14-year-old Krystle has been living in a group home in Manhattan since last summer. She never expected to wind up in "the system," but when conflicts between Krystle and her mother reached a boiling point she found herself separated from her family. In her radio story, Krystle documents what life is like in the group home and how she might be able to move back to her family.

Shirley Diaz’s life has been shaped by the tragedy of her mother’s murder, and the difficulty of growing up in six different foster homes, separated from her six younger siblings. To avoid being consumed by loss, Shirley tries to make sense of these events and find refuge in home and family as she finds them.

Two years ago, at 15, Jordan Teklay became legally emancipated from his parents and moved on his own from California to New York City. Since then, he has been learning to juggle the responsibilities of work, school and taking care of himself. Emancipation has brought both freedom and hardship. Struggling to negotiate his path in the world, Jordan is trying to understand what it means to be an adult.

Gem has been wondering about the definition of true happiness and what makes people really happy. Ever since she graduated from high school last spring, Gem has encountered some new life stumbling blocks that have left her questioning how to find happiness. For her radio story, Gem devised a quantitative survey to try to figure out what makes other people happy. She hopes here subjects answers this will help her find her way to her own happiness.