Memoir

Personal Narrative·Georgia Marshall — A granddaughter interviews her grandfather about his 44-year career at a college, discovering how he embodied the parable of the third stonemason who built cathedrals.

Personal Narrative·Marti Wong — A girl navigates language barriers with grandparents on two continents, discovering how gifts, food, and gestures become their shared vocabulary of love.

Personal Narrative·Mengxin Sun — Seven-year-old stuck on a water slide at Great Wolf Lodge faces her fear of darkness and devises a solution to get the raft moving again.

Personal Narrative·Iwan Lee — A child recalls the surprise trip to the airport to pick up their new puppy, Yoda, arriving from Korea on Halloween day.

Personal Narrative·Lily Harlan — A fourth-grader recalls the day a tornado warning interrupted a phonics quiz, forcing students to shelter while wind rattled the shutters outside.

Personal Narrative·Carolina Ulloa-Compton — A four-year-old puts a bean in her ear during preschool nap time, keeps it secret for days, and finally gets it removed at a foreign object removal clinic.

Memoir·Lauren Minyoung Yoon — 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...

Personal Narrative·Kathleen Werth — A meditation on how the sun's dangerous beauty contrasts with the moon's honest imperfections, questioning what nature teaches us about perception and need.

Personal Narrative·Landen Cusick — A teenager finds peace paddleboarding on a lake, where swimming among fish and watching the sunset brings clarity about focusing on life's beauty rather than its troubles.

Personal Narrative·Lindsay Gale — A girl stuck at home during the pandemic battles jealousy as friends text about their vacations, until rain brings unexpected release from her frustration.