Alex Foster's "Why I Crew" is a beautifully constructed audio piece. The acoustic music choice that ties the beginning to the end sets a peaceful mood for the entire piece. In addition, Alex Foster's soft voice really adds to the overall audio.

Being someone who has dedicated a lot of time to swimteam, I completely understand the perspective from which Alex is coming from. Alex's insight into how challenging yourself can lead to the appreciation of other things is profound and astute.

My only suggestion would be to edit in more space inbetween Alex Foster's narration to allow more time for the listener to digest what he/she just heard.

"Watching my cousin sink into gang life" by Julie Piludo offers an outsider's view on gang life. The audio proves that bad things can happen to good people and illustrates how joining a gang can affect those not even directly involved. In the end, Julie does lose her cousin to jail, but she never forgets his advice.

Julie Piludo's voice really makes the piece touching and real. The music at the end also improves the audio.

"Party Chinese People" is an honest and interesting piece about Chinese assimilation into the United States. Pui Chau discusses the typical Chinese stereotypes but then begins to question them when she hears some Chinese kids partying in the house below her. She wonders whether these kids are revamping their morals or are simply trying to fit into the "American culture."

The background noises in this piece definitely enhance the overall audio. I like the topic and I like the questions "Party Chinese People" raises.

"Losing a Friend to AIDS" is a short, but powerful piece. When the narrator finds out her friend has the possibility of getting infected with HIV, her minds flashes back to an old friend whom she saw lose the fight to the disease.

The narrator does a great job of portraying how dangerous AIDS is and how at the same time is so easy to contract.

I really enjoyed listening to this piece because you could hear the emotion in the narrator's voice. She incorporates tiny details of her life along with metaphors that really make the listener want to listen. My only suggestion? Some soft music really would have brought it home.

For a long time, students, kids, and adults have pondered over the differences between kids who grow up going to school and those who learn at home. Hillary Frank digs deep into these issues questiong homeschooling kids about their daily lives at a homeschooling convention. And through this investigation, a lot of great points on the controversy are brought up. My favorite point that she made was that it appeared to her that homeschooled kids strive just as hard to be different as kids who go to school strive to be the same.

I really liked how this piece was put together. The background noise and music really brought the listener into the scene and I felt as if I was actually at the convention and the dance. Plus, Frank's questions for the homeschooled students were well thought out and I give her a lot of credit for being brave enough to question their ideas on the superiority of homeschooling.

I really enjoyed listening to this expository piece by Charlie Thaxton. It was interesting how he juxtaposed a historical Supreme Court trial on student's rights with the present situation in the United States. By making this connection to the present, readers can take something away from this piece because even if we may have not lived during the Tinker vs. Demoine School District trial, we can understand the role it plays for students today.

One of my favorite parts about the piece was the sound byte that began the entire audio clip. This sound byte came from the Tinker vs. Demoine School District trial and it really set the tone for the rest of the piece. My only advice is that while I was listening to Charlie's narration, I hoped another sound byte, maybe from the recent trial that he described, would be brought in again.

Adriana Martinez's piece "I Still Love Him...Oh Well" explores father - daughter relationships informing listeners that fathers are an irreplaceable part of a girl's life. Adriana tells listeners about her father and how he chose to pursue money over love for his daughter and wife. This decision had permanent consequences, and now in jail for drug dealing, he not only lost his freedom but also his daughter. Adriana reminisces on the absence of her father at her National Honor Society induction and how she missed his presence. This induction was an important part of her life because it marked her academic achievements and her father's absence profoundly affected her. But Adriana learns to get by; she adapts to her new life without a father and understands that that was solely his choice. In the end, she admits that he will always be her father and even though he chose drugs over her, she still loves him simply because he is her dad.

Adriana's clear voice carries the weight of her emotions surrounding her family situation pulling listeners into her raw feelings. Furthermore, her words touch on a very sensitive topic making this piece something everyone, and especially fathers and daughters, should hear.

Things to Notice: While Adriana Martinez's pure voice conveys the emotions associated with her father's absence, I think that some soft music could have enhanced this piece and helped tell the story.