Turning 14 in Cincinnati: 'I worry about surviving'

All I can say about this series of interviews is read them, please.

http://www.cincinnati.com/longform/opinion/columnists/krista-ramsey/2014/05/29/turning-cincinnati/9735149/
Turning 14 in Cincinnati: 'I worry about surviving'
For some, 14 is a time of unguarded emotion and enthusiasm. For others, it's an abrupt introduction into a complex world
Krista Ramsey and Cara Owsley

Introduction by Managing Editor Laura Trujillo: On March 21, 14-year-old Jashawn Martin was shot as he passed by a fight on his way to see a friend. Eight days later – a day after she attended Jashawn's funeral – 14-year-old Tyann Adkins was shot to death as she waited to get her nails done. The boy who shot her was 14, as was the boy who called 911 and tried to save her. Not long after, a 14-year-old was part of a robbery at DeSales Market in Walnut Hills that left a father of two begging for his life.

In the newsroom, we routinely deal with crime – shootings and robberies, death and grief. But somehow these violent episodes crept into our heads and we couldn't get them out.

It was the number 14.

All three of us most closely connected to this project – editor, reporter and photographer – have children who are 14 or close to it. We thought we knew 14. But through Jashawn and Tyann, through kids who commit crimes and kids who are their victims, we realized 14 is not easily known.

In some neighborhoods, 14 is the sweet spot between childhood and adolescence, a time of unguarded emotion and untempered enthusiasm. In others, it's an abrupt introduction into a complex, confusing and sometimes even violent world....

MORE at link posted above.