Oak Park Library is currently closed and will re-open on Monday, Dec. 18 at 9 a.m.
My most vivid recollections of China are filled with fond memories and blissful experiences. The smell of smoke and frying foods wafts through the air, and at night the streets are a disorienting mess of flashing billboards and street lights.
Isn’t it weird that we know the least about ourselves? As a species, we have conquered nations and created thousands of societies paired with complex languages. Yet, scientists still work to figure out the very thing that sits in all of our skulls. The brain. Where does every thought come from?
The issue with a great deal of things in life is that they are impermanent. We’d like to think they last millennia, that wearing raccoon eyeliner won’t be a phase, Mom.
Probation is very difficult for me. I feel like it’s weighing me down,So much more every day. I believe some kids learn. I think I am one of those kids.But some don’t learn. Some families can’t afford probation, It’s not their fault their kids make mistakes; They need a break.
I’ll be the Jack Kerouac for my generation, ‘Cause’ I think it’s time for some beatnick innovation...
A life, a life. Can be amusing. Fun and free, to do what you want. Enjoy it.
Giggling, Aditi grabs my hand and twirls me along as her ghagra’s elaborate mirror embroidery catches in colorful lighting.
But you need it, you said. I thought you wanted to be beautiful. I slammed my hands on the wheel of your Land Rover and pulled over to the side of the road near the big houses with green lawns and trampolines, Norfolk Way.
I feel that if I move from this spot I will die. But I take a step forward and don’t.
Forgive me father for I have sinned.
A lonely tear gently drifted its way down my cheek. I wasn’t sure if it was because my rabbit, Hopper, had just died, or because my brother, standing next to me, was also crying.
I stared at the adorable stuffed plush donkeys on the shelf. “Do you think I should get one for Tommy?” my aunt asked me, thinking about adding another plushy to her dog’s collection. We were in line for the cable cars in Santorini.
*
“I am going on a diet,” she announced.
“But McKenzie, you're only six! Besides, you’re beautiful!” I shot back.
“But,” she insisted, “I need to lose weight.
“No, you do not. I’m your nanny, I know these things. Now eat your lunch.”
Describe yourself in one word.
Punny
How did you get involved with the library?
I had a friend with connections.
What inspires you?
Jaden Gragg is 14 years old. Her writing submissions received the highest marks from our team of young adults. The poise and focus displayed in her writing is simply suburb. Jaden has three poems and one prose poem published in this issue.
Snow is deceiving. It likes to play hard-to-get. Like so many other things in life, I have developed a love-hate relationship with the whole idea of snow. The “dog days” of summer reach their finale, the leaves start falling, and everyone excitedly awaits the first snowfall.
It was quiet like it always was. Not dead quiet, you could still hear the waves and the insects. I sat on the beach, my hands clasped around my knees. I had buried the last of them in the cavern, then sealed it shut. Now it was just me.