chenchen - 第 19 页 - New York Times Writing Contest

Winner
Daniel Wei, 15, from Marvin Ridge High School in Waxhaw, N.C., chose an article from the U.S. News section headlined “One Small Step for Democracy in a ‘Live Free or Die’ Town” and wrote:

What happened in Croydon, N.H., is happening all over America — people are realizing how little their voices matter. My civic literacy teacher has always urged us to get involved, to encourage our parents to vote, to actively support issues on social media and, eventually, to vote ourselves.

Many of my classmates, however, do not care about politics — but the parallels to Croydon reveal the perils of this approach. Croydonites passively allowed an outspoken political minority to make all decisions for them, leading to a halving of their school’s budget and the slashing of extracurricular activities. Today, we are seeing similar trends unfold on a national scale.

Take the recent Supreme Court decision to curb the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to check emissions for power plants, which goes against the wishes of 80 percent of Pew-surveyed Americans. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that one of the most conservative courts in American history would make a decision pandering only to its billionaire stakeholders rather than considering ordinary citizens.

So, how can we galvanize ourselves to rectify this mistake? Protesting could work, but it may not be enough. Instead, we must emulate the people of Croydon — who, through targeted community activism and patient participation in local government, were able to reverse their school’s budget cuts.

This E.P.A. ruling must be next on our list.

夏季阅读比赛第 6 周获胜者：‘Russian Missiles Strike Two Universities in Ukraine’

Diana Cherednychenko, fromUkraine, chose an article from the World section headlined “Russia hammers Mykolaiv again, hitting two universities in the southern city” and wrote:

I sleep restlessly, turning from one side to another. Suddenly I wake up because of the loud noise outside. It’s a rocket flying over my house.

I live in a small occupied city in the Kherson region and hear this noise almost every day. Sometimes I can even see from my window how and from where these rockets are launched. They head to different cities, but a lot of them fell in Mykolaiv.

They said that they won’t hit civilian objects, but that’s not true. The war has already lasted for almost five months, and I always see news about the destruction of my country.

Mykolaiv suffers a lot because Russian soldiers have assaulted this city from the very beginning. Recently they hit two universities, a hotel, and a mall, and it’s so painful to read such news. Why our country? People don’t deserve it.

Let’s take Vinnytsia. I really thought that there is safer than in many other regions, but a missile strike proved that it is no longer safe anywhere in my country.

And it hurts to know that Russia doesn’t even bother where these rockets fall. They know that they kill many people, and they don’t care. How can they live with the knowledge that they killed people with their own hands? Why do they hit universities, malls, hotels, and other civilian infrastructure? When will this war be over?

夏季阅读比赛第 7 周获胜者：‘Is the World Really Falling Apart, or Does It Just Feel That Way?’

Winner
Ivy Qin, 13, from Keda Fuzhong Middle School in Hefei, China, chose an article from the World section headlined “Is the World Really Falling Apart, or Does It Just Feel That Way?” and wrote:

I was carsick, my head aching. But I knew the symptoms were simply panic at the news channel my father was blasting in the car.

The commentators’ voices were monotonous, but the flood of incidents they covered was overwhelming. The pandemic. Russia’s war on Ukraine. Global economic collapse.

System overload. System shutdown.

In “Is the World Really Falling Apart, or Does It Just Feel That Way?” Max Fisher analyzes how, although the world is improving, many perceive the opposite. Calamitous events enter our lives via digital media, and subtle gains in life expectancy seem minuscule next to a global crisis.

“Pessimism about one’s personal circumstances can easily become pessimism about the world.” Fisher explains how our perception of the world is often a self-projection. It is subjective, customized to each person’s life and every country’s situation. A famine, dire updates of a war, and the world seems to have upended. But while constantly hunting for tomorrow’s news, we neglect past benchmarks and the progress we have achieved.

The news montage was cut off abruptly. It was my grandpa phoning in, reminding us lunch was ready. He had stewed potatoes today, my favorite, and they were no good cold. The car was quieter with only his voice. The world began to spin again.

I thought about my family members alive and healthy. The wars that never happened. The mass shootings prevented. I took a deep breath.

Outside, it was a beautiful day.

夏季阅读比赛第 8 周获胜者： ‘What a “Grief Camp” for Kids Can Show Us About Healing’

Winner
Samya Madhukar chose an Op-Doc video called “At ‘Grief Camp,’ Kids Learn to Process Loss Together” and wrote:

Yaren’s story is her own. So is mine.

I lost my father when I was 10. While outsiders vied for the mantle of mourning my father, I felt alone in my grief.

Ms. Raman and Mr. Slaets’ poignant op-doc reflects the complex journey of grieving children. Our grief is defined by sorrow, anger, guilt, and confusion. I continue to ask myself- why me? None of it makes sense.

Yaren’s words struck a chord with me, “I think it’s strange that it had to happen to us and that one of the most important people in our lives is suddenly gone and will never come back. And people tell you you need to learn to accept it. How do you even do that?”

In Fall 2019, I boarded a bus full of kids and went to my first camp nestled in the Adirondacks. I’m sure my parents thought their daughter’s first camp would be for sports. No, it certainly wasn’t. It was Camp Erin, a grief camp where I took my first steps toward healing.

The seemingly routine activities at camp stirred a sense of reassurance that I was not alone in my grief. On the memory hike, we etched our loved ones’ names on a rock. We made photo collages and memory boxes. We picked out our new teddy bears and handmade quilts. We paddled through the waves of grief on a canoe.

At twilight, we lit candles engraved with our loved ones’ names and watched as a raft carried them away. A single tear brushed my cheek as I saw my father’s name drifting away with it.

夏季阅读比赛第 4 周获胜者：On ‘The Real Reason the Minions Have Taken Over the World’

Winner

Claire Guo, 14, from Lynbrook High School in San Jose, Calif., chose an article from the Movies section headlined “The Real Reason the Minions Have Taken Over the World” and wrote:

Minions: round, yellow, incomprehensible, yet adorable. The Minions have taken the world by storm, breaking records at the box office and even igniting a global trend on TikTok. #Gentleminions have been flocking to theaters in formal attire, dapped up in suits and ties; part of the reason I was also inclined to march to my local AMC in a white suit, while fellow middle schoolers and high schoolers filled the seats. Sitting there, as MINIONS flashed across the big screen and the audience began to whoop and cheer, I felt part of something bigger. I felt trendy.

So when the article that claims to know the “real reason” behind the Minions’ popularity only mentioned TikTok in passing, I was appalled. Critic Calum Marsh aptly argues that the Minions’ purely physical, almost silent-era, comedy has many appeals, yet I believe that TikTok had a larger role in the Minions’ success. Like the “Jeffrey Bezos” song and the newly popular “Jiggle Jiggle” rap, TikTok has made “Minions” into a must see.

No doubt, the in-depth analysis that Mr. Marsh made about the influences of silent comedy, the refreshing slapstick jokes and the pure substance of every gag were part of the reason the Minions have taken over the world. But the millions of Instagram stories of teenagers in suits, and the millions of TikTok videos under the hashtag #gentleminions should not be overlooked either. After all, TikTok is powerful. Peer pressure, even more so.

夏季阅读比赛第 1 周获胜者：‘To Enjoy Life More, Embrace Anticipation’

Winner

Alessia Cazzetta, from Senago, Italy, chose an article from the Well section headlined “To Enjoy Life More, Embrace Anticipation” and wrote:

To enjoy life more, embrace anticipation

“Looking forward to something can be almost as good as experiencing it” this is the first sentence of the article “To enjoy life more, embrace anticipation” and it is the one that has remained most etched in my mind, after reading it I thought: is it true?.

I went back in time, precisely during my second year of middle school, my Italian teacher was reading a poem by one of the greatest Italian writers: Giacomo Leopardi.

The title was “Il sabato del villaggio” (Saturday night in the village) and talked about how extremely tempting the idea of Sunday was, but not so much Sunday itself.

[In the poem,] we are at the beginning of 1800 in a small village, it is a quiet Saturday evening, everyone is happily waiting for the next day, the day of rest: the children cackle, the maidens sing, and the workers return from work laughing. It is the happiest day of the week and that is because the next day the passing of the hours will bring more and more sadness, and everyone will start thinking about Monday’s work.

I remember thinking during that reading that there was nothing more true: waiting for a joyful event brings us more joy than the event itself.

So I ask myself, is it worth it? We live life waiting for happy moments in a sort of dreaming trance, but then, when those events finally arrive, we forget to actually live them. Is this what we have to aspire to? Shouldn’t we just stop fantasizing about the future and start embracing the present?

夏季阅读比赛第 2 周获胜者：‘Why Strangers Are Good for Us’

Winner
Sophene Avedissian, from Los Angeles, chose an article from the Opinion section headlined “Why Strangers Are Good for Us” and wrote:

I distinctly remember looking at my mom in awe as she casually chatted with the grocery store cashier. When most would answer with a few dismissive words, she seamlessly instigated an entire conversation from the cashier’s simple question of “How’s your day?” As we made our way out of the store, I turned back and noticed the corners of the cashier’s lips rise into a grin. I wondered, How can my mom so effortlessly impact someone’s day from one small, yet meaningful interaction?

As my mother seeks out these moments to connect, I avoid them. In elementary school, I hid behind my mom at gatherings as she spoke to others. In middle school, I often replied “no” to invitations to avoid the awkwardness of meeting new people. Now, in high school, I hope that by wearing my pair of rose-gold headphones, others feel discouraged to talk to me.

In “Why Strangers Are Good for Us,” David Sax identifies that engaging with strangers “connect[s] us to the community, teach[es] us empathy, build[s] civility and [is] full of surprise and potentially wonder.” Sax explains when we disregard strangers, we weaken what is at the “core of our social contract.” The technological evolution combined with the pandemic has forced “our world [to grow even more] inward and suspicions.”

I take a deep breath, slip off my headphones, and start talking to the person next to me as we both wait for our takeout order.

It’s a start.

夏季阅读比赛第 3 周获胜者：‘Sure, Just Have the Baby’

Winner
Olivia Wasmund chose an article from the Opinion section headlined “Sure, Just Have the Baby” and wrote:

In Pamela Paul’s article, “Sure, Just Have the Baby,” she recounts the difficulties she experienced as a pregnant mother in America, where delivering a baby is 14 times riskier than having an abortion.

There’s a lot I don’t know about the circumstances of my birth. But I do know that I was an unwanted pregnancy. That my 27-year-old birth mother never sought prenatal care — even though it would have been free for her. That she gave birth to me unassisted in a bathroom at home.

But I was lucky. I was adopted by a loving family at five months old.

In Taiwan, my birthplace, abortion has been legal up to 24 weeks gestation since 1985. Procedures happen in doctors’ offices or private clinics. There are no harassing protesters. No stigma.

The article mentions Judge Alito’s comments in the leaked Dobbs draft opinion about the security pregnant women have today knowing that their babies will “find a suitable home” if they choose adoption over abortion. But by most accounts, there are already over 117,000 children available for adoption in government-supported foster homes. Are these the “suitable homes” that Judge Alito has in mind?

I was lucky to be adopted, but Judge Alito is wrong. Adoption is no band-aid for the gaping wound that the absence of Roe’s protection leaves.

Upon my adoption I became a U.S. citizen, where I now have less rights than in my birth land. Every person should have bodily autonomy, no matter their nationality.

I am adopted — and I am pro-choice.