JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
High school is a time of exploration when young people try to find and define their place in the world. And those explorations, well, they can make for great podcast opportunities. Our education team got to listen to the entries for NPR's Student Podcast Challenge, and the judges have narrowed them down to the best of those podcasts. Here's NPR's Janet Woojeong Lee with two of our high school finalists.
(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL")
DAVID REYES: How do you show your love to someone?
JANET WOOJEONG LEE, BYLINE: David Reyes is a student musician and songwriter at J. Sterling Morton East High School in Cicero, Illinois.
(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL")
DAVID: Is it by buying them flowers? Taking them on a date? Writing them a letter? Or maybe it's by making them a song.
WOOJEONG LEE: David says he's always loved music, listening and playing his favorite songs on the acoustic guitar. But he says he never thought to write his own until he fell in love.
(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL")
DAVID: (Singing) Will we still be friends?
Right now, with everything I've known in my 16 years of life, I don't think there's anything more beautiful than falling in love.
WOOJEONG LEE: So he set out to make something beautiful, which also became the title of his podcast that follows the steps he took to write his first love song.
(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL")
DAVID: I pick up my guitar and I start fiddling with the chords I think fit the sound I'm looking for.
(Playing guitar and vocalizing).
I like how that sounds, so I'll work with it.
WOOJEONG LEE: Like many students his age, David says he isn't sure yet where his music will take him. But for now, he says he's going to take it slow and focus on enjoying himself.
(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL")
DAVID: I'll keep learning things as I go along, try new sounds as they come across and explore as much as I can. And maybe one day, I'll be able to say that I've made something beautiful.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GROWN UP")
DAVID: (Singing) Promise me you'll miss me too.
WOOJEONG LEE: In another one of our finalist's podcasts, Owyn Aaberg discovered something beautiful in his own life.
(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "STRUGGLING WITH A CLEFT PALATE")
OWYN AABERG: Having a cleft is a struggle. And even among kids born with them, I'm a special case.
WOOJEONG LEE: Owyn is a senior at Delta High School in Richland, Washington, and he was born with a bilateral cleft palate.
(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "STRUGGLING WITH A CLEFT PALATE")
OWYN: Or to be put in layman's terms, you are born with a hole in your face.
WOOJEONG LEE: He says his life has been a journey from the get-go.
(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "STRUGGLING WITH A CLEFT PALATE")
OWYN: Of going from surgery, school, dentist trip, surgery again and more. It's hard for me and my mom.
WOOJEONG LEE: Years later, he wanted to know - what was it really like for his mom when she found out about his cleft?
(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "STRUGGLING WITH A CLEFT PALATE")
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: I had to know as much as I could. I had to prepare myself as best I could. I had to be ready to keep you alive.
WOOJEONG LEE: Keep him alive by making sure her newborn could open his mouth and get enough nutrients. Luckily, she was able to get support from family and medical professionals who weren't too far away.
(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "STRUGGLING WITH A CLEFT PALATE")
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: But me being the person I am, I had to be there always.
WOOJEONG LEE: Owyn says, growing up, he learned about other kids with his condition, including a 7-year-old girl in his home state who was abandoned by her parents. And in his own life, he's been treated differently because of the surgery scars on his face. He says all this made him feel more grateful for his mom and his life.
(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "STRUGGLING WITH A CLEFT PALATE")
OWYN: Having a cleft has always been what made me different, but I never wanted it to be what defined me as a person. I'm sure that every other person with a cleft would agree. Thank you.
WOOJEONG LEE: These are 2 of our 10 high school finalists. Our judges will announce our grand prize winner later this month.
Janet Woojeong Lee, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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