racial, gender, social, economic and political issues. At the time of writing this piece, I was intrigued by the idea of how we as human beings often adapt to the behaviors of the people we choose to hang out with. Through its interactive capability, Twine was the perfect medium to allow the reader to experience the power play between different social groups first hand: who they chose to associate with in the story influenced their behavior and exposed them to stereotypes in society.

The time you felt the most powerful

My mentor Minsi and I always look forward to seeing each other at our cafe, Nussbaum & Wu. Over the last year, I have been encouraged to muster my courage to try new experiences and opportunities, and empowered to take risks as a writer and as a person. I felt the most powerful when Minsi and I went to see and meet Elizabeth Acevedo perform her poetry. The show made me feel powerful and grateful for living in a country of such great diversity because of immigration, which is an issue that both my mentor and I are passionate about.