Top Stories
Stories in Motivation that you'll love, handpicked by our team.
How To Write A Rhyming Poem When You Feel Intimidated By Poetry.. Top Story - May 2026.
Nearly 20 years later - I loved publishing one. I never thought I would write a rhyming poem. Wouldn't attempt it, wouldn't even consider putting myself in a position to do so.
By Laura Jane4 months ago in Motivation
My Decision To Be Gorgeous. Runner-Up in Small Win Challenge. Top Story - April 2026.
One day I decided I was hot and became so. I am not conventionally attractive by today’s Western standards. I am highly unlikely to be on a reality dating show - because of my personality, and then on top of that my looks. I am a short “middle-thick” sometimes-bloated brown Latina with curly hair that I still have to figure out on non-wash days, and skin I just figured out how to keep mostly-free of acne. I am on the eve of turning 30, or the age where I can hardily be a valid sugar-baby contender. I have a couple of grey hairs coming in and am sincerely looking forward to more. (My mother likes to say that it is a privilege to grow old because not everyone gets to do so.) I don’t shave the hair on my arms. I say no when several eyebrow-threading ladies have offered to start with my upper lip first. I won’t even tell you about the waxers I don’t go to.
By Ariana GonBon5 months ago in Motivation
Mango Season. Runner-Up in Small Win Challenge. Top Story - April 2026.
The tree was here long before us. It was just a tree, it is almost jarring to say it out loud, in our garden. Neither of us had ever really had a garden. A balcony – a few wonky herbs and some sunflowers between us. But this tree was slightly lopsided with oversized witches’ hands for leaves. Nestled somewhere between the galangal and the lime, it was unassuming enough not to really register as anything of significance. Overshadowed by the raining tree, it had nothing to prove. For weeks, maybe months, we didn’t think about it at all. It was just part of the backdrop. Part of this new place we had yet to know.
By River and Celia in Underland5 months ago in Motivation
A smile. Top Story - April 2026.
"Mom?", asks the boy, walking down the alley, on his way back from school. It's one of the days when his schedule almost perfectly aligns with the opening hours of the bakery his mom works at. When he takes a small bite of the cinnamon bun she brought, small crumbs fall onto his grey wool pullover. It is one of the last days he'll wear it. The days are getting warmer, and then there is his little brother, waiting for it to become his.
By Arne Nasgot5 months ago in Motivation
Finding the Beat of My Heart. Runner-Up in Small Win Challenge. Top Story - April 2026.
I sat in the front row, between Jennie and Ashley, in our Sunday best dresses, quietly waiting and listening to Sister Johns' welcome message. Despite my best efforts to stay focused on her words, I kept looking over at my father, sitting with my mother, and holding a small brown paper bag. He had been so mysterious about that bag and it's contents. When I asked about it, he got that twinkle in his eye that suggested he had something up his sleeve and just said it was his assignment.
By A. J. Schoenfeld5 months ago in Motivation
36 Things I’ve Learned in 36 Years. Top Story - April 2026.
Have you ever walked away from an argument feeling like you “won,” but deep down you were still unsettled and unhappy? I have. Well, so many times! I won, yes but I was sad and broken inside. What was all the fight for?
By Ajan Lori A. 5 months ago in Motivation
Send . Runner-Up in Small Win Challenge. Top Story - April 2026.
There are victories so small they barely make a sound. No applause. No witness. No clean finish line. Just something that, on the outside, looks almost laughably ordinary. A message sent. A call returned. A dish washed. A door opened. A form completed. Proof of life disguised as administration.
By Jason Hair-Wynn5 months ago in Motivation
read; and let them see you read. Top Story - April 2026.
2026 was off to a shitty start. A year into this administration, and the gears of fascism were grinding with no sign of slowing down. We had ICE agents disappearing people, escalating to murdering them in the street in broad daylight—not just with impunity, but full government support. The US military occupied Venezuela. The Orange Man kept talking about invading Greenland and "joking" about canceling the midterm elections.
By Tyler Clark5 months ago in Motivation
Just Don’t Drink. Runner-Up in Small Win Challenge. Top Story - April 2026.
Writer’s note: This is my recent and very true story. None of this is embellished and these were my actual thoughts as they were evolving. Please read to the end. Yes I was damaged and messed up but I sorted it all out 🙃.
By Jesse Lee5 months ago in Motivation
