Villa Voice 2018 - American Overseas School of Rome

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Villa Voice 2018 - American Overseas School of Rome
0 VILLAVOICE COPERTINA 23 maggio 2018.qxp_copertina villavoice 28/05/18 16:53 Pagina 1

                                                                                         American Overseas School of Rome

                                                                                                         Villa Voice
                                                                                                               2018
                                                                                                                 Middle
                                                                                                                 School
                                                                 AMERICAN OVERSEAS
                                                                  SCHOOL OF ROME                                 Student
                                                                     Via Cassia 811
                                                                                                                 Writing
                                                                   00189 Rome, Italy                             and Art
                                                             Telephone +39 06 33 43 81
                                                              Fax +39 06 33 26 26 08
                                                               E-mail info@aosr.org
                                                               Website www.aosr.org
Villa Voice 2018 - American Overseas School of Rome
1 Narratives 6 grade 23 maggio 2018.qxp_Narrative 2017 28/05/18 20:06 Pagina 1

                                                                  Ines Corrias , grade 6

                                                                 N A R R AT I V E S
                                                                  6 th G R A D E

                                                    “After all this time? Always”
                                                            Harry Potter

               N A R R AT I V E S                                                          1
Villa Voice 2018 - American Overseas School of Rome
1 Narratives 6 grade 23 maggio 2018.qxp_Narrative 2017 28/05/18 20:06 Pagina 2

               A Curse Called
               Mini Brownies                              “I AM SO DONE WITH THIS!” I              “Help me, dude!” I yelled at her.
               by Daphne Huse                           yelled, exasperated from rowing            “Oh Lord,” she groans with a
               grade 6                                  so much and still being stuck.          giggle, as she tries to pull me out.
                                                          “Same,” Audrina whimpers              I fight against the sand, kicking
                  “I think I ate too many mini          back in defeat. “Try getting off        wildly until I am finally unstuck.
               brownies,” I groan, holding my           and towing us back to shore.” I            “Finally!” we yell happily, as I
               stomach. It is the last day of the       shrug, because I am willing to try      started pulling her again, so
               rowing camp that I am attending          absolutely anything at this point.      quickly that I am like a towboat.
               with my best friend and rowing           We follow the current to a bank of      We make it to the mainland in a
               partner, Audrina. On the last day,       sand, so that I can stand. I dip my     matter of minutes. I had no idea
               it’s a tradition to have a pot luck,     foot into the water, and almost         that I could do that, that I was
               AKA an excuse to eat too much            fall over from surprise. It is so,      strong enough to fight the current,
               then lose the calories we just           incredibly cold, I had no idea how      and that we didn’t need my
               gained by paddle boarding and            I would bare it.                        brother’s help. Once we reached
               canoeing. Within minutes, I eat            “What are you waiting for?”           the shoreline, We chew out for not
               over two bags of chips, a slice          Audrina said, and the tone in her       helping us, got another mini
               of pizza, what seemed to be              voice tells me that she was about       brownie to celebrate, and prepare
               thousands mini brownies, and a           to yell at me if I don’t hurry.         for the epic water balloon fight we
               few stalks of celery. I normally           “Cold” was all that I managed         were about to have. Our first
               don’t eat a lot, but now I may as        to say before she pushes me,            target? My brother.
               well binge.                              and I plunge into the water. The
                  “I ate too many Doritos,”             water bites at my legs and arms,
               Audrina says with a disgusted            and I was so infuriated that I
               look on her face.                        angirly splash her with the salty
                  “Let’s go paddleboard. We may         water. It’s while Audrina was yelling
               feel better,” I suggest. Audrina         at me that I realised that I am
               shrugs and nods her head. We             stuck. The squishy sand at the
               trot down to the shore, as soft          bottom is eating me, slowly traping
               white sand squishes beneath our          my toes, then my ankles, than my
               feet. The sky is cloudy, but the         calfs. I wish I hadn’t eaten so
               midday sun was starting to peek          many mini brownies, as I would
               through. I watch the murky water         have been considerably lighter.
               lap up against the shore before
                                                                                                               Lucia Perrone , grade 6
               we grab a paddle board and a
               paddle, and climb on. As I haul my
               leg over the board and, I glance at
               the water. It looks frigid, and the
               current is crazy strong. I am
               worried but decide to ignore it. I
               slide onto the front, as I am
               stronger and taller than Audrina
               and therefore more fit to steer.
               She squats on the back, and
               offers directions. Otherwise, she
               is pretty useless, apart from
               entertaining me and making me
               laugh so much that I almost fall
               off of the board.
                  Our steering is in vain, though,
               as the chilly wind and icy waters
               take control.
                  “I knew it! We had no chance
               trying to fight the current,” I say,
               losing hope by the second. We
               drift like hobos looking for a
               home, and call for my brother,
               hoping that he can come and
               rescue us. He ignores us, and
               now, I scream at him.

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Villa Voice 2018 - American Overseas School of Rome
1 Narratives 6 grade 23 maggio 2018.qxp_Narrative 2017 28/05/18 20:06 Pagina 3

                                                                                                                      Lorenzo Sbordoni , grade 6

          The Torch Carrier
          by Kestyn Bowers
          grade 6

             I wake up suddenly, remembering the words my
          friend told me earlier. “Watch your step, it is slippery
          here…”
          The room I am in has lights that are as bright as the desert
          sun at noon, and the walls are beige and lifeless.“Here is
          your medicine,” the nurse with bleached blond hair
          whispers. As I take my medicine, the pain begins to
          abate.
             My whole life was destroyed in five minutes, no less
          than five minutes, I think. All because of one slip, one
          simple small slip took away my whole life in the future.
          But my friend, Charlotte, and I never thought we would
          end up somewhere else other than where we planned
          to be: winning the olympics for the US. We ran five
          miles a day to practice. We were out running when it
          happened.
             That one slip occurred when I was trying to climb
          over a massive, freshwater river with threatening rocks.
          We were out running when it happened. Charlotte ran
          beside me. Charlotte is the best person anyone could
          know. She cares so much for people. Some people
          don’t like her but a lot of people like her a lot. Okay
          back to the topic. I lost my footing on the most slippery                 When they found my friend, Charlotte, she was sobbing
          rock, and I fell into the river. The river had very jagged             her eyes out. She told them what happened and how it
          rocks, so, when I fell, I hit my head on one, and I lost               had happened all in between sobs. After she told
          consciousness.                                                         them, they all went to where there was a bend in the
             When I woke up, it was to the sound of a siren. I tried to          river.
          move, but my body hurt way too much. Waves of darkness                    As Charlotte shuffles into my room, her smile
          threatened my eyesight, and I could not fight it off. I                immediately brightens the dull, dark, and dreary room.
          lost consciousness again. I barely remember what                       She pulls out a family size bag of Doritos, Fritos, and all
          happened; it is all just a fuzzy mess. But I knew that the             the other itos! Charlotte also pulls out candy from her
          career I desperately wanted was over. I was going to                   backpack.
          become an Olympic runner, and now it was over.                            She sits down on the stiff and uncomfortable chair
             After I slipped, Char screamed loudly, and two of the               that is also beige and bland like the rest of the room.
          park rangers, Howard and Walter, who were near, heard                  “How are you holding up?”
          her scream. They steered the helicopter towards the                       “You know what? I am actually feeling okay,” I
          ear splitting scream.                                                  replied.
                                                                                    “What are you going to do about running? You know,
                                                                                 since this has popped up.”
                                                                                    “I am going to let you run for me, as in our places,
                                                                                 together as one. Like me passing on the torch to you.
                                                                                 So, I can still watch you practice and help you, but not
                                                                                 personally do it.”
                                                                                    “I am still sad, though. You and I have always dreamed
                                                                                 of our moment. Well, actually, it still is ours but in a
                                                                                 different way.”
                                                                                    “Will you do it?” I inquired.
                                                                                 “Yes, of course I will.”
                                                                                 I knew she would accept it. Charlotte can do it, and I
                                                                                 believe in her.

               N A R R AT I V E S                                                                                                    3
Villa Voice 2018 - American Overseas School of Rome
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              A Game to Remember
              by Mark Jones
              grade 6

                  “He’s racing down the sideline!       some popcorn. After that, I                After the competition the game
              The 30! The 20! The 10! The 5!            scurried between aisles in              started. During the game I posed
              No one's going to catch him now!          order to sit with some of my            with the army mascot and got
              Touchdown!!!” The crowd jumps             dad’s friends. They had front row       high fived by a couple of Army
              out of their seats as if they are         seats, so I could see the action        players, and I purchased some
              sitting on springs! The players           really clearly. From these front        popcorn which I quickly devoured.
              high five each other! “Touchdown          seat, the green carpet-like field       In the end Army won 62-7.
              Army! Army extends its lead 62-7!”        seemed endless.                         However, what I remember the
                  In October of 2016, I flew with           Before the game started, there      most is spending time with my dad
              my dad to West Point to celebrate         was a competition during which          and grandparents. I am grateful
              the 20th anniversary of his               three manned gliders had to             that my dad invited me to share
              graduation from college. On               jump from a helicopter and to try       this very special moment with
              one special day in particular, the        to land as close to the center of       him. It was definitely a game to
              Army football team was playing            the field as possible. I could hear     remember.
              Lafayette at West Point. That day         the helicopters above the stadium.
              was unique day for me because I           They were as loud as the ocean.
              rarely see my grandparents                Suddenly, the first glider jumped
              because they live so far away. We         from the helicopter and plunged
              drove to the stadium with them.           down toward us. The crowd roared
                  When we arrived, the stadium          like the wind. I stared intently. The
              was already full of with fans:            glider touched down five feet
              approximately 30,000 of them. I           from the center. The next two
              was overwhelmed by a sea of black,        jumps were equally as exciting.
              gold, and grey with occasional            The third glider landed almost
              specks of white and maroon. My            dead center and won the
              dad and I hopped up to go get             competition.

                                                                                    Fabrizio Sbarigia , grade 6

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               Flying Rats
               by Ines Corrias
               grade 6

                 “Come on, Ines!” shouts my             fear runs down my spine. A tiny        sometimes fly on children
               friend Kristina dragging me along        part of me worries that there will     heads!” she warns us.
               the endless, dark road ahead of          be some kind of animal down              As if right on cue, an ugly flying
               us. I clumsily follow, uncertain of      there. But all of my nervousness       rat soars above our heads. Four
               our final destination.                   abates when the tour guide starts      more come out, letting out deafening
                 My class and I are on the biggest      talking.                               screeches and flapping their
               field trip of the year. We are heading      “So everybody, this is entrance     huge black wings. My face turns
               to      the biggest underground          to the cave,” she explains in her      as white as porcelain. I resist the
               system of caves in Bosnia &              thick Bosnian accent. Everybody        urge to scream and instead run
               Herzegovina. Kristina tries to pull      giggles and her cheeks turn a          out of the cave with Kristina close
               me towards the rest of the class,        deep shade of crimson. But she         behind. I don’t stop running until
               but I am too busy taking pictures        quickly gets over it. We then          a cool gust of wind hits my face
               of the gorgeous scenery. I observe       scurry to the front of the line and    and I can smell the wet grass.
               the lush, green trees and hills all      try to get a peek of the inside of       I try to regulate my breathing,
               around us, and to top that off, the      the cave.                              inhale, exhale. Kristina races to
               sky is thick with clouds that rum-         “Everyone, be very careful. The      me and asks me if I am ok. She
               ble loudly. A blanket of eerie fog       cave is quite slippery!” she           then gives me a huge, warm hug
               smothers the forest.                     booms.                                 to calm down my shivering body.
                 “Wait, one more picture… okay           I squeeze Kristina’s hand, and she      As I am surrounded by Kristina’s
               done! Let’s go!” I say to Kristina.      gives me a somewhat reassuring         tight grip, I make a promise to
                 We quickly race to catch up            look. She must be worried as           myself: my bat cave days are
               with the rest of the class and           well. We are sloths, slowly and        officially over.
               receive a frowning stare from the        warily taking the first step down
               tour guide who has been waiting          the stairs, and what we find was
               for us.                                  absolutely breathtaking.
                 After twenty minutes of hiking            There are thousands of icicle
               and snapping pictures, we stop           chandeliers hanging from the tall,
               in front of a sign that said             grey ceiling. The only thing you
               “Bjelašniza 10 meters ahead.”            can hear is my classmates gasping
               Everyone is jittery with excitement      and the water dripping above us.
               as the tour guide walks toward a         But tour guide interrupts our stupor
               dark entrance that snakes and            before we can keep staring,
               curls underground. A shiver of           “Watch out for bats! They

                                                                                                                  Julia Lippi , grade 6

               N A R R AT I V E S                                                                                                    5
Villa Voice 2018 - American Overseas School of Rome
1 Narratives 6 grade 23 maggio 2018.qxp_Narrative 2017 28/05/18 20:06 Pagina 6

               Spine-Chilling
               by Kate Woods
               grade 6

                  I stare at the endless shelves of       We slowly creep into the dark
               food. Both of my hands rest on           bathroom and stop right when we
               the doors. I listen to the wind          notice that there is no one, I mean
               slapping the trees. My brother,          NO ONE, in front of us. Suddenly
               Austin, and I have just arrived          we hear the sound again. We
               home from school, and we are             glance at the windows, which
               searching for something to eat.          snap and slam. It was just wind
               Soon, my mom has to go back to           swinging the shutters back and
               school and pick up my sister,            forth! After our discovery, we
               Emma. I watch her trudge out the         nearly collapse before racing
               door. My brother and I collapse          downstairs.
               on the couch in the living room            Once we are back downstairs,
               and turn on the TV.                      we choose a movie and rest on
                  Suddenly, Austin suddenly has         the couch. My brother still seems
               to go to the bathroom. I pull the        shaken. Seconds later, we hear a
               blanket over me as I watch him           new sound: the front door opens
               lazily drag his feet down the hall.      swiftly. It is just Mom and Emma.
               While he is in the bathroom, I hear      We tell them about the screaming,
               something fall. It sounds like it is     spine-chilling, dreadful shutter
               coming from upstairs. Anxious, I         story. We explain every little
               call out, “Austin, wha what’s that       detail, emotion and feeling. I
               noise?...I      think    someone's       never thought my brother could
               upstairs.” Immediately, Austin           get scared, but it turns out he does.
               races out and tells me to be             In fact, he was more frightened
               quiet. Apparently, he heard it, too.     than I was because he was in
               Bret.M.W                                 charge of me. Good thing I was
                  Austin dashes into the kitchen,       there to take care of him.
               rips open the utensil drawer and
               grabs a butter knife. We tiptoe
               upstairs, creeping up the rickety,
               squeaky old stairs. The stairs
               moan at me as we ascend. I
               hover right by my brother’s side.
               My arms are wrapped around him                                                   Ryan Grubb , grade 6
               like I am wrestling a hippopotamus.
               We walk very slowly and quietly.
               Finally, we arrive at the top of the
               landing. By then I am crying.
               While I latch onto Austin with
               tears welling up, he carries the
               knife. Both of his hands shake as
               they grip the handle, and he has
               a fierce look on his face. We stop
               and wait to hear something. A loud
               THUD sounds from our parents
               bathroom, so we cautiously
               approach.

               6                                                                                           N A R R AT I V E S
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               The Particulars of a
               Morning Ride
               by Addie Fellona
               grade 6

                  My eyelids flutter, then fully          “Sleeping,” is her one word
               open. Ugh. It’s 4:14. I look over at     reply. We wordlessly trudge into the
               my slumbering sister, Julianna.          bathroom to put on our practice
               Her silhouette rises up and down,        suits. The stone floor is freezing
               almost lulling me back into              on our bare feet as we exchange
               hibernation underneath the my            our loose-fitting, comfortable
               soft comforter. Sadly, this method       pajamas for tight, damp swimsuits.
               of falling back to sleep doesn’t         We yawn and try not to converse
               work so well. Mom should come            much, in fear of the other criticizing
               in at 4:45 to wake me up for swim        our dragon-like morning breath.
               practice. I know you might be            When we emerge, we chug the
               thinking, Addie, why so early?           artic chocolate milk, take our
               What about sleep, and what pool          backpacks off the wall, and walk
               you are about to find out, so stop       outside in our PJs and swim suits.
               interrupting. Okay, fine, you can        The Wastila’s car sputters and
               know. I am a swim devotee. I go          then roars to life. As soon as the
               to swim every Tuesday, Thursday,         engine starts, the slap happiness
               and Friday. Anyway, I can already        hits us. Caraline and I start to
               hear my mom out in the kitchen,          sing weird songs, act crazy, and
               probably getting our lunches             attempt to scare each other while
               ready for today. I know you’re           Matthew is in the front seat,
               thinking, Addie, seriously. Swim,        eating his Life cereal. He chucks
               then school? You’re insane. I            them at us while yelling, “Get a
               already told you. Stop interrupting.     Life!”. All too soon, the car ride
               It’s rude. So, as I was saying, my       with my best friends is over, and
               mom is out in the kitchen. Since I       into the pool we go. Farewell,
               have nothing else to do, I decide        warmth.
               to join her.
                  As I shuffle into the kitchen, my
               mom is indeed making food, but
               not lunch. Instead, she is making
               our breakfast: breakfast burritos,
                                                                                                 Sabrina Chen , grade 6
               which are a mixture of scrambled
               eggs, bacon, and cheese wrapped
               in a tortilla. When she spots me,
               she says, ”Addie, you still have
               25 more minutes of sleep! Why
               are you awake?”
                  “Oh,” I reply, “I have no idea. Do
               you need any help?” And so I
               spend the last 25 minutes of my
               sleep helping my mother cook
               breakfast.
                  In a couple of minutes, I hear
               the beeps of the alarm clock that
               are supposed to wake up me and
               my sisters. Two of my three
               sisters file out of the hallway. I ask
               the sleepy Tessa, “Where’s J?”

               N A R R AT I V E S                                                                                         7
Villa Voice 2018 - American Overseas School of Rome
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               A Shock to the System
               by Gur Shemi-Perez
               grade 6

                 Right now, I am stunned into           patience at all. I stop an old lady     glancing our way. Suddenly, I
               silence. I stand with my mouth           with gnarled skin and white hair,       hear, “Hello, welcome to Bank
               open in front of an old, tired bank,     and I ask, “Is this like this all the   Israel, how could I help you?”
               examining a situation that I have        time?”                                    My mom begins anxiously, “We
               never      experienced        before.      She replies, “Welcome to Israel,      ordered credit cards about a
               People scream and swear as               young chap. If you want to get          week ago, and your site said it
               they try to dodge traffic along the      any spot by the end of today, fight     would be ready today.”
               dusty roads. Birds squawk as if          like the rest of us.”                     The employee glances at his
               they are being tortured. This clearly    “Thanks, I’ll consider it,” I reply.    computer and answers,“Ah, yes,
               is not Brussels.                           And then an idea surfaces in my       yes.” He reaches in his drawer
                 It has been three weeks since          mind. I whisper, “Hey mom do            and then hands my mom the new
               my family and I landed in Israel.        you see that empty table over           shiny cards. My mom and I grin
               Beforehand, we lived in fancy            there? Let's go wait there at the       at each other. We have officially
               Belgium, and now we live in              desk until an employee comes.”          arrived in Israel.
               colorful, non-stop Tel-Aviv. I have      She agrees and we make our way
               experienced some major changes           toward the oasis in the distance.
               in my short life, but I have never       Desperate for an employee to
               experienced one this big.                come, we wait and wait.
                 It has been an hour since my             Then from the corner of my eye,
               school day ended. I sprinted             I see an employee approach. I
               home through the chaotic streets         pray to God that he will come
               of my town. When I arrived to my         directly to our desk. He moves
               new home, my mom shouted                 toward us. He seems to be
               abruptly, “We’re going to the
                                                                                                   Lucia Maria Perrone , grade 6
               bank darling!” So I put on my
               navy pullover and climbed into
               the grey BMW that my dad’s office
               gave us. We were officially on our
               way to the bank.
                 Now, we stand in the bank's
               pulverized parking lot, which
               looks like a scene from a zombie
               apocalypse. We cautiously start
               walking toward the antique bank
               entrance. I can hear the wind
               whistling through the cracks of
               the door as we enter, and I can’t
               help but feel that we are stepping
               into a crime scene. When we step
               inside, we are blocked by a
               pileup of people - it is like a rugby
               match, and we are surrounded
               by a frantic crowd shouting for
               more.
                 Totally infuriated, my mom tries
               to find the end of the line, but she
               just can’t manage to see the end
               of the maze. She doesn’t know
               what to do, so she slams her
               hands on her hips. I can tell that
               she is about to give up. My mom
               and I are used to a clean, neat
               organized lines with patient
               people. That is what lines looked
               like in Belgium. But now that we
               are in Israel, everyone is always
               in a big hurry, and they have no

               8                                                                                                         N A R R AT I V E S
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                                                                                   Elisa Pan,   grade 6

                                                                   P O E T RY
                                                                  6 th G R A D E

                                “All you need is faith, trust and a little pixie dust”
                                                     Peter Pan

                                                                                                          9
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              Moving Forward
              by Daphne Huse, Addie Fellona, Antonio-Miltiadis Maiorana, Edoardo Proietti
              grade 6

              I live in my mind
              I am stuck in time
              It is twenty eighteen
              A metaphorical ravine
              Of ups and downs                                                              Fabrizio Blasio,   grade 6
              Lush valleys and steep mounds

              The future is calling
              I need to stop stalling
              Like a siren in the night
              whispers but no light

              Without looking back
              I stay focused on the task
              I move into this new year
              With only hope, no fear.

                                            Daniel Vaquerizo,   grade 6

              10                                                                                           P O E T RY
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                                                                             Daphne Huse,   grade 6

                  The Path
                  by Fabrizio Blasio
                  grade 6

                  I am lost in my heart
                  I search for guidance in utter darkness
                  and only find a lighthouse
                   as white as marble
                  A tower of strength?

                  The sky in the night is a vast sea
                  Suddenly a light beckons me
                  And illuminates my path
                  Now my heart has found its way
                  And I am not going to lose it again

                                             Hayden Barber,    grade 6

               P O E T RY                                                                         11
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                          Moving Forward
                          by Ines Corrias, Owen Ryan, Kate Woods,
                          Fabio Marmarchi
                          grade 6

                          What decision to make?
                          Ask the soft wind breeze
                          Which road will you take
                          As leaves dance off of the trees

                          The time of death has begun
                          Wintery breaths of ice
                          It really is no fun
                          Yet thoughts of spring entice

                          And now a second chance
                          Flowers abound
                          All living things disentrance
                          Plants surface from softened ground

                          Soon, endless days of sun
                          A whole new you
                          The summer season has begun
                          It is time for something new

                                                                             Kestyn Bowers , grade 6

              12                                                                                       P O E T RY
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                                                               Laura Fern Jones , grade 7

                                                                  N A R R AT I V E S
                                                                   7 th G R A D E

                “ ‘ T h i s i s t h e l a n d o f N a r n i a ’ , s a i d t h e F a u n , w h e re w e a re n o w ; a l l t h a t
               l i e s b e t w e e n t h e l a m p - p o s t a n d t h e g re a t c a s t l e o f C a i r P a r a v e l o n t h e
                                                                  eastern sea”
                                                     T h e C h ro n i c l e s o f N a r n i a

                                                                                                                              13
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               My Snow Savior
               by Anson Dana
               grade 7

                 I wake up. The dream from the           leaving a wet, icy rivulet. It turns
               past night obscures my senses.            out it is just snow.
               The alarm on my watch sings a               I flop down hopelessly in a drift
               shrill song. I think about the day        and look up at the stark white sky.
               in my mind… a math test, a violin         I am paralyzed with the weight of
               recital. Ugh! It is 5:45, so I barely     wet snow gear. Suddenly, I hear
               have any time to myself. I drag           the soft crunch of approaching
               myself out of bed like a drugged          boots. With a sigh, my sister
               bear and head towards the                 picks me up out of the bank and
               bathroom. I grab some toothpaste          drags me inside. As I regain feeling
               and reluctantly spread it on my           in my body, I feel a warm cup of
               toothbrush. I desperately try to          hot chocolate in my hands. My
               mentally prepare for the day.             sister sits beside me staring at
               However, I have no idea what is in        mountains of marshmallows, and
               store for me.                             that is when I realize that she is
                 Suddenly, I hear an ear-piercing        my snow savior.
               scream. “Snow Day!!!!!!!!” I drop
               my toothbrush and run downstairs.
               I can’t believe my eyes. I mean, I
               live in Maine. I have seen some                                                  Sofia Peng , grade 8
               crazy snow storms, but I haven’t
               seen anything like this before. Six
               foot drifts are scattered across
               the yard like mountain ranges.
               Clouds of dancing snowflakes flit
               fiercely across the yard like
               dragons. I want to yell, but all
               that comes out is a weak sputter
               of relief and happiness.
                 I quickly swallow down a bowl
               of Cheerios and suit up: mittens,
               snow pants, goggles and finally
               my coat. The anticipation pounds
               in my ears and stomach as I wait
               for my sister. She takes so long
               that I don’t think I can wait any
               longer. She finally appears, and
               now, I must painstakingly wait
               again as she puts on her winter
               gear. Finally, we are ready.
                 We step out the door into a
               winter wonderland - in fact, it is
               more like a winter war zone. The
               winds moan in my ears like
               wounded soldiers. Suddenly, my
               sister and I are soldiers, fighting
               against the snow drifts. I am
               armed with a leaf blower, and my
               sister with a snow shovel. An
               enormous tank equipped with a
               snowblower takes aim. We both
               duck into a trench, but it is too
               late. The ‘bullet’ hits me in the back
               of the neck like a speed train. It
               snaps me out of my daydream and
               back into reality. Now, the ‘bullet’
               slides down the back of my shirt

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                           Snow Musings
                           by Elena Carulla Benguerel
                           grade 7

                               First feeling: fear. My heartbeat races while I hear my dog, Nala, bark and cry. A million
                           questions cross my mind. Is there someone in the house? Is somebody hitting her? Is she in pain?
                           My legs are shaking, and I can barely move. Somehow I manage to untangle my feet from the
                           covers and race out of my room and into the hallway. What if there actually is somebody in the
                           house? What do I do?
                               I have never been in this situation before. The shrill sound of my dog crying continues as I hasten
                           into the living room. My vision is narrow as the gleam of snow takes a toll on my eyes. Snow? What
                           the heck is snow doing in Rome? My dog is still barking and crying, but now I realize that she has
                           never seen snow before. Neither have I, really. Nala looks at me, and then glances at the door, and
                           I automatically understand that she wants to go outside. I have never felt more relieved. Ever.
                               Outside, Nala sniffs every step of of the new landscape as she flits on sparkling white snow.
                           Fresh snowflakes find a home on top of her nose. I cannot help but laugh at this image. I touch the
                           snow with my bare hands. Next, I scoop it and make a ball out of it. Finally, I throw it to Nala. At first,
                           she looks around, bewildered, but then she returns to her skipping and smelling.
                           While I am laughing at Nala’s reaction, I hear something else: footsteps. The sound is coming from
                           behind me. Here we go again. I stop moving. Nala starts barking and shaking her tale. Suddenly, I
                           feel a cold object pelt my back, ice cold snow instantly melts and slides down the back of my neck.
                           I turn around and see my brother laughing the life out of himself, covering his mouth with his hands.
                           I seize the moment and grab another ball of snow and throw it at his face. The laughter stops, and
                           now? I am laughing as I have never laughed before.

                                                                                             Alissa Tornaboni,   grade 7

               N A R R AT I V E S                                                                                                  15
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                          Neighborly Love
                          by Allison Hurst
                          grade 7

                          Get me out of here.                             looks about five or six comes up
                              It’s not my fault that it snowed.           to me. He wears a mischievous
                          It’s not my fault I have extremely              grin from pink cheek to pink
                          competitive neighbors. It’s not my              cheek. His hands are behind his
                          fault that they keep purposely                  back, clearly hiding a wintery
                          chucking snowballs in my face.                  weapon.
                              I’ve always loved the snow.                    “Let’s call truce,” he says.
                          I’ve always loved snowball fights.              Unfortunately this little kid is lying
                          I was thrilled when I found out                 about the truce because two
                          that the mayor of Rome cancelled                seconds later, my nose is covered
                          school. It would be my first snow               in snow. AGAIN.
                          day.                                               The other neighborhood kids
                          It had been a fun day so far. My                aren’t any better. They seem
                          brothers, Clark and Rhett built an              determined to make my hair
                          adorable snowman.                               completely white. Although they
                          Yes, It HAD been fun, but now                   have     already       succeeded,
                          that adorable snowman is                        apparently they aren’t satisfied.
                          nothing but a pile of sticks and                   For anyone who is reading
                          snow. My neighbors ate the car-                 this, you may be annoyed and
                          rot.                                            confused as to why I’m not
                              I dodge five more snowballs                 fighting back. They are all youn-
                          coming my way. Clark huddles                    ger than I am, and as much as I’d
                          behind the remains of the                       love to throw snowballs in their
                          snowman. He is practically                      faces, I don’t want to send them
                          suffering from frostbite on his                 home in tears.
                          face! Suddenly, a small boy who

                                                                                                      Annika Sharma , grade 7

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                          Poor Clark dashes to get away              I back away from the mob of
                       from a monster sized sphere. He            neighbor kids, who clearly
                       bumps into the snow covered                assume I am frightened. Before
                       hedge, falls over and gets                 they have time to shoot me down
                       covered by a large pile of fluffy          with snowballs, I leap into the
                       powder.                                    protection of the hedge and
                          We need to do something. We             watch them advance. With a
                       need to fight back.                        snigger, I wildly shake the
                          As I am thinking of a master            snowy hedge. Ten inches of
                       plan to beat our neighbors, I find         snow avalanches onto their
                       myself cornered. My neighbors              faces. Clark laughs as the
                       stand in front of me, armed and            shocked little snow devils brush
                       ready. My plan will have to wait.          the powdery snow off their noses.
                          I glance behind my shoulder                The war has officially begun.
                       to see if I am surrounded.
                       Fortunately, the only thing behind
                       me is the tall, snow-covered
                       hedge. The hedge!

                                                                                     Nicolo Giuffrida , grade 7

               N A R R AT I V E S                                                                                 17
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                                 Snow Child
                                 by Michael Thomas
                                 grade 7

                                   I fall into a mound of snow that protrudes from the Earth. Luckily I am
                                 wearing a snowsuit accompanied by several layers of warm, soft
                                 clothing. I sit in the middle of a snow mound, in the middle of the
                                 Arctic Circle, in the middle of the North Pole. I bask in the gleam of the
                                 cold, yet warm sun. Snowflakes gracefully fall on me like feathers
                                 landing on a pillow fight victim.
                                 Suddenly, a more forceful type of snow bashes my face. I swiftly lift up
                                 and form a frostbitten snowball, ready to hurl it at my enemy. However,
                                 I am pelted by one snowball, then another, and knocked off my snow
                                 mound. Instead of falling on the chilling, snowy, hard floor, I fall into my
                                 soft, warm bed, with a cover that holds me like I am its own child. I
                                 wake up only to realize that there is actual snow outside, and that it
                                 was a dream come true!
                                   I hurry and grab my coat to go and play with this delicate, soft
                                 powder I haven’t seen in some time. I sprint up a towering mountain
                                 of snow. Once I reach the top, I feel like I’m on top of the world. I
                                 looking over the snow and tree covered horizon. Once I have finished
                                 celebrating my triumph, I fall back and roll down the hill only to meet
                                 more snow. As I lie there, I make a snow angel, and I lift up and see
                                 the perfect snow angel I have ever seen.
                                   “Michael, look at this!” shouts my mom from my left, then I reply: “I’m
                                 coming!”. I try my best to flit forcibly, yet gracefully through the thick
                                 snow to meet my mom. Once I make it to her, I see a strange figure
                                 standing in front of her. I approach closer to see who or what the
                                 strange figure is. As I approach, I solve the mystery. I see the
                                 beginning of a snowman. I chortle to myself and then run over to help
                                 her finish her work. I make a small snowball and place it in the snow,
                                 then roll it around to get it to increase in size. We repeat this process
                                 until we make a 3 foot tall snow creature. I take a look at it from afar to
                                 see that this snow creature is like my own snow child.

                                                                                               Xuanyu Cheng , grade 7

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                                                              Rebecca Micconi , grade 7

                                                           ODES AND PROSE
                                                              7 th G R A D E

              “ F o r t h ro u g h t h e t w i l i g h t s o u n d s o f c r i c k e t s a n d ’ s i g h i n g t re e s , a f a i n t ,
                 s u r p r i s i n g w i s p o f m u s i c c a m e f l o a t i n g t o t h e m a n d a l l t h re e t u r n e d
                                                   t o w a rd i t , t o w a rd t h e w o o d . ”
                                                             Tu c k E v e r l a s t i n g

              ODES   AND   PROSE                                                                                                    19
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               Ode to Scotch Tape
               by Laura Fern Jones
               grade 7

               The bindings that hold us together                      You are more than you know
               Are the morals that make us one                         But you have more to show,
               And you - a way to bind all fragments                   Like the fulcrum between
                                                                       The stars below
               Even a broken heart can be mended                       The core above
               With the pure joy of a pull                             Heart and soul
               a snap and a quick stick                                And all I love
               Mending other things                                    What a beautiful raging symbol- you are
               while broken on the inside                              The most powerful thing is unity,
                                                                       And that of, you are pure
               You are caged in a roll,                                Taken for granted, clear in your perfections
               A grooved round of light                                Priceless and ever demure.
               Unwound and unpeeled
               For greater purposes

               Bound at birth
               Unwound to bind
               How you glisten in the sunlight
               How you shimmer in the sun!
               When infused with color
               Or transparent to everyone

                Giulia Graziano , grade 7

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                  Michael Thomas , grade 7

                   Ode to a Pinata                                     Ode to an Ode
                   by Anson Dana                                       by Roberta Cai
                   grade 7                                             grade 7

                   Floating above the ground                           Your strong words
                   A paper mache donkey                                Strike my mind
                   Beholden to the birthday party                      You shine a new light
                   His mournful eyes survey the scene                  On paper
                   Painted faces that resemble a tribe                 Like a plane preparing for flight
                   Presents stacked like small mountains
                   A ruthless boy with a bat                           A whole new world you open
                   He swings the bat                                   Not dystopian but utopian
                   At that is that.                                    You show the best of daily necessities
                                                                       to the underdogs
                                                                       And overachievers

                                                                       Your words are full of power
                                                                       Strong like a watchtower
                                                                       They hit me like a train
                                                                       Deeper meanings
                                                                       Never plain

                                                                       This is an ode to an ode
                                                                       One that always should be told.

              ODES   AND   PROSE                                                                                21
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                   Juliane Jorgensen , grade 7

                       Ode to a Book
                       by Lorenzo Dassatti
                       grade 7

                       That soft cover,                                 The bliss of turning the a page,
                       The pages worn with time,                        The bliss of exploring a new age,
                       The smell that makes you cough                   In time,
                       when you inhale its ancient dust.                In space.

                       You are a friend,                                A collection of words,
                       Or something more,                               With intricate connotation,
                       Me and you, forever more.                        In such a simple context.

                       A bulwark against ignorance,                     Sad moments,
                       Humans depend on you,                            Joyful stories.
                       You depend on us
                       For sustenance and shelf life in a modern age.   Me and you.
                                                                        Lorenzo and the Book of Life.
                       The perfect link between ink,
                       Paper,
                       And a magical cover.

              22                                                                                      ODES   AND   PROSE
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                                                                              Leo Kreutzer Presutti-Saba , grade 7

                                           Ode to an Index Card
                                           by Tessa Fellona
                                           grade 7

                                           A magical card              The lines mesmerize me
                                           That may contain            And set my mind free
                                           Stunning pictures           All of ideas
                                           Beyond the brain            That can be contained
                                                                       Magical moments
                                           Not too small               Beyond the brain
                                           Not one flaw
                                           A perfect card
                                           Not to discard

                                                                                             Vittoria Crisera , grade 7

              ODES   AND   PROSE                                                                                          23
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                   Reduce, Reuse,
                   Recycle
                   by Lucy Downs
                   grade 7

                     Have you ever heard of “The           This topic is important to me           "Facts - Garbage Patch - The Great
                   Great Pacific Garbage Patch”?           because trash is getting dumped         Pacific Garbage Patch and other ...."
                   There are many places polluted          into the ocean and there is no          http://garbagepatch.net/greatpacifi-
                   by garbage, especially plastic                                                  coceangarbagepatchfacts/.
                                                           way to fix it except for recycling. I
                                                                                                   Accessed 29 Nov. 2017.
                   because it is not biodegradable.        want my classmates and many
                   Did you know there is a garbage         other people to know that
                   patch twice the size of Texas?          recycling is very important for
                   The average person generates            the environment. In less than
                   over 4 pounds of trash every day        15 years, worldwide waste is
                   and about 1.5 tons of solid waste       expected to double. Recycle at
                   per year. That’s a lot of trash just    any chance you get, pick up after
                   for 1 person! When factories or         others. Reuse, reduce, and
                   people melt the plastic, it causes      recycle to make a difference in
                   pollution in the air and pollution is   the world.
                   bad for the health of people.
                   Recycling helps convert old
                   products to newer products. In
                   other words, recycling is good for
                   the environment. Recycling has
                   been proven to save lots of energy.
                   One person can make a big                                                                Livia Scannapieco , grade 7
                   difference, many people think
                   that one person can’t make a big
                   difference, but they can. An average
                   American person produces about
                   1,600 pounds of waste every
                   year and up to 1,100 pounds of
                   waste is able to be recycled
                   every year per person. Society
                   can prevent waste from going
                   into the ocean by recycling.
                     When I was in fifth grade, we
                   were watching a video called
                   “The Great Pacific Garbage
                   Patch” that talked about the
                   importance of recycling. I was
                   actually interested and the video
                   was meaningful. The video meant
                   a lot to me and I felt like I had to
                   do something, so when I got
                   home that evening, I made a
                   recycling basket and I felt happy.
                   Of course, that is no way to get
                   rid of the large garbage patches
                   but every small thing counts.

              24                                                                                                   ODES   AND   PROSE
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                                                               Ina Van Otterdijk , grade 7

                                                           E X P O S I T O R Y E S S AY S
                                                                   7 th G R A D E

                                                “I liked my books, and clouds and sunsets”
                                                               The Outsiders

               E X P O S I T O R Y E S S AY S                                                25
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               Hidden But Not Lost:                                                                          Lea Boutonnier , grade 7
               The Mayan Culture
               by Gabriele Ghione
               grade 7

                   Today, many Mayans are still
               living on the same lands on which
               their ancestors used to inhabit.
               The Mayan population settled in
               Northern Guatemala and Mexico
               between 2,600 and 1,800 B.C..
               The name “Maya” comes from
               the Yucatan city of Mayapan.
               While their civilization has lived
               on the same lands for many
               thousands of years, their way of
               living life has never been accurately
               perceived by the rest of the world.
               As the people changed and
               Mayan customs and traditions
               were passed from generation to
               generation, their culture started
               to slowly evolve. Globalization
               plays a large role in this evolution.
               In the last few centuries, the
               Mayan culture has been forced
               to change and adapt to the
               civilization’s contemporary needs.
               Religious traditions and rituals
               have dissipated, as well as the
               language and the religion.
                  The       Mayan      civilization
               experienced a collapse of the
               community hundreds of years
               before the Spanish Conquistadors
               arrived, bringing more and more
               innovations from the rest of the
               world. The Mayans were at the                Although some Mayans kept the       coming after the drinking of the
               very peak of their power between          ancient traditions, many preferred     soda eliminates all the sins and
               750 and 900 A.D.. In that period,         to change the rituals and meet         purifies the soul. Many rituals
               the carrying capacities of both           the needs of the modern society.       were changed and modernized,
               the cities and the environment            “Entering the church of San Juan       but most of them are still practiced
               were full. A part of the population       Chamula is like entering another       today. The Mayans did not only
               started to immigrate north while          world,” says Andrea Arzaba, in         change the rituals of its culture,
               some remained in the cities,              “Coca-Cola: Globalization in the       but even many other aspects that
               maintaining a small, but active           Modern Mayan World” . In the           characterized the Mayans and
               population. About 700 years later,        cleansing rituals the Shaman,          that made them unique.
               the Spanish Conquistadors arrived,        which are the healers, use soda           Apart from modernizing the
               torturing everyone in their way, and      for curing the sick. The healers use   rituals, the Mayans involved
               bringing with them innovations            animals as well for the cleansing      themselves in politics in order to
               and inventions from the outside           rituals, which is more traditional     be accepted by the world
               world. As a result of exposure to         to them. The “Chamulas”, which         around them, and to survive as a
               new practices, some Mayans                are the Mayans of San Juan             civilization. “Contrary to popular
               gave up old traditions.                   Chamula, believe that the burping      imagination, the Maya did not

               26                                                                                                E X P O S I T O R Y E S S AY S
5 Expository Essays 19 maggio 2018.qxp_personal narrative 2016 28/05/18 20:16 Pagina 27

               vanish and the descendants of             The Mayans work in very poor
               the people who built the great            conditions, and although providing
               cities of Chichen Itza, Bonampak,         many jobs to the country they
               Uxmal and Altun Ha still exist on the     provide a lot of risks for the people,
               same lands their ancestors did,”          because the jobs can often be
               writes Joshua J. Mark, author of          dangerous. A job in a maquiladora
               “Maya Civilization”. The Mayans           will earn you 300 pesos a week
               weren’t accepted by the government        ($ 0.42 per hour), which is an
               as an official community. In 1994         extremely low price for living.
               the Zapatista Movement began.                Unfortunately, the Mayan culture
               The purpose of the Zapatista              is evolving and as a result, its unique
               movement was to tactfully rebel           and rich history is vanishing. “Their
               against the debt crisis that began        culture has evolved, along with
               in the 1980s and led the Mayans           the technological, cultural, and
               into deeper poverty. Back in 1979,        political evolution of the world,”
               a different movement began, and           states Jessie Pierce, in “Current
               that was the Pan-Mayan Movement.          Issues       of     Ethnicity      and
               The difference between the two            Globalization”. The rituals are
               movements was that the newer              changing, the language and
               movement was a political one and          religion are being modified, and
               the older one was a social movement.      many of the Mayans whose
               The Pan-Mayan Movement’s most             ancestors worked the farms of
               significant improvements were             Mexico and Guatemala are now
               the revitalization of the language        working in low-cost factories and
               and religion. In fact, the movement       protesting against the unfair
               standardized the K’iché alphabet          government excluding them from
               which is the most common one and          the rest of the world. Many
               has even created a mix between            Mayans are now involved in
               Catholicism and ancient Mayan             politics and their has been a
               rituals and beliefs. In the end, the      revitalization of the language and
               two movements forced the                  religion as well of the modernization
               Mayans to engage politically with         of the rituals. What will the Mayan
               the world around them, by protesting      culture look like hundreds of
               against the governments and               years from now? Will their culture
               even by simply making a simpler           vanish forever? Only time will tell
               language.                                 us.
                  Due to their poor integration in
               the modern world, many Mayans
               are now employed in factories. It
               may sound strange that the people
               whose ancestors constructed
               massive buildings such as temples
               and palaces are now working in
               factories. The factories in which
               the Mayans are working are
               maquiladoras, which are factories
               from a foreign country that are
               strategically placed in Mexico to
               avoid taxes and tariffs.

               E X P O S I T O R Y E S S AY S                                                      27
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                A Sea of Camels
                by Jamie Potschautek
                grade 7

                   Fish and camels. Are they              The Aral Sea’s sea life has            came to live where fish once
                similar? Not really, but one has          disappeared as a result of             swam. “Others took up animal
                replaced the other in a sea-tur-          drainage and salinization. Many        breeding - camels now graze on
                ned-desert called the Aral Sea.           of the fish died because of the        what used to be seabed near
                The Aral Sea is a lake located            high salinity level of the inland      Karateren village - or left altogether.
                between       Kazakhstan        and       sea. Some fish fled to the Syr         Throughout the area, most of the
                Uzbekistan that began being               Darya (river) and Amu Darya,           soil is covered with a white salty
                drained to hydrate cash crops             where the water was still mostly       crust, which makes farming a
                such as cotton and rice in the            fresh. Only very few species were      tough job.The camels were bred
                1960’s. Over time, the sea lost so        able to survive in the salty water.    and soon many of the former
                much water that it ended up               In the 1980’s, most of the fisheries   fishermen became camel breeders.”
                vanishing. The disappearance              were closed. As the sea dried          There are many signs of a possible
                of the Aral Sea had devastating           out, it got so dry that camels         complete return of the Aral Sea.
                consequences. As the waters
                receded, fish populations retreated,
                resulting in a depletion of sea life
                in the region.
                                                                                                 Leo Kreutzer Presutti-Saba , grade 7
                Since the 1960’s, water has been
                drained from the Aral Sea and
                now people are realizing it was a
                mistake. The water was taken
                away from the sea to give water
                to cash crops such as cotton and
                rice. “This part of what remains of
                the Aral Sea is known as the
                Small Aral. The Aral Sea was
                once the world's fourth-largest
                inland body of water, but has
                been forever altered by the Soviet
                era irrigation policies to reclaim
                the desert for cotton farming by
                rerouting the rivers the Amu
                Darya and Syr Darya. ”These
                crops did produce a lot of income
                for farmers, but the fishermen were
                not able to do their jobs anymore
                and almost all of them left to other
                fishing areas. This is important
                because this is where the water
                ‘escaped’, leaving behind salt
                beds and dead fish. The remaining
                water picked up the salt which
                contaminated it as well as the
                dead fish, meaning the water was
                now useless to the people. As a
                result, many people were left
                wondering what happened to the
                remaining sea life.

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5 Expository Essays 19 maggio 2018.qxp_personal narrative 2016 28/05/18 20:16 Pagina 29

               One is that where the sea was             "The Aral Sea springs back to life |                                 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kaza-
               once 80 kilometers away, it is now        Kazakhstan | Al Jazeera." 12 Jul. 2016,                              khstan-aral/aral-sea-big-fish-is-back-in-
                                                         http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictu-                            small-pond-idUSKBN18S4ZV
               only 20 kilometers away. This is          re s / 2 0 1 6 / 0 6 / a r a l - s e a - s p r i n g s - l i f e -
               mostly because of a dam built in          160623082720228.html. Accessed 15                                    https://news.nationalgeographic.com/ne
               2005 which is used to route water         Dec. 2017.                                                           ws/2010/04/100402-aral-sea-story/
               back to the Aral Sea.More than            "Aral Sea: big fish is back in small pond -
                                                         Reuters." 1 Jun. 2017, https://www.reu-                              http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictu-
               15 kinds of fish have reappeared,         ters.com/article/us-kazakhstan-aral-                                 res/2016/06/aral-sea-springs-life-
               coming back from their hideouts           idUSKBN18S4ZV. Accessed 15 Dec.                                      160623082720228.html
               in the Syr and Amu rivers, and the        2017.                                                                “The sea, which was over 80km away in
               most common to catch are pike                                                                                  2010, is now only 20km from the houses
                                                                                                                              of the village. More than 15 kinds of fish
               perch, bream, and carp.                                                                                        have reappeared, allowing fishing pro-
               Fisheries have had a production                                                                                duction to expand from 600 tonnes in
               expansion from 600 tons in 1996                                                                                1996 to 7,200 tonnes today, according to
               to 7,200 tons in 2017. Slowly but                                                                              Serik Dyussenbayev, a guide living in
                                                                                                                              Aralsk.”
               surely, the sea is returning.                                                                                  “Nature can come back.”
               The Aral Sea’s disappearance                                                                                   “The people who were left behind strug-
               affected many, and while it may                                                                                gled to feed themselves in a landscape
               not seem like a big deal, it is. This                                                                          that had turned suddenly hostile. At full
                                                                                                                              size, the Aral had acted as a giant clima-
               incident should serve as an                                                                                    te buffer, and as it shrank, the summers
               example of what happens when                                                                                   got hotter and the winters colder.”
               people do not think things                                                                                     “The Aral was nearly destroyed as a
               through and act in the moment. I                                                                               result of the Soviet Union’s plan to boost
                                                                                                                              cotton production by diverting Syr Darya
               hope the world's citizens can                                                                                  and Amu Darya, the two rivers feeding it,
               learn from this mistake made                                                                                   to irrigate the desert.”
               many years ago, so that it will not                                                                            “Others took up animal breeding -
               happen again. A first step in                                                                                  camels now graze on what used to be
                                                                                                                              seabed near Karateren village - or left
               remedying the situation is to                                                                                  altogether. Throughout the area, most of
               donate money to organizations                                                                                  the soil is covered with a white salty
               helping this cause, and after this                                                                             crust, which makes farming a tough job.”
               measure, all we can do is wait.                                                                                “The small Aral is not a real sea,” says
                                                                                                                              Zhurimbetov. “The old one used to have
                                                                                                                              waves 7 meters high.”

               E X P O S I T O R Y E S S AY S                                                                                                                        29
5 Expository Essays 19 maggio 2018.qxp_personal narrative 2016 28/05/18 20:16 Pagina 30

               Can a Drop of Water
               Change Our World?
               by Nicolò Giuffrida
               grade 7

                    You probably never heard             thousand people in the sphere of      The Aral Sea was powered by
               about the story of the Aral Sea           livestock, poultry farming, growing   two rivers, the Amu Darya and the
               and its shrinking, but the story is       of agricultural crops. ” Not only     Syr Darya. The Soviets decided to
               worth repeating as it may serve           did the sea play an important role    put two dams on both the Syr
               as a parable. The Aral Sea is             in the lives of the communities,      Darya and the Amu, causing the
               located in Central Asia, between          but it also offered a great number    water to not arrive to its destination
               Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. It             of work opportunities. This           point: the Aral Sea. so this
               seems like a dreadful dream,              helped to grow the economy. But       brought the level of the sea to
               imagining that a sea could shrink.        the proposed jobs relied on the       slowly decrease. An article on the
               However this is the harsh reality,        water of the Aral Sea. Therefore,     Aral Sea affirms that, “The water
               and this is what is happening.            no water meant that there would       level has dropped approximately
               The sea is receding. The Aral Sea         be no jobs. This presented a          23 meters since the onset of its
               once provided jobs, food, and water       dangerous equation for the            primary sources of water being
               to the surrounding communities,           economy.                              diverted      (Zavialov        2005).
               helping with the economic                     When the USSR started             Although the water level has
               development of the area. One of           their plan, they did not think of     fluctuated up to a few meters in
               these communities in which there          its consequences. Although the        the past due to natural variability
               was major development was the little      Soviets knew what was going to        in the water flow from the rivers,
               city of Moynaq. But unfortunately,        happen, they kept on working          by 1970, the water loss exceeded
               this relationship did not last long.      until it was impossible to continue   the limit of natural water level
               In fact, the shrinking of the Aral        due to the condition of the land.     variation that has occurred in the
               Sea had negative influences on
               the economies of most of the
               communities surrounding it. This                                                              Lucy Downs , grade 7
               led to the loss of many jobs related
               to fish, as well as the loss of water
               used for cultivating.
                    Before the Soviet Union
               devised a plan to use the territory
               of the Aral Sea for an irrigation
               project that would cultivate the
               “golden crop” or “white gold”,
               which actually is cotton, the
               economy of the communities
               surrounding it were rapidly
               developing toward an apex. All of
               this happened thanks to the Aral
               Sea. One article from the United
               Nations details this event. “In the
               past, the sea was among the
               richest of fishing grounds in the
               world: the annual catch of fish in
               the reservoirs of the Aral Sea was
               30-35 thousand tons. More than
               80% of the inhabitants of the Aral
               Sea coast were engaged in the
               production, processing and
               transportation of fish and fish
               products. Fertile lands of the
               delta of the Amu darya and Syr
               darya rivers, as well as highly
               productive pastures provided
               employment for more than 100

               30                                                                                                E X P O S I T O R Y E S S AY S
5 Expository Essays 19 maggio 2018.qxp_personal narrative 2016 28/05/18 20:16 Pagina 31

               past. ” Gradually, the sea kept on        jobs, they also had to flee due to       now, only we can help these
               reducing the amount of water in           the absence of the basic needs.          communities make a return. Will
               it, at a point that agriculture           The climate prevented people             we be able to change this crisis
               wasn’t practicable anymore. At            from produce goods and ultimately        one drop at a time?
               that point, the Soviets left the          exporting and selling them.
               territory and the communities                 It is clear that the Aral Sea left
               were not able to continue on              a negative effect on the                 "Mayan Civilization - Aztec History."
                                                                                                  http://www.aztec-history.com/mayan-civi-
               using the water for two main              economies of the surrounding             lization.html. Accessed 15 Dec. 2017.
               reasons: the first is that there was      communities. In addition, no one         "FutureChallenges » Coca-Cola:
                                                                                                  Globalization in the Modern Mayan ...." 2
               not much water left, and the second       actually realized the problems           May. 2013,
               problem is that the water was too         that resulted, such as job loss          https://futurechallenges.org/local/coca-
                                                                                                  cola-globalization-inside-contemporary-
               saline at a point that it killed all      and the absence of one of the            mayan-world/. Accessed 11 Dec. 2017.
               the fish species living in the sea.       most important necessities of life:        "Maya Civilization - Ancient History ...."
                                                                                                  6 Jul. 2012,
               This was a dilemma because                water. As the Soviets try to subdue      https://www.ancient.eu/Maya_Civilization/
               cultivating requires one vital            speculation surrounding this             . Accessed 12 Dec. 2017.
               ingredient: water. Without water,         situation, more governments got          "Current Issues of Ethnicity and
                                                                                                  Globalization - mayaninfo - Wikispaces."
               workers were left with a dry,             involved. Today, people still suffer     https://mayaninfo.wikispaces.com/Curren
               deserted land.                            due to this water crisis, while on the   t+Issues+of+Ethnicity+and+Globalization
                                                                                                  . Accessed 11 Dec. 2017.
                    The shrinking of the Aral Sea        other hand, people continuously
               led to a significant loss of jobs.        waste water for no reason. This
               In fact, as said before, the sea          problem is now become a
               provided workplaces for more than         nightmare to people who have
               half of the population surrounding it.    experienced this tragedy. And
               In an article published by the
               World Resources Institute, author
               Karen Bennett states, “The formerly
               thriving fishing industry collapsed
               as the freshwater influx declined
               and salinity increased, leading to
               the disappearance of about
               60,000 jobs linked to the Aral Sea
               fishery. ” This was a major problem
               to almost all the people due to the
               fact that they depended on the
               Aral Sea. It could be perceived
               that the sea was like a boss that
               decided on the future of the
               surrounding communities. But
               not only did people lose their

               E X P O S I T O R Y E S S AY S                                                                                            31
5 Expository Essays 19 maggio 2018.qxp_personal narrative 2016 28/05/18 20:16 Pagina 32

               It's What Makes YOU
               Human
               by Elisa Andrews
               grade 7

               Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs,              My teacher, Todd, noticed I               I started getting pulled out of
               Walt Disney, Alexander Graham             wasn’t doing very well in school       my regular classes with a small
               Bell, Agatha Christie, F. Scott           and that there was something           group more and more. Then after
               Fitzgerald, John Lennon. All of these     wrong with my schoolwork. So he        around two years of having to get
               people have one extraordinary             called a parent-teacher conference.    up in front of everybody and go
               trait that they all share; they all       When he showed my parents              with my learning group, I didn’t
               have dyslexia.                            “my” work, he pointed out that there   have to anymore.
                  Dyslexia has a lot of definitions.     were two different handwritings:       I had never really gotten comments
               For example, Dictionary.com’s             one, my quickly scribbled letters      about my dyslexia until this year
               definition of dyslexia is: any of         that were incomprehensible, and        if you can believe it. All of a sudden
               various reading disorders                 the other, my best friend Anna’s       people are making comments
               associated with impairment of             neatly printed out letters. The        when I tell them I have it or they
               the ability to interpret spatial          handwriting that was on most of        ask me what it’s like. When I tell
               relationships or to integrate             my papers was Annas. They              people about my dyslexia the
               auditory and visual information.          asked me why I wasn’t doing            common response is them pointing
               This definition only captures a           most of my work and I simply told      to their shirt or a sign with
               fraction of how complex and               them; I don't understand it, and       something obvious like, AOSR,
               intriguing dyslexia actually is. A        Anna wanted to help so she did it      or map and asking me, “So, if
               simpler version is; dyslexia is           for me. Now, my parents were           you have dyslexia, can you read
               when a person has difficulty              worried about this response.           this?” You probably can’t imagine
               comprehending letters and                 They wondered why I didn’t             how insulting and humiliating it is
               numbers. There are many                   understand what was going on           for someone to question your
               different forms of dyslexia but the       school. Was it because of me           intelligence in front of a whole
               most commonly known type is for           learning and speaking Italian?         group. To make matters worse if
               trouble reading.                          Was it because I had gotten a          by chance I say it wrong or ask
               You may be thinking dyslexia is a         major concussion around a year         them what they are pointing at,
               disease; it's not. It's commonly          before? They weren’t going to          some people have said, “you
               passed down through descendant            take any chances so they cut out       obviously do have dyslexia.”
               lineage. People who have dyslexia         Italian from my life and took me       These words: they hurt. If you’ve
               often try hard in school and have         to a place to see what was             ever experienced something like
               very high IQs but, struggle with          wrong. They sat me down for            this, you know how it feels. If not,
               comprehension and learning                some tests and they told my            consider yourself lucky. Around
               new topics. I should know a lot           mom I had dyslexia. I wasn’t sure      80 percent of people associate
               about dyslexia. After all, I do           what that was nor did I care until     dyslexia with retardation which is
               have dyslexia.                            about 3rd grade. I had taken           not true or okay.
               When I was in kindergarten I was          special classes for 1st and 2nd           Back in Portland, where I lived
               behind. I didn’t understand writing       grade but it just wasn’t enough        last, one of my mom’s very good
               and sounds when speaking and              so they had to send me to a            friends has dyslexia. She has a
               math and reading were big                 school where they offered special      very hard time reading and
               struggles for me.                         classes for kids with learning         comprehending. However, she
                                                         disabilities.

               32                                                                                                 E X P O S I T O R Y E S S AY S
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