“Prisha! Pack your bag! We are going to the beach for your birthday!” My mom declares. It was true, my 8th birthday was coming up. I am always super excited for my birthday and wait for it all year long. This year, however, I didn’t know what to expect. I couldn’t meet my friends and celebrate with them due to Covid. So, when I heard we were going to the beach, I was SOOO excited! “Okay! I will!” I say, and take my luggage. My luggage is light brown, and has a car, blue and orange. In my luggage, I pack a LOT of books. I would guess about 20! And “Zoom!” A few days later, we headed to the beach. Tomorrow is my birthday! Finally, the 2-hour drive to the beach is over. We arrived at the beach. Aloha Beach! I can’t tell you how much I love beaches. I absolutely adore them. The beach sand was soft, almost like feathers, and relaxingly hot. The waves were the complete opposite, cold as a freezer. And the color. The sand was a yellowish gold, and the waves, more like a skyish blue. We stayed over for the sunset which is one of my most favorite activities to do on a beach – watching the sunset. The sunset was pink, red-orange and gold, and beautiful. It blazed across the sky. I am always spellbound by the beauty of sunset. I wish I could paint like that on a canvas. We walked along the beach, and lots of logs were there. But I didn’t mind. I was too excited. My birthday is tomorrow! Hours later… I open my eyes. TODAY is MY birthday. “Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday dear…..” My parents sang the happy birthday song. Aloha day! Everywhere, there were decorations, and balloons. There was a banner that said 8 on it! My parents must have been awake all night, decorating for me! “Thank you!” I responded with a big smile. I gave my Mom and Dad a hug and peeked out to the terrace. It was indeed a gorgeous day. The sun was out and the waves were waving hello to me My ordered breakfast arrived. It was pancakes! I love them! I quickly ate them, and then we went to the Prehistoric Museum. The museum had a fossil area, a geode center, a crystal center, and the bones of ancient animals. It had lots of meteorites and petrified wood as well. There was a huge dinosaur skeleton near the entrance. When we reached the geode center, my dad said I could choose any birthday gift for myself from the museum shop if I wanted. I happily decided to get a Geode and to my surprise the cashier said I can crack it myself! In the geode center, there was a basket of geodes! SOOO many! I picked one, and went to a cracking machine. I put the rock-like geode in the machine, and pulled the lever-thingy and “Crack!” The geode cracked. Inside was a whole new world. Outside, it just looked like a plain rock, the kind you would think is just a normal rock and kick it aside. But however, tiny, black, and as pretty as a picture, crystals lay on the inside. It was so beautiful and dazzling inside and when the light fell into these crystals, they were shining bright. It looked like a galaxy of stars was inside the geode. And I’d say THAT is how geodes are related to us, humans. Some people, on the outside, may not look so good, like a geode. But, on the inside, they are beautiful, and they rock! After the geode experience, we had lunch. Fish and chips with my favorite clam chowder! On the way to our hotel, we got some campfire equipment and headed to the beach! A few hours later, we set up the campfire on the beach. But we couldn’t because it was too windy. Then I remembered a place in our hotel, where a fire pit was already lit! We went there, and no one was there! A whole place to ourselves! We opened the marshmallows and toasted them. My mom and dad taught me how to make s’mores with them! Even though I could not celebrate this birthday with my friends, I still had a memorable one. This shows that people should try to make the most of every moment even if it seems you can’t. I also learnt a very important lesson that just like a geode, no matter how people look on the outside, they are beautiful on the inside and we should try to look into it. I really enjoyed my birthday! It rocked!
COVID-19
Pandemic Echoes, a poem by Sofie, 10
Sofie Dardzinski Pandemic Echoes by Sofie Dardzinski, 10 An invisible enemy has changed our lives. Lives lost, all too soon. Soon slinks fear, that we contain in isolation. Isolation bringing bitter loneliness; thoughts echoing. Echoing around the world, clouds of chaos and uncertainty. Uncertainty in each other, infected with suspicion. Suspicion of one another, seems like our jobs. Jobs vanishing, economy at a standstill. Still, hope is in our nature. Nature is renewing, the world is clean and quiet. Quiet acts of kindness, binding us together. Together we lead, enlightened by our journey.
Masks, a reflection by Gemma, 12
Gemma Harrigan, 12 I sat in the taxi staring at the screen, as I usually did, watching a scene showing several Chinese people wearing masks. The taxi TV blared, “the Coronavirus rages through China, enhancing the possibility that it will spread to America!” “Dad,” I asked. “What is the Coronavirus?” He turned to me nervously, as if I had asked where babies come from or if Santa Claus was real. Questions that for me had been answered long ago. “Well, the Coronavirus is a disease,” he said. “It’s taken a few lives, but none of them have been kids.” … Why were they all wearing masks? I thought. In my mind, it was a sign of weakness. Giving into their nosophobia. I was the only one not wearing a mask outside. I looked at my mom and asked, “Why are you wearing a mask?” “Because it keeps me and others safe,” she answered. I had not been outside since school went remote. I was terrified by the thought of everyone wearing a mask. It made me uncomfortable. What if, even when the Coronavirus ends, people still wear masks? What if things never go back to normal?
