Dear Mom, I love you from the moon and back and words cannot describe how much I love you. You always have my back when I feel like falling over and you always encourage me to go on farther. You are my star, my streetlight, and my lamp. You make everything brighter and more hopeful. I’m always grateful that you are here to listen to my stories and give me advice. Days when I feel like giving up, you motivate me to take a step farther. I know you understand me the best and know how to make everything better. Love is an amazing thing, really. I’m able to trust you without second-guessing myself and I can express myself freely without feeling judged. I’m forever grateful for your guidance. Mom, you’re my best friend, supporter, companion, and soulmate. No one can ever replace the love you have for me and the faith I have in you. Through your help, I was able to grow from an immature little girl to the person I am now. I want to continue my journey with you forever. I’ll always support and love you just like how you do for me! I love you, my favorite person on earth, my best friend, my mom. Love, Lauren
Journal
Relocating, by Diya, 12
Diya Chakrabarti, 12 (Cupertino, CA) Hello, it’s Diya again! Today, I wanted to keep this write-up short and simple. I recently moved to the Bay Area in California, as one of my parents moved jobs. My family and I relocated from Portland, Oregon, and I would like to share a few of my thoughts about moving. At first, when I got the news that my family was moving, it didn’t seem like as much of a deal. The following day was just another typical day, going to school, doing homework, playing outside, etc. The same routine as always. But with each moving box being packed up, I felt a stone in my heart drop, making my stomach churn, and I sighed, knowing the house would soon be empty. Sometimes I would stare at a room, noticing even the most insignificant detail, and imagining in my head how it would look without our chairs, rugs, desks, and our favorite stuff, and soon all would be packed away and moved to our new abode. But on the other hand, I had a few exciting things to look forward to. One of our closest friends lived there, the weather was much more pleasant, and we would get to experience new things. Going to a new place can sometimes feel like taking a fresh breath of air. But, this was not a vacation, we were moving! That meant our family had to adapt to a new place, new surroundings, even if we did not like it in the beginning as change always creates some imbalances. A couple of weeks passed by, and a team of movers packed up the bulky furniture, also packing the small boxes we packed along with it. We had to be confined to one room since the workers were buzzing around like bees in a hive! It felt fun, being able to connect with my family and my little sister, and I got a lot more screen time, although my mom was not too happy with that. Fast forward a couple of days, and we were spending our last night in Portland, Oregon. I had mixed emotions; my heart was heavy, yet I was looking forward to moving to California. The entire house was empty and it felt surreal. The next day, the entire family said our farewells to our neighbors—which was very hard—got the car ready, and looked around the house for stuff that we might have forgotten to pack. Walking around the house, I saw each room, completely empty and spacious. Every room felt like it was missing something, and it was. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that we would have to say goodbye to our beloved home so soon. Soon, It was finally time to lock the door from behind, this time for the last time. To this very day, it still somewhat feels like we are on summer vacation. California is a state I’ve heard a lot about and visited several times in the past, but to really know more, I must experience living here myself.
One Week in Novel Coronavirus Time, a journal from Beijing by Sophia Zhang, 12
Sophia Zhang, 12Beijing, China One Week in Novel Coronavirus Time Sophia Zhang, 12 Day 1 Today I have class, online, and we prepare for the final exam, and then we will have holiday. Our exam was online exam– using an app to test, it is very difficult for student and teacher. Originally I will go to summer school in the holidays, but now I can’t, now in the summer holidays I will with my friend go to the Neimeng grassland. Day 2 Today I have online class, today we prepare the Chinese text, it was a little hard. Next to my home in one market one person has got it, so now we can’t go to that market to buy or to play. And we all do the Nucleic acid detection. Day 3 Today I didn’t see people play in the park, and didn’t see people who do not have mask on their face. All the public areas were clean and clean. Day 4 I see an article about leukaemia, it is so dreadful, and I know the disease with the highest mortality rate is influenza, one year had tens of thousands of people dead because of it. Day 5 I know that this year will be in the history book, and after people will read about it, it is so amazing that I can be part of history. And I was preparing for exam all day. Day 6 I have Chinese, math and science exam today, I think it was good. I think in this time I learn that people are fragile and we need carefully to our body. Day 7 Today I have map test, at the beginning I can’t get in the website, but I go in after. I think my country will change, maybe they will like all people to do Nucleic acid detection in each month of the year.
