Aaron Miller, 10/16/12

High school student in New York

Congress must not be governed by the political gridlock that inhibits headway; rather, it must be governed "by the people, for the people," who want a lasting, bipartisan compromise to avoid the fiscal cliff.

Carmin Chappell, 10/16/12

High school senior from Maryland

"Look pretty fast!" was plastered on top of the page. Underneath were various makeup tutorials that took five, 10 and 15 minutes. I have nothing against lipstick and blush, but why did I have to paint on a new face to feel good about myself?

Brett Hahn, 10/16/12

17-year-old high school student in New York

When asked, "What is the single most important thing that your parents have ever done for you?" there might be a lot of answers that come to mind. But the answer to this question lies within the first 1,000 days of our existence.

Abeoler Lewis, 10/16/12

Brooklyn Public Library ambassador, techie, culinarian, art junkie, all around jack-of-all-trades

Things that I found so simple I realized took time and effort for them to learn. Being around them and teaching them really gave my life purpose that year and allowed me to see that I was taking a lot in my life for granted.

Savanna Mesch, 10/15/12

17-year-old high school senior

I hope all the other class of 2013-ers can relate to this. Or if you've graduated you can probably remember this absolute horrid feeling. How do you deal with symptoms of senioritis? Is there a cure?

Javier Storch, 10/15/12

Junior at Dr. Michael Krop Senior High School

A few years later, my father's friend declared bankruptcy. After years of lavish spending, he and his family were forced to compromise their hopes and dreams in order to keep what little they had left. They sold their cars to pay for their groceries.

Andrew Wild, 10/15/12

High school student in Los Angeles

All fans of baseball, buckle your seat belts because the race to this award is going to be bumpy.

Sofia Stafford, 10/15/12

Junior at the Hewitt School in Manhattan.

Every morning we wake up to the sound of our alarm. We get dressed, grab some breakfast and less than 20 minutes later we are at school. The two of us may live in different states, attend different schools, but there is one common denominator we share.

Murray Rosenbaum, 10/15/12

14-year-old student in New York

A machine such as the MakerBot will change the entire world in such a way that has never happened before. The MakerBot will open peoples' imaginations to a world that had never been available to them before it.

Indre Altman, 10/15/12

Junior at Carnegie Vanguard High School in Houston, Tex.

Last Wednesday night, during the presidential debates that so many Americans couldn't keep themselves from watching, another debate was taking place between Ted Cruz and Paul Sadler to take Kay Bailey Hutchison's current seat as Texas senator.

Jess Coleman, 10/12/12

Student, Binghamton University

Romney certainly has an enormous amount to improve upon when it comes to telling the truth: 43 percent of what comes out of his mouth is mostly false or worse. It makes sense, then, that he would forget to pass this lesson along to Paul Ryan.

Becca Fritz, 10/12/12

Twitter addict and Harry Potter enthusiast

Overall Milton Bradley, I'm pissed. Next time you think about making a new game, think about how much it will build up or expectations of "real life." Or at least you could put a warning label on the box.

Jack Cahn, Nancy Ko and Severyn Kozak, 10/12/12

Jack Cahn was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was an early summer morning, and a reckless driver was in a hurry. She made an illegal turn and slammed him off his bike. A crowd of people encircled him as the driver sped away, marking a classic hit-and-run.

Nahal Shakib, 10/11/12

High school student in Los Angeles

There is no question that with the proper education and environment, a girl is capable of great things -- in fact, the tenacity that girls consistently show proves that they will lead the world to this realization.