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We are ecstatic to announce the selected winners of our latest call for submissions: "The Summer Adventure!" (Apologies for the delay in this post.)
In this literary and artistic showcase, pieces range from expressing an ideal summer, recounting the creator's summer experience, and fictional stories (with beautiful messages)! It has been a joy to witness the wonderful creativity of the submitters. Winners (linked below): 1st: A Jello's Summer by Serena Wang 2nd: Family RV Trip 2024 by Enchi Kuo 3rd: My Summer Adventure by Bonnie Chen 1st: The Unforgettable Summer of 2024 by Vihaan Agrawal 2nd: My Summer Bucket List by Katie Ching Congratulations to all! -The Emerald Youth Review
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Created by Vihaan AgrawalThe excitement in the air was palpable as I sat at home, eagerly waiting for my grandparents to reach home from the airport. After what felt like an eternity, they finally arrived, their eyes twinkling with joy as they stepped into our home. The long flight from India couldn't dim their enthusiasm. With hugs and warm greetings, we welcomed them into our world, ready for the adventures that lay ahead. The first few days flew by in a blur of catching up and settling in. The very same weekend, we decided to take my grandparents to a little village about three hours away from our home called Leavenworth. The vibrant colors, tiny shops, and bustling atmosphere greatly appealed to them. We spent the day roaming about, snapping pictures, and eating Bavarian food. Shortly after our trip to Leavenworth, we planned a day trip to a nearby national park. My grandparents, who had always loved nature, were thrilled. We hiked through trails, admired waterfalls, and even spotted a couple Marmots. As it was only June, there was still plenty of old snow and ice. Enough to look like a winter wonderland, and since snow is a rare sight in India, they absolutely adored it. We introduced my grandparents to some of our favorite cuisines, such as Thai, German, Japanese, and Ethiopian cuisines. In return, grandma cooked up simply scrumptious food, for 42 days the kitchen became a trip back to India, with the aroma of spices filling the house. As we sat down to Eat meals together, they shared stories of my father and his brother’s childhood in India, making the experience even more special. Along with grandma’s cooking, my grandparents and I made it a point to play at least 1game of cards every night. Whether it be Moongus, Laal Paan, Courtpeice, 3 2 5, or 6 9. All the games I mentioned in this list is a traditional Indian game which was taught to me by them. In addition to that, they taught me different strategies and tricks to make me better at those games. Another part of our schedule was our morning exercise. Because they usually took an invigorating walk every morning in India, my grandpa and I usually played cricket or badminton, and sometimes both for about an hour a day, while grandma worked towards her daily goal of completing 7,000 steps per day. The biggest highlight of the visit was the bond that grew between my grandparents and me. We spent hours together, playing games, telling each other stories, and learning from each other. It was truly some of the best, and liveliest 42 days of my life. Full to brim with stories, laughter, marvelous food, and the most important, the comforting presence of grandma, and grandpa. The final day arrived way too soon. We drove to the airport with heavy hearts, knowing that it was time for my grandparents to return to India. There were tears and long hugs as we said our goodbyes. But as they walked towards the gate, they turned around and waved, promising to visit again soon. We waved back, grateful for the 42 days of love, joy, and unforgettable memories. Created by Katie Ching I drew this piece to list all the things I would accomplish during my dream summer. Most of these are things I like to do during the summer, but have not done them all in the same summer yet. Some of them are also things I haven't done before, but wish to do. Here's how it goes: I would like to go to the beach, go blueberry picking, travel to Brazil, go to a pool party, visit a farm, and crochet.
Created by Serena Wang Perhaps you have heard about the city FruitLiddle. If you have heard of the city, then you probably also know what the city does best. Like all other places, the city of FruitLiddle is unique. But unlike other cities, which might specialize in making cars or computers, FruitLiddle is best at making jello.
They made their jello purely by hand. In fact, it was even a law that machine-made jello would be banned and the maker of it would be fined up to a million dollars! Because the jello were made by hand, there was something quite special about them that even the people of FruitLiddle didn’t know. Every summer, the jello would come to life! This was because in the summer, people consumed more jello than in the other months. In the winter, the jello froze in their packages, which made them horribly hard and inedible. In the Autumn, people were too busy buying warmer clothes, having less money for other things. In the Spring, the jello had just thawed and was too moist. But in the summer, it was hot, so a nice, cool jello became much needed. This was why, in the summer, jello came to life. Before the humans came to buy them, the jello would claim a spot at the very back of the shelf, where they would make themselves comfortable and pray they would go unnoticed for the year. However, most jello didn’t go unnoticed and were soon sold. But every year, newly made jello replaced the old. This summer, the jello were determined to survive again. A young jello named Jellys was especially excited. The store she was born in was a tiny shop named “Jello Hello.” It sold only jello. The shopkeeper, who was a short old man with graying hair and wrinkles, had devoted his time to trying out new recipes. The door had a bronze bell on it and it would ring whenever a customer pulled the door open. When it sounded, the jello would scurry back to their spots on the shelf. The old man would stand up from his place at the cash register and say “Welcome!” before taking the customer by the arm and giving them a tour of the shop. Then, he would step back and say, “Ask me if you need anything.” The shelves that held the jello were made of oak wood. The elderly man had placed all the jello in plastic crates. He marked their flavors, brands and prices on a little tag. On the back of the tags, he always wrote: “Please put the jello back where you found it.” Jellys lived with two other jello. They were both very well made and beautifully decorated. One of them, named Juniper, had slender slices of peach and chunks of pineapple arranged in a swirly pattern in her, as well as shiny, orange-colored gelatin. The other, Jack, had melon bits inside him and paired with a minty green gelatin color, it looked fresh and clean. Jellys had a pale yellow gelatin color and only a humble slice of mandarin orange for decoration. When she woke up that summer morning, the first thing she saw were her friends, still sound asleep next to her. How they glimmered in the summer sun! Their fruit slices were carefully sliced and arranged. They were the living image of a person’s dream jello. Jellys saw a tall glass mirror adjacent to her shelf. She looked around cautiously. A sign hung on the door. It said: “Closed! Please come back later.” Click Read More Created by Enchi Kuo This summer our family took a 10-day RV road trip to the beautiful Oregon. It was so much fun! We went to Smith Rock where you can see a huge monkey-faced boulder and many rock climbers. We walked behind a tall majestic waterfall. We visited the Bonneville Damn which is home to a 90-year old 500-pound “Herman” the Sturgeon. We built sand castle on South Beach soaking in the golden sunset. We also climbed the Peter Iredale shipwreck which sunk and ran onshore in 1906. Not to mention sleeping in the Mt Hood national forest and all the s’mores we roasted over camp fire. We had such a great time we didn’t want to come back home :)
Created by Bonnie ChenIt all started on a clear sunny day, when the sky turned dark and rain clouds filled the sky that used to be clear. I was just taking a swim in the shallow parts of the Pacific Ocean when I saw this happen. This had to be the most terrifying moment in my life. I was contemplating what to do when a gigantic wave crashed above me, and I was pushed forward by the water. I didn’t know I fell asleep until I woke up. I was on a sandy beach somewhere. The silky soft and warm sand felt soothing underneath my cold body. Thankfully, the wave didn’t wash me up too far, as the tips of my toes were moist and still touching wet, warm sand. Unfortunately, I couldn’t seem to move. The sun shining on me seemed to be pinning me down to the ground. Before I knew it, I fell asleep of exhaustion again. When I gained consciousness again, the burning afternoon sun was scorching me. I never felt this dehydrated before until today. A cool breeze suddenly swayed the trees, and a sudden wave cooled my body… but wait. I wasn’t on the beach anymore. I was in water. This water didn’t seem very natural though. I was inside some kind of container. The first thought that came into my mind was that I was being kidnapped. Then suddenly the container holding me rocked back and forth and the water sloshed loudly inside. I was lifted and carried away. My body hasn’t regained power yet, so I helplessly floated inside the half empty container of water. I was put into a trunk of a car and my mysterious kidnapper and I drove around for a while. I heard screams and a girl towered above me. I glared at her and her family came to see what was happening. I sent a side eye to each of them. The next thing that happened outraged me. The family of three left me in the container. I sat there for hours and hours until a new day came again. The girl, I think her name was… Ellie? She took me to a huge campus. The campus had multiple buildings, and I couldn’t keep track of where I was. I heard her talking to an adult saying: I brought a friend today… its, ok?... Alright… Despite what Ellie said, she still placed my container roughly by her desk. I was glad that I was the center of attention, but I wasn’t enjoying how everyone thought I was “so cute”. When class began, the teacher rambled on and on about playwriting and boring stuff like that, but when we got to writing the plays, I was interested. It seemed so fun to write a whole story and plot how the characters talk with each other. After the class, I thought we were going home, but Ellie took me to a cafeteria, and she ate her lunch. She tried to feed me some smelly leftovers, but little did she know that I couldn’t eat it. Finally, I got ready to be packed into the car to go home. Surprisingly, Ellie brought me to another class. In this class, the teacher didn’t make any introductions, and we got right into the activity. Ellie opened her computer and started dragging colorful blocks around. It was like playing with Legos but on a computer. Later I learned that this activity was called coding. My head was spinning with all the colors of the blocks. Ellie dragged all the blocks into one monstrosity, and with a click of a button, a beautiful animation popped up. It was magical. I couldn’t help thinking about how this was alike to the playwriting camp. The actors were the blocks, and the result of the coding was how the play came together and smoothly ran. Time flew by and we had to go home. I didn’t realize it back then, but nobody seemed to realize the weird container by Ellie’s desk. The week of camp passed by fast, and Ellie had to return me back to the ocean, she knew it. The drive to the beach seemed to pass in the blinking of an eye. During this week my human owner seemed to warm up to me, although I don’t think I feel the same… Not long after Ellie’s family said goodbye to me, Ellie released me into the water, and I swam freely as a moon jellyfish once again. THE END |
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