Abraham Esber, Brooklyn
During the day, this Williamsburg native is a seventh grader at East Side Community School in Manhattan. But three days a week after school, and on Saturdays, he travels to Lincoln Center to study at the School of American Ballet.
Now that he's 12, Abe said his parents are letting him travel from school to Lincoln Center by himself on the subway. He said his friends think it's cool that he danced in "The Nutcracker" but he doesn't tell everyone at school because he's not sure what they'll think.
"If anybody would make fun of me I would tell them it's actually really manly and involves a lot of muscles and strength," he said.
On Social Life and Dating
A group of 12-year-old New Yorkers shared thoughts on how things changed in middle school when it came to boy-girl relations. Several of them thought it was too early to date, and others were in the throes of crushes. One boy said the tensions between girls and boys can be confusing, even scary.
David Chen, Queens
David is a sixth grader at the East-West School of International Studies, a public school in Flushing. He runs on the track team and shrieks with glee after doing a lap around the school gymnasium.
David called himself an "ABC," or American-born Chinese. He lives with his parents and an older brother who was born in China. This makes David the main translator for his family.
David's other responsibilities include cooking dinner, mopping the floor and doing laundry on weekends. He said he gets paid about $20 a week for his chores.
Shamia Mim, Bronx
Shamia Mim arrived in the U.S. from Bangladesh a year and a half ago. She now goes to Emolior Academy in the Bronx.
When Shamia first got here, she worried that the other students wouldn't like her. But within a few days, she recalled, "I saw that they are so good, being good to me."
There's just one thing that gets on her nerves: her fellow students don't always use "scholarly language." But Shamia admits to her own shortcomings, namely staying up very late at night watching Bollywood movies.
Vicky Dorcelly, Brooklyn
"Yesterday I said I was going to sleep at 1 o'clock and I ended up going to sleep at 2:30," she said. The culprit? Her phone.
Bed-Stuy Kids Sound off on Bullying
One of the scarier aspects of middle school is bullying. The investigative journalism site BrooklynDeep.org asked kids in Bedford Stuyvesant to interview each other about it.
Jackia Brown and Autumn Brown (not related) questioned Ashanti, Damani and Douglas with the help of Brooklyn Deep's managing editor Veralyn Williams. Special thanks to WNYC's Radio Rookies for their support.