Category: 2023-2024 Submissions

The piece of gum that was small as a crumb,
The notebook that I rarely ever took,
The pen case that didn’t fit my taste,
The computer case that is a piece of waste,
The one apple that is bigger than a saddle,
The bottle that made water taste awful.

You hear the cry of the bagalu goblin and it strikes you with fear.
You peek around the corner with nothing to see except his little brown ear.
You hear a wild and loud sound coming from the odd darkness and follow it with mystery and dread.

When you walk into the dark mysterious place you see the little goblin, standing with a blank face. You forget how you got there and ran back to your bed.

You drift to sleep like nothing ever happened and wake up the next day thinking it’s a dream you continue moving on as said: school, home, then bed.

As you lay down to end a day’s work you hear a familiar sound coming from the dark. A cry, a scream, a bark what could it be! You look into the dark and see a faint figure, I guess it wasn’t a dream after all.

I used to be 11, but now I am 12,
I used to be in elementary, but now I am in middle school,
I used to hate school, but now I like it,
I used to dislike music, but now I love it,
I used to be unsocial, but now I have plenty of friends,
I used to not like exercise, but now I’m ok with it,
I used to be confused, but now I’m confident.

A bunch of kids that can’t behave themselves
A trash can that hasn’t been taken out since 1994
Gum that’s been there since day one
A bus driver that gets mad every time we scream
but when there is no kids on the bus
It’s quite Its calm
No one screaming in your ear telling you to be quiet because you’re talking to loud
Not a person to make a peep
But having your friends around is fun
You would usually just listen to them
Block out all the other noises
Sometimes it can get crazy
Sometimes it can be calm
But you only notice everything going on when all your friends are gone

After a bad rainy day, I’m still here
I’m still standing
And I just wanna disappear,
But I can’t
Like a diamond in the sky.
I wanna cry
Goodbye

I gotta be grateful,
For everything I got
For the confetti.
I change my face
To a smile
Because tomorrow is going to be a good night.

I am grateful
Because it is a beautiful day.
We gotta build a tower
So we can have a big tall tower of gratefulness
So at the end, we look up at that tower with admiration
As friends.

–Rodrigo Gil

I’m from oversized hand-me-downs
from Kerbey Lane queso and secret graffiti
I am from basil growing right on my front porch
and loud music from my sister’s room
I am from the prettiest bluebonnets
whose petals were as delicate as glass
I am from ratty old Barbie dolls
I am from Terracina and Rahn
I am from Taylor Swift and Kacey Musgraves
and from stunting in the living room
I am from “wake up, eat oatmeal, repeat”
I am from “be quiet” and “calm down”
from Sunday Sauce and pizzelles
from climbing over the fence at the track
and from dancing in the street in the rain
I am from those moments spent with my family
That I will never forget

I am from my Xbox,
From toys and bikes.
I am from an amazing home,
But sometimes a little messy.
I am from the soccer pitch,
And other outdoor activities.
I am from everyone opening presents on Christmas,
And from eating turkey on Thanksgiving.
I am from a spaghetti and chicken nuggets,
With a nice donut too!
I am from a happy home,
From great parents.
I am from happiness.

My dog is named Beau, even though he is small he still runs into walls. He thinks he’s the boss of my house, but he is as little as a mouse.

He always makes me smile, and he also has a good style. He always brings fun, and he’ll always be my number one.

First and Foremost, chaos!
a few actually important things,
but who cares when you can have…
Anxiety!
Definitely helpful for the whole…
Brain experience.
Lots of book quotes and stories
and don’t forget all those
random conspiracy theories that you
don’t even believe for yourself
Guess what…
More Chaos!
There is also probably a mental hurricane
somewhere in there
like Jupiter’s Red Spot
three sad little dust specks of creativity,
then sarcasm! Lots and lots of sarcasm!
Yay.

I am from gaming under cozy blankets
From Wilson Tennis Rackets, smacking balls across the court
From Betty Crocker Mug Cakes and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
(the deliciousness always burnt my tongue)
I am from muddy grass in front of limestone brick
Soft, white, and ever so glistening
I am from wet plants and weeds, humid and sticky
beautiful trees towering trees whose trunks I remember scaling
I’m from baking warm lemon cupcakes and dark brown hair
From Amita and Puneet
I’m from fighting for control of the TV Remote and snatching treats from the pantry
From work hard and party harder
I’m from praying at the temple in faith
the sweet taste of nostalgic sugar cubes
the home-felt smell of metallic statues and coins
I’m from Naperville and Shyam Nagar
Spicy lentils and bitter chai
From my father living in the Netherlands for years
The risk my parents took for me to move here
It’s always comforting to open the iPhone 14 containing years and years of memories.