Winner
Grady Zheng, 16, from Katy, Texas, chose a roundup of reader responses about grieving rituals from the Well section headlined “How Do You Grieve? With Cupcakes, Fishing and Home Depot,” and wrote:
The article, “How Do You Grieve? With Cupcakes, Fishing and Home Depot,” totally nailed it. It beautifully shows that grieving isn’t some fancy, one-size-fits-all funeral parade. Sometimes, the wackiest ways we remember those we’ve “lost” are the most perfect. While the article talked about, you know, death, it got me thinking about a different kind of heartbreak: when my buddy AK ditched me for another ZIP code. And for me, processing that separation involved a chaotic, joyful and utterly ridiculous food fight in the middle school cafeteria.
AK was moving away at the end of seventh grade. I needed something that screamed “us” — loud, a little rebellious, disgusting, and definitely a health code violation.
Our “grieving ritual” occurred one day during lunch. AK, ever the mischievous mastermind, nudged me with that glint in his eye. “Throw the banana,” he whispered. A spark ignited. This wasn’t about sadness; it was about one last, epic hurrah.
In short, we had a food fight. The chaos, and inevitable detention, was a small price for that sheer, unadulterated catharsis.
Just like the article pointed out how a trusty fishing pole or an ancient rotary phone can become powerful memory conduits, that food fight became my iconic symbol of AK. When I think of him now, it’s not with a wistful sigh. Instead, I get a vivid mental snapshot of him laughing, covered head-to-toe in doughnut glaze, in the glorious, food-strewn aftermath.
Runners-Up
Eryn L. Rhoads on “Yes, Gen Z Is Staring at You. The Question Is Why.”
Anika M. on “Canceling Stephen Colbert Isn’t Funny”
Anjali Kapilavai on “Did the Camera Ever Tell the Truth?”
Anthony on “A Landscape of Death: What’s Left Where Ukraine Invaded Russia”
Archisha P. on “It’s Time to Let Go of ‘African American’”
Caitlin M. on “It’s Time to Let Go of ‘African American’”
Dylan T. K. on “Chess Lover Introduces Game to Malawi’s Prisons, Schools and Street Kids”
Jiaying S. on “How to Travel Without a Phone”
Lena M. on “Is This the Beginning of the End of America’s National Parks?”
Marvin S. on “It’s Paradise Lost as Climate Change Remakes Europe’s Summers”
Minwoo K. on “What Is ‘Aura Farming’? This Tween Will Show You.”
Navya S. on “As Iran Deports a Million Afghans, ‘Where Do We Even Go?’”
Pranav V. on “Videos From the Amazon Reveal an Unexpected Animal Friendship”
Varchasva S. on “The Streaming Wars Come Down to 2: YouTube vs. Netflix”
William C. on “Be Careful About What You Want”
William W. on “Where Congress’s Cuts Threaten Access to PBS and NPR”
Honorable Mentions
Aaron C. on “The Way You Build Muscle Is the Way You Build a Life”
Alfred L. on “A New Era of Hunger Has Begun”
Allegra M. on “How Trump Deflected MAGA’s Wrath Over Epstein, at Least for Now”
Angela Y. on “A.I. Griefbots Are Just Our Latest Attempt to Talk to the Dead”
Chaebeom L. on “You Said ‘Yes’ to Being an Organ Donor. What Exactly Does That Mean?”
Cutie Z. on “Don’t Throw Your Dictionary Away”
Dora S. on “U.S. to Review Social Media Posts of Student and Scholar Visa Applicants”
Dung H. on “A.I. Griefbots Are Just Our Latest Attempt to Talk to the Dead”
Emma H. on “The Love We Leave Behind”
Fatima D. on “How to Bargain Like a Pro in Thai Street Markets”
Fiona L. on “Pregnancy Is Going to Be Even More Dangerous in America”
Grace P. on “As Texas Flood Raged, Camp Mystic Was Left to Fend for Itself”
Hansika G. on “Yes, Gen Z Is Staring at You. The Question Is Why.”
Ishaan S. on “Yes, Gen Z Is Staring at You. The Question Is Why.”
Iwan L. on “Supreme Court Clears the Way for Trump’s Cuts to the Education Department”
Jack H. on “What to Know About Canada’s Fires as Smoke Drifts South”
Jenny W. on “How Do You Grieve? With Cupcakes, Fishing and Home Depot”
Joonwoo P. on “Novak Djokovic, I Was Wrong About You”
Joy K. on “‘Jeopardy!’ Is a Reminder That Facts Are Fun — and Essential”
Justin Yu on “Landslides and Floods Kill 18 in South Korea”
Landon Kai H. on “Trump Tariffs: What’s the Latest on the Trade War?”
Rachel C. on “The Perverse Economics of Assisted Suicide”
Riddhi R. on “The Harvard-Educated Linguist Breaking Down ‘Skibidi’ and ‘Rizz’”
Semin J. on “Sharing a Bed With Your Kid? It’s Totally Normal in Asia.”
Seojun L. “Kids Are in Crisis. Could Chatbot Therapy Help?”
Shenzhi Z. on “A.I. Griefbots Are Just Our Latest Attempt to Talk to the Dead”
Tatum A. on “Trump Hails $90 Billion in A.I. Infrastructure Investments at Pennsylvania Summit”
Valery L. on “Supreme Court Clears the Way for Trump’s Cuts to the Education Department”
Xinyue H. on “The Tooth Fairy Is Real. She’s a Dentist in Seattle”
Yi Chien C. on “Yes, Gen Z Is Staring at You. The Question Is Why.”
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