First person Archives - Page 5 of 33 - Pittsburgh's Public Source

Person standing under an elevated train track next to a yellow metal column, with a modern apartment building in the background.

The Pittsburgh region I grew up in will be transformed by climate migration

by First-person essay by Joe Lampe March 14, 2025March 25, 2025

Person in a dark shirt stands in a classroom, gesturing towards a screen with a presentation. A wooden lectern is in the foreground.

It took a decade to get through college. Now I’m a professor. Could an autism diagnosis have saved years of confusion?

by First-person essay by Rueben Brock March 7, 2025March 9, 2025

An older person with short gray hair and glasses stands in a living room decorated with plants, wearing a red jacket and scarf, leaning on a chair with patterned cushions.

I write CEOs to get my inflated health care bills fixed and perhaps you should, too

by First-person essay by Juliet Zavon February 14, 2025September 24, 2025

Man in glasses and jacket stands next to a wall with framed photographs.

Pittsburgh embraced me as a literary exile. Now I’m giving back through ‘radical charity.’

by First-person essay by Israel Centeno February 7, 2025February 9, 2025

A fishbowl-like container with a red snorkel, filled with floating spheres and adorned with lettered tiles on top.

A developmental disability diagnosis can hit hard — but it isn’t a knockout

by Rich Lord February 4, 2025January 12, 2026

A group of people stand outside a small brown building with a sign reading "Red Cabin." One person wears a green beanie, another a brown jacket, and others have winter coats. Plastic barrels are nearby.

How mulch and community can counter our national cynicism

by First-person essay by Max Chis January 31, 2025January 31, 2025

Man wearing a cap, sunglasses, and a jacket stands on a street with hands in pockets, with buildings and a "25 mph" sign in the background.

For a decade, I wondered why Pittsburgh employers wouldn’t call me back

by First-person essay by Isaac Bunn January 24, 2025January 22, 2025

Person in orange pants leans on a ladder in front of a colorful graffiti mural on a brick wall.

Busted for graffiti, I took my expression in new directions — but the court still has me in its sights

by First-person essay by Max Gonzales January 17, 2025January 21, 2025

A woman stands in a hallway adorned with family photos and a Pittsburgh skyline picture, wearing a gray sweater with red hearts.

Community storytelling

Pittsburgh’s low costs saved me from a D.C. desk job and kept alive my creativity

by First-person essay by Kate Oczypok January 10, 2025January 9, 2025

An older man wearing a blue cap and shirt, looks directly at the camera. His expression is serious and he has a mustache. The background is blurred.

My detox in jail was horrific. Let’s help others avoid that hell.

by Venuri SiriwardaneDecember 21, 2024December 22, 2024