On the first day of seventh grade, I walked into my new school quivering with fear. I have always been a very outgoing person, but only because I had been surrounded by people I had known my whole life. Starting this year, I switched to a different school and I had to go out of my comfort zone to meet new people. I was expecting it to be difficult to get adjusted to a new school because none of my friends had come with me, but the restrictions due to the spread of Covid made it even more of a struggle. By the time school had started, I had been wearing masks for a while, but never in a school setting. The welcoming smiles I was hoping to see were missing, not just from the students, but all the faculty. Instead of a warm smile, I got a muffled greeting from behind a mask. I didn’t take the lack of friendliness personally because I knew it wasn’t intentional. It was the new normal and everyone had to get used to it. I went through the day smiling at people when I walked past them in the halls, but I realized it was pointless because they couldn’t see half my face. We don’t realize how much we communicate without words. A smile lets people know that you’re approachable and kind, without it everyone is just a pair of confused eyes. I tried to over emphasize my smile so it would reach my eyes and make it look like my eyes were smiling. It seemed like most people didn’t have to try as hard as I did because they already had friends and knew everyone. I was the new kid. By the end of the day, I was exhausted. Not just from the long hours at school, but from wearing the mask. My head hurt from the strain behind my ears, I was struggling to get enough air, and my face was sore from over smiling so much. The next few days at school, I tried to be more outgoing and talkative to save my face muscles. It was a challenge to really put myself out there, but within two weeks I had already made many new friends. My new friendships were confined to school and FaceTime. Even lunch time was so restricted that we had to sit alone and eat quietly. Lunch time used to be my favorite part of the day, but now it is lonely and boring. As I return to school from the holidays, all the restrictions and changes seem normal because I am so used to them. I hope next year everything will return to the original normal and I will be able to smile and laugh with my new friends. Wearing a mask not only protected everyone from the virus, but taught me to step out of my comfort zone. In order to make new friends I needed to speak up and use my voice, not just depend on facial expressions. Although this was a very troubling experience, it did teach me to not take things for granted—even a smile.
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Pride and Prejudice, Reviewed by Iris, 11
Everyone faces conflicts in their lives, and the best way to overcome them is to read a book about a character who faces similar problems. These characters can help you understand your own challenges better, and make you feel less alone in the world. Over time, stories change, books change, characters change, but the main conflicts in the book are all relatable ones that many people may experience. This is evident in the book Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, a book written literally over two hundred years ago. It tells the story of people struggling to overcome misconceptions and vanity that keeps them from being happy. The characters must find a way to get past preconceived notions and biased ideas about the other people around them. In modern times, many people choose to act like the way people want them to, and they often keep to themselves. They do this to get respect and seem more superior than the people around them. Others might not understand their behavior, and think of them as proud. The character Mr. Darcy is a perfect example of this. Born into a wealthy family, he is intent on maintaining his social status at any cost. His cold, reserved behavior intimidates people, and it makes him very antisocial and awkward when connecting to new people. Even though Mr. Darcy is a character in another time period, people living in modern times can connect to his way of thinking. Some people make themselves appear cool and classy thinking it gives them a good reputation, but this can deprive them of a good social life, especially since true relationships are built on being open and honest. I see examples of this almost every day. At school, some of my classmates try to appear as impressive as possible, and they look down on the other kids who might not be as fashionable as them. Most of the other kids assume that they are just too proud and vain to be friendly to people they consider beneath them. Their social circle is slowly being reduced to just the kids who act like them, and I don’t think they are very happy. They would learn something from Mr. Darcy’s change of behavior in the book, and Pride and Prejudice has also helped me to understand why people act this way. Even though this book is about two hundred years old, and was written primarily for adults, its lesson can be valuable to people of all different ages and time periods. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Penguin, 1813. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
Book Club Report: The Penderwicks, Jeanne Birdsall
An update from our twenty-fifth Book Club meeting! On Saturday, March 27, the Stone Soup Book Club discussed The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy, by Jeanne Birdsall. The Penderwicks, the first book in a series of five, is about four sisters and their father, and all of the adventures they encounter when they rent a summer home in the Berkshires. Our Book Club meeting, which was attended by around 35 participants from multiple countries, started with everyone being sent into small breakout rooms, so they could get to know each other a little bit better. Their conversation starter was “spring”, and what spring looks like where they live! When we all came back together, we debriefed the book (most everyone enjoyed it!) and then split into four breakout rooms—led by myself, Laura, and two of our Book Club facilitators: Lucy and Madeline). In these rooms, we talked about The Penderwicks in more depth, including the characters, setting, plot, and themes. When we shared out about our discussions afterward, we found that many people had picked up on the sort of “reverse fairy-tale” motif carried throughout the book, and we were able to have a fun conversation about this! Next, we talked about inspiration. As writers, what other authors have inspired our work? We used The Penderwicks, which is inspired by Little Women (by Louisa May Alcott) as an example. After we analyzed those novels and their similarities and differences, we talked about our own inspirations, including authors such as Rick Riordan, Markus Zusak, and J.R.R Tolkien. Our final activity was a writing prompt. The Penderwicks, although it is realistic fiction, seems to take place in a magical setting, because it is so idyllic. So, we asked our participants to write about a summer experience they had that felt magical. We shared our answers in breakout rooms, and it was really fun to hear about summer homes, lakes, hiking, and more! At the end of Book Club, we chose our next book, which will be discussed on April 24—the first meeting of our spring Book Club session! To sign up for the spring/summer session of Book Club, visit our Eventbrite page here. Our Next Book (to be discussed on April 24): Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin
