第五周，我们收到了1133份投稿，最终评选出获奖作品：Runhu Xu 的视频作品和Penelope Irwin、Clarissa Tick 的两篇散文。你可以在下方欣赏所有作品。
Our Winners
Runhu Xu, 15, from Bellevue, Washington, muses on the Modern Love essay “Men, Hide Your Cats” in the video above.
视频地址：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMZ_CuXSUWM
Penelope Irwin, 15, from Guilderland, N.Y., got hooked on a podcast episode called “I Keep Telling People We’re Living in This Dystopian Novel.” She writes:
Because my dad is the world’s most stereotypical humanities professor, he makes me listen to The Ezra Klein Show whenever we’re in the car. I’ll argue, groan, and pointedly look out the window until he switches to his favorite The Mountain Goats album. But driving up I-87, Klein’s aptly titled interview with Gary Shteyngart, “I Keep Telling People We’re Living in This Dystopian Novel,” had me hooked.
This author, who I’d never heard of, opened by describing a novel I’d never heard of: “Super Sad True Love Story.” Written in the mid-aughts, the novel’s premise is a world where everyone can constantly see their ranking in society. At the grocery store, in a dive bar, at the park; everyone’s intelligence or beauty or wealth is compared to each other’s and publicly available. One of his characters, Shteyngart detailed, once left a restaurant out of shame for being the ugliest man in the room.
Essentially, Super Sad is teenage hell. I’ve spent the last two years trying to avoid social media, afraid of falling victim to its rankings. Instagram and TikTok and Snapchat all put certain people on a pedestal under the guise of “superiority,” like in Shteyngart’s dystopia. Everyone else is left striving for recognition on a scale that doesn’t actually matter.
Our world isn’t the same as that of “Super Sad True Love Story,” but this interview was a great reminder that, as cliché as it is, comparison is the thief of joy. And Shteyngart’s humor saved me from The Mountain Goats’ “The Sunset Tree.”
And Clarissa Tick, 16, from Cupertino, Calif., offered a sweet personal reflection on the Health article “The Little Rituals That Prepare You For Sleep”:
I’ve said 999 infinity to my parents every night before sleep for the last eight years. Before reading this article, I never asked myself why. 999 infinity just always felt like the right thing to say before bed.
Schupak’s collection of strangers’ sleep rituals showed me that whether it be a cleaner scented exactly like green apple, a tea kettle’s whistling, only the first eleven seasons of “Law and Order,” or in my case, four precise symbols, our sleep rituals aren’t instinctive just because they’re comforting or familiar. The rituals’ real value lies in their specificity, as they solely belong to their creators.
I came up with 999 infinity at eight, wanting to end my day on more than a simple “I love you,” and something unique belonging only to me and my parents. Nine represents eternity in Chinese culture and infinity never ends. Together, 999 infinity symbolizes the unwavering love, support, care, and appreciation we have for each other.
This week, I realized that saying 999 infinity wasn’t just about repetition, but renewing something with purpose every night. I think about ten years from now, saying it over the phone instead of down the hallway.
Sleep advice says to empty our minds, but never mentions how our minds don’t drift off into nothing. We drift off into whatever we engaged with last. For some, it’s a scent. A whistle. A show. For me, it’s my parents’ voices, returning three nines and an infinity.
Runners-Up
Aeryn Bautista on “Why Is TikTok in This Book From 2006?”
Diya P. on “A Texas City Welcomed Diversity. Now a Mayor’s Race Is Pulling It Apart”
Foss Goodwin on “A Moth Hole Hates to See Them Coming”
May Hachiya on “If These Celebrities Are Democracy’s Last Hope, We’re in Trouble”
Yiqing Laura Lu on “A Nation Unites For a Day of Grand 250th Celebrations”
Zoey Qin on “Euphemism Won’t Save Young Black Men’s Lives"
Honorable Mentions
Charlotte Sanderson on “When Did Bare Nails Become a Status Symbol”
Chelsea Xie on This Is One of the Hardest Jobs in America. Millions Are Doing It Alone.
Eve Eyal on “The Daily: 250 Years Later, Why We’re Still Fighting About Our Founding”
Jake Xu on “Putin Faces Increased Pressure as Moscow Is Again Attacked by Drones”
Jeemin Hong on "My Tween Daughter’s Friend Is a Mean Girl. Should I Tell Her Mother?”
Keerti Reddy on “Want to Know Your Dad Better? Ask Him These 25 Questions.”
Lexi Kobayashi on “Life Is Better With Siblings"
Melody Mo on “When Did Bare Nails Become a Status Symbol”
Olivia Yu on “The Gift of Getting Weirder With Age”
Samaira Rasul on “They’ve Heard the Warnings. Gen Z Is Tanning Anyway”
Sloka Guntupalli on “In a Country Where Many Still Use Rags, an Effort to Make Period Pads Available”
Snovya Song on “French Literature Is in an Uproar"
Yiyao (Annie) Luo on “What Happens When Kids Design Playgrounds? Lava, Mushrooms, Giant Chess”
Yuan Xinran (Amber) on “Confessions of a Former Body Positivity Influencer”
Zeqi An on “Man Killed by Federal Agent in Houston Was Not the Target of ICE Search”
