2018 ESL Voices

2018 ESL Voices

Writings, Poems and Essays by Students of English as a Second Language Cuyahoga Community College

Contributors Editors

Judging Committee

Art Direction

Lisa Friel, West Mary Lou Haag, Metro Jillian LaManna, Westshore Dr. Susan Lohwater, West Seong-Ae Mun, West

Cover Art

Chloe Burton, West

Design and Layout

Chloe Burton, West

Contributing Faculty

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Sara Clark, West Shirin Dixon, West

Susan Bartch, West Sara Clark, West Lisa Friel, East Stephanie Kasuboski, East Susan Lohwater, West Rebecca Martin, Metro Rosemary Palmer, Metro

Background and Mission In 1991, Mara Hegedeous, Assistant Professor of English/English as a Second Language, collected ESL student essays college-wide and put them under one cover. Thus ESL Voices began. In 1997, Assistant Professor Janis Scalone assumed the editorship, continuing the publication. Mary Hurst then became editor from 1999-2003 and managed to keep the publication afloat while struggling for financial support. We do appreciate Mary’s efforts and the current administration’s support of the endeavor!

ESL Voices showcases the writing of our international students and recognizes two important facts: the ability to write well is a gift, and the ability to write well in a second language is twice that. Through ESL Voices, Cuyahoga Community College acknowledges the achievements of its international students, celebrates their diversity and motivates continued writing improvement.

Acknowledgements Thanks to the following amazing people whose support and encouragement helped make this year’s ESL Voices a reality: Dean Felisa Eafford, Associate Dean, Liberal Arts, Western Campus, William Cunion, Associate Dean, Liberal Arts, Eastern Campus, Gwen Hullman, Associate Dean, Liberal Arts, Metro Campus and Claire McMahon, Associate Dean, Learning, Engagement & Transitions, Westshore Campus.

We would also like to give special thanks to Seong-Ae Mun for her patience, guidance, and cross-curriculum collaboration, and Chloe Burton, Tri-C graphic arts student at the Western Campus, for her beautiful artwork in designing the first digital edition of ESL Voices.

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Cultures and Customs Different People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Oksana Chernykh, Level I

African Summer BBQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Contents A New Life The Best Day of My Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Kalunga Kalonda, Level II

Leave from Hometown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Elif Kayretli, Level II

Moments That Changed My Life Substantially . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Jean-Marc Kouassi, Level III

My Greatest Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Mina Youssef, Level II

Living in the U.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Ruslan Mukhitov Level II

The Day I Left Africa to Come to the United States . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Abby Cynthia Epse Fofana, Level II

Zeppelins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Darius Tuskenis, Level I

Special People Israel Taregue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Hortense Ahizi Level 1

My Mom’s Personality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Mechelee Torres, Level I

Shioko . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Wesley Gulley, Level 1

Dotcha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Klo Kone Level I

My Daughter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Hanan Lamdak, Level I

Dong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Jing Liu, Level I

My Angel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Fatih Olgac, Level I

Identity My Personality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

My Husband. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

My Complex Personality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

My Soulmate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

My Personality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

My Son . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

My Actual and Ideal Selves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

My Husband. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

My Actual and Ideal Selves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

My Favorite People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

My Actual and Ideal Selves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

My Father’s Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Nadiia Grygorieva, Level I Madina Umarova, Level I Yolenny Vasquez

Simona Petrut, Level III Ján Čižmár, Level III

Yaryna Proniv, Level III

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Kouassi Goli, Level I

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Hongying Rong, Level I

Elizaveta Shamailov, Level I Nigora Yulchieva, Level I

Rayyona Yusupova, Level I Kadiata A. Djigo, Level II Pwe So, Level II

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Special Times and Places

Life’s Lessons

House of Legends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Experiences That Taught Me to Overcome a Fear . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

The Dining Room in My Grandparents’ House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

What Scares Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Zoriana Stakhovych, Basic Level Sergey Em, Level II

Mishael Almowayna, Level III Slavia Pantelejic Level II

My Grandfather’s Grain Storage Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Hadia Fany, Level II

High School Basketball Tournament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Vahe Dervishyan, Level II

My Beautiful Back Yard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Poetry If Only We Were Birds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Janine Wazni, Level III

Saleh Abdulrahman, Level II

Memorable Day of My Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Rabin Gurung, Level II

Positive Aspects

My Grandmother’s Garden House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

My Life is Beautiful . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

The Town River . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Positive Aspects of My Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Oksana Chernykh, Level II

Moussa Doumouya, Level II

Valentyna Skulinets, Basic Level Dina Valko, Level III

Vegh’s Mansion Garden and Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Renata Molnar, Level II

Memorable Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Aram Ohanian, Level II

President`s Election in My Country. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Opinion Dogs Need Our Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Naomi Ulmenstine

Sergey Em, Level I

My Special Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Iryna Perepelkina, Level, II

My Special Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Aleksandra Sviridova Level II

New Year 2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Stanislau Yakubouski, Level II

Unusual Christmas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Ivon Zapata Manrique, Level II

Tornado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Yara Slaibi, Level II

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A New Life The Best Day of My Life Kalunga Kalonda, Level II Democratic Republic of Congo

The day that I came to America was the best day in my life. That was a special day that I will never forget. It is not easy. When you don’t have money, life in Africa is very hard, especially for people who are in refugee camps. There everybody’s dream is to come to America, Australia, Sweden, Canada, or some other European countries. It is such big luck when you see your name on the board or you receive a message that says your name is out to go to America. You feel like all the world is yours. You feel special because everyone in Africa is dreaming to come. You know in America you may be somebody who hardly ever went to school but you can find work that is at your level. In America, school is free for children, and you can work and have your own money to do whatever you want. So, the best day in my life was the one I came to the USA because it was not easy for me to reach here.

Leave from Hometown Elif Kayretli, Level II Turkey

The first time I came to America, December 28, 2010 was an exciting and really sad day. In the morning, I woke up at around 6:30 a.m. I went to the bathroom and washed my face. I wanted to still be asleep because I had fallen asleep that same morning around 4:00 a.m. I prepared my luggage. I continued to prepare the bags, and then I took a shower. I keep going to our luggage. I smelled food, then I checked my husband. He was not sleeping in his bed. I opened my bedroom door and I smelled the nice food smells more strongly. I called my husband but he did not hear me. After that, when I entered the kitchen, I saw my husband and my mother-in-law. They prepared breakfast for us. My mother-in-law prepared all her nice food. I joined them, and we setup the breakfast table.

Everybody woke up at 7:00 a.m. We enjoyed eating breakfast, but everybody was sad.

When breakfast was done, we prepared some food because I am a picky about food. After that, we checked the weight of our luggage again. My mother-in-law said ‘Elif you can take 10

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this food and this, probably you cannot find the same food in America’ and our luggage was very heavy. My husband and I were ready for to go. The car was waiting outside at around 10:30 a.m. My husband put the bags in car. Then we needed to leave from home, but my mother-in-law said ‘I am going to came with you to Istanbul’. We did not say anything to her because she was not going to leave us. While she was getting ready to go, we said goodbye to our neighbors. Some of our relatives waited with water to throw on the ground because we believe this means I hope you go quickly and you came back quickly.

That was the very busy morning.

In the afternoon, we continued to travel and were surprised. Our travel started, and we arrived 4 hours later to Istanbul. Normally, Sakarya (my hometown) to Istanbul is two and a half hours, but wintertime travel is not easy. All the way, I just slept. When we arrived at the airport, we learned our flight was delayed because the weather was very windy. My mother-in-law was not sad about the delay. We were sad because we had seven big pieces of luggage. My mother-in-law called her sister. Her sister was living in Istanbul. Then, she invited us to her home, and we went to her house. She was very happy because she had invited us to her house before. We said we did not have time. She prepared lunch for us, and we ate lunch together. My mom called me and I said our flight was delayed until tomorrow. My mom and my father wanted to came in Istanbul because they wanted to see us again. I said we are going to leave early the next day, and they did not come to Istanbul.

After we had eaten lunch, we went for a little walk around her street. We talked about how Istanbul is a very nice and big city. While we walked, we saw a baklava store and bought some baklava. We turned back home and I made Turkish tea. While we drank the tea, my husband’s cousins came to their mom’s house. They brought a gift for us. The afternoon’s delayed flight, lunch and walk in Istanbul made it a surprising afternoon.

Lastly, the evening was sad and more exciting. My husband and her cousins talked about their childhood. They were really happy in their childhood. While we were talking, my husband’s aunt prepared our room. We said thank you and we slept. We left from her home at 5:00 a.m. We slept quickly because we were very tired. After that, my mother-inlaw came to our room and called us. While we were sleeping, they were not asleep. We woke up and ate breakfast quickly. We thanked my husband’s aunt for everything. After the taxi came, and we left her house. It was hard because they cried a lot. I was so sad but very excited. All in all, leaving from my hometown was super upsetting and very exciting.

Moments That Changed My Life Substantially Jean-Marc Kouassi, Level III Ivory Coast

People’s lives change constantly. We are born, grow up, and things happen in our lives in many circumstances in both bad or good ways. Our lives change as a result of these events. My life has been changed too in many ways. Two moments more than any others have substantially changed the direction of my life.

The first event that changed my life is when I left my country to come to the United States two years ago. I used to live with my parents and siblings. I am from a big family A New Life

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of seven kids, and I have a lot of friends. I was always surrounded by people. I loved my life. I was very happy especially during feasts or any festive celebrations. I am the fifth child, so I could get anything I wanted from my parents or my older sisters or brothers.

I did not have to work or pay for anything. I was just going to school. I left my entire family, relatives and friends to go to an unknown destination, a different continent, and a different country. In the U.S., life was completely different. Nothing was the same like in my home country. Everything was different: the language, culture, habits, manners, people, life style, mentality, and climate. All these changes bewildered me. I was shocked and was skeptical about fitting into my new life. Living on my own was a terrible experience because I had not experienced that before. I had to do and pay for everything by myself. I was living a lonely life, had no friends, and had nobody to talk with. I was homesick. I missed my family and friends a lot. My first year in the USA was the most terrible part of the process of the transitioning to my new life. However, after a while life become easier. I started to make friends and to feel as a part of the society.

The second moment who transform my life is when I got married last year. At this moment I knew I became someone else. I was not the same person I used to be. I became a mature, responsible and respectable man. Being a husband means a lot. I cannot do what I used to do when I was younger and single. When I was single and living by myself life was different. I was doing whatever I want. For example I could go out and come home late, bring friends over my place to spend the night, throw little parties at my place.

I drank a lot as well. My apartment was a mess because I did not really take care of it.

Everything was everywhere! I did not wash dishes because I do not like to. I do not know how to cook very well, so I was eating out a lot. Also I was extravagant and not mature enough to save up some money. Now I am married, so everything has changed. I have responsibilities: taking care of my wife, making sure she has everything she wants, being there for her at any moment, paying bills. Everything I do is not about myself anymore but about my wife and me. I have stopped going out and coming home late, drinking a lot, throwing parties at my place. I make sure my apartment is clean and neat. I vacuum, mop the kitchen floor and clean the bathroom every two weeks. My wife cooks for me, washes the dishes and does the laundry. We opened our saving account and try to be economical to save more money. Furthermore, we have a baby on his way so life will be more different and challenging. I am very excited about it! I will be a great father.

So as you can see, these two significant events have reorganized my life totally. I know for sure my life will keep changing like everybody’s life. Life is continuously changing, so changes will happen in our lives no matter what. We just have to be prepared for any changes and be strong enough to deal with them.

My Greatest Day Mina Youssef, Level II Egypt

I always dreamed about immigration to America. I remember the day when I learned I was acceptable to come to America. First, I went to my work with my case number paper.

Then I asked my workmate if he could check my case number. This year it was the eight 12

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consecutive year I applied for emigration to America. After my workmate checked my number by website he said “You should give me one million dollars!” I knew what this mean. I was shocked for a minute. After a while, I said “don’t kid me about this please.”

“Come check. I am opening the immigration website now and is written ‘has been selected’” he said. When I went to his computer and looked at the website, I was like a man who found treasure. For a few seconds, I was jumping happy. Soon my dream would be true. Next, I called my mother to tell her. She was so happy for me. Later, I made a big party with my family. Now I am here in the greatest country in the world. Finally, I am a free person in a free country. No one can describe the feelings of someone who was living oppressed in his own country then moved to a free country. God bless America.

Living in the U.S.

Ruslan Mukhitov Level II Russia There are several advantages to living in the U.S. The first of advantage is great opportunities. In this country, everyone has an equal chance to become who they want to be. Everyone can reach their goal in career or business by working hard and using their talents. For example, Sergey Brin is a founder of Google. He was born in another country and emigrated to the U.S.A. with his parents. His family was ordinary people, but Sergey’s talents and creative work allowed him to change the world. A second advantage is the respectful attitude people have to each other. Most people living in the United States are very kind and friendly. You always get a smile from them. Furthermore, people always ask you how are you doing. People in America have a tolerant attitude to other nationalities, to different points of view from each other or different beliefs. Nobody will chase you if you have a different belief or nationality. That’s why the character of Grandma in Lost in Yonkers moved to the U.S.A. from Germany. A third advantage to living in the U.S. is high standard of living. If you work hard, you can afford a lot of material goods, such as a house, an excellent car, and travel. In other words, anyone can have a quality life if he makes efforts for this. If we make a comparison with Russia, many things aren’t accessible for people if you aren’t rich. In Russia, ordinary workers cannot afford a house or good car.

The economy in the United States is very developed and the ratio of salaries to prices is adequate. Moreover, the United States has a developed infrastructure. There are excellent roads, many shops and malls, and a developed service sector in the country. Last of all the advantages to living in the U.S. is the beautiful and different natural environment. The United States has a great variety of landscapes. America is a big country and each state has its own type of nature even if they are located near each other. When you travel by car across the U.S.A., you enjoy this beautiful spectacle. The landscape between states changes very significantly. Also, there are a lot of parks and nature preserves in the United States.

People have created in this country great conditions for traveling and visiting great natural places. These above advantages show us that the U.S.A. is great place for living.

On the other hand, we have to consider a couple of disadvantages to living in the U.S. First of all, there is high level of crime in the United States. Every day a lot of crimes happen in this country. You can’t feel safe in disadvantaged neighborhoods even in A New Life

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daylight. Many people don’t have a job for many reasons, so they resort to committing a crime to get money. There is a big amount of legal and illegal weapons in the hands of the population. And people use weapons not in purpose. Weapons often get into the hands of bad people. Another disadvantage is expensive medical care. If you have a health insurance, it doesn’t mean that you will get medical care when you get a serious disease because the health insurance system is unclear. Many people go bankrupt because they can’t pay big hospital bills. There are some negative things for living in the U.S. To sum up, we have advantages living in the U.S. and some disadvantages living in the U.S.

The Day I Left Africa to Come to the United States

faces. It was very sad and hard for me to leave my loved ones. I hugged all my brothers.

I told them I love them. I heart on an airport speaker my flight numbers. My mom told me immediately to go. She was scared that I miss my plane. I took the departure door with a pain in my heart. I stopped to look behind me. I saw my mom, and I started crying slowly when suddenly a young lady interrupted me. She asked me if it was my first time travelling. I told her that it was the first time for me to leave my family. And she asked me where I was going. I told her Ohio in the United States. She told that she was also going to the United States. Her name was Rebecca. Rebecca and I discussed a lot during the flight.

That made me comfortable and happy. The flight took me about 1 day. I finally reached Ohio on March 14th, 2015. It was a much nicer trip than what I expected.

Abby Cynthia Epse Fofana, Level II Ivory Coast

The goodbye day, April 13, 2015 was a sad day and the happiest day for me. I planned my last day in Africa in three steps. In the morning, I woke up at 5:05 a.m., early as usual, because it was my first time taking the plane and leaving my parents and loved ones. I was thinking too much. That made me nervous. I cleaned the house as usual at 7:00 a.m. with my sister. After cleaning, my sister, two brothers and my mom shared a breakfast with me. My mom cooked some eggs and sausage for breakfast. After we had eaten, I helped my sister with the dishes. My mom asked me about what she should cook for my last lunch with them. I told her to cook whatever everyone will appreciate and eat. She finally decided to cook some potatoes and fried chicken. My family and I ate the lunch at noon.

When we were done with the lunch and dishes, I went for a small nap.

My afternoon was full of stress and pressure. When I awoke at 1:45 p.m., I started checking all my three suitcases to make sure that everything was okay. I took my hand bag which contained my passport and vaccination notebook and everything was okay. I took my second bag which contained some food, medicines and all I needed. This was okay too. Then I took my big suitcase with my clothes, jewelry, and some towels and linens. Everything was okay. After all my verifications, I called some of my closer friends and other family members to tell them about my going to America. I also asked for their prayers and blessings. My family members and close friends were very sad and also happy for me. Some of my friends and family members who had already travelled gave me a lot of advice. When I finished with all my calls, all my brothers and sisters said some prayers for me in my mom’s presence.

My last evening at home with my parents was both a little bit sad and happy. After a prayer with all my brothers, my mum and I talked for a while. Then at 6:00 p.m., my mom told me that it was time for me to leave because my plane was at 8:15 p.m. I did not want to miss my plane. My family and I left the family house around 6:30 p.m. to go to the airport. Our house was not far from the airport: about 14 minutes. When we arrived at the airport, I first went to check my ticket and passport. All my travelling papers were okay according to the teller who received me at the checkpoint. Then I went to check my suitcases. After I finished with my suitcases, it was a time for me to say goodbye to my parents. I couldn’t look at my mom’s face. She was crying. I give my mom a hug. I was in her arms for about 2 minutes. I was also crying when I saw my sister and my two brothers’ 14

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A New Life

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all my effort into something. It depends on the situation because sometimes I think that I can’t do more, but then I feel confident again. I’m positive because I have the support of my family, and this is very important for me. In conclusion, I always

My Actual and Ideal Selves

Identity My Personality

Nadiia Grygorieva, Level I Belarus My personality is complex. In one day I can feel different emotions. I can be happy 20 minutes, and after that I can be angry. Sometimes I am nervous especially when I give somebody important documents or when my kids don’t feel good or when they are ill. I am nervous when I see that my situation or the situation of my family is bad or we must go on vacation (because I am afraid to forget something). Sometimes I cannot control these emotions but I don’t feel good when I feel shy. All my emotions such as nervousness and shyness, but I feel positive. I always smile and people don’t know if I am nervous or happy, but inside me I feel different emotionally. In conclusion, I feel more positive than shy and nervous.

My Complex Personality Madina Umarova, Level I Uzbekistan

My personality is complex. I am very happy because I have a family and two wonderful kids. Sometimes, I am funny if I play with my kids. I can look some animals for my children. For example, I say, “Wuf, wuf ” - this is a dog, “Moo, moo” - this is a cow. That’s funny. At the College, I am talkative. I like to talk with my classmates about everything.

Sometimes, I will stay angry when I hear bad news or my kids stay very noisy. In conclusion, I am a complete person.

My Personality Yolenny Vasquez Dominican Republic

Simona Petrut, Level III Romania

I have a wonderful family. My family is my balance in life, and I hope it will always be.

Also, it is the main factor that counts when I make a decision. I feel fulfilled from this point of view; however, my introspective thinking makes me realize that are several areas in my current situation that differ from my ideal future: education, finances and emotions.

The first area in which my actual and ideal selves differ is education. My goal is to continue my studies in English and to be capable of expressing myself in this language like in my native language. I want to play with words and their meaning, to enjoy a conversation, and to argue my opinions about a certain subject; moreover, I want to have a job where the main instruments for realizing duties and obtaining results is the language and communication. For example, I am interested in communication and how information is disseminated. It is very interesting to discover the power of the words in changing the meaning and perception about a certain action or news.

Another area in which my actual and ideal selves differ is finances. Like words, money gives me power of decision and is a good instrument to realize my goals. Also, money is important for me because it assures financial stability and comfort. When I am worried about daily life, I cannot focus on important aspects, like having free time for my family, learning something new, or offering my help for people who are in need. Furthermore, I dream of traveling and exploring places with sunny days, turquoise water, and white sand.

My plan is to live near the water because I want to see its beauty every day, to feel the breeze in my hair, and to smell the salty air.

The third area in which my actual and ideal selves differ is emotions because I believe that these help me to be a better person. I like to let my feelings free and to use my creativity; still, I want to control them for a confident self. I am concerned about developing a positive behavior and a peaceful relation with people and working as a team; as a result, I try to evaluate my thoughts and actions to find the way and to accomplish my desire. Being a good example is like being a good leader; it has the same result, and it is the way that I want to accomplish my ideal.

In conclusion, education, finances, and emotions are several aspects which I would like to develop. My ideal self is to have a balance between these important aspects; however, they will become ideal some day. For that reason, I always try to learn and explore more in education and to be aware of my emotions and finances.

My personality is very confident. I feel very confident about myself. When I want something, I always go for it. A good example is my English. I know that I will learns English because I feel positive. That’s why I practice English because it is important put 16

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Identity

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My Actual and Ideal Selves

My Actual and Ideal Selves

I would be mistaken if I said that I am perfect. Frankly, I could infinitely count my mistaken reactions or bad deeds. Not rarely I had to take a deep breath, but not because of an actual situation, because of my own impatience, stubbornness and laziness. In spite of that, I know that I am not desperate and I never give up. Why? I have a few strong pillars that hold and support my life. Without those pillars, my life would have been maybe ruined years ago. My actual and ideal selves differ in a several areas: family, religion and personality.

Sometimes real life differs from our dreams, from that ideal picture of our life we keep in our minds. The health, the success, the comfort, and the maintenance of our minds at peace are the goals that people always strive to achieve. I have the same problem to deal with. My actual and ideal selves differ in several areas: adventure, entertainment and family.

Ján Čižmár, Level III Slovakia

The first area in which my actual and ideal selves differ is family. My marriage was the beginning of this way and having children the next step, but this is still just the beginning.

We would like to raise our children, not only to see them based, but also to see them base on a good path. For me to raise children does not mean only to feed or dress them but also to teach them the right way. This is to help them to develop the right attitude to life, honor people and be respectful. As we cannot stand on the start line for the marathon unprepared for the run, so we cannot enter life without the important principals of faith, love and honesty. Otherwise, life could be a disaster. Also to help our children to help their own family is very important.

The second and very important area in which my actual and ideal selves differ is religion. This is the area where no one can be satisfied with his spiritual effort and level.

Maybe we could liken the spiritual life to school studying. If any student is fully satisfied with his knowledge and studying results, he can probably cease in his effort and stop in progress. It is good if we have good results in our faith, but we must not cease in our effort.

Therefore, the faith or religion is an all-life sacrifice: prayers every day, spiritual effort, or fasting. These weapons are very powerful and can help us face life. I am far from an ideal spiritual life, but this knowledge does not demotivate me. On the contrary, it inspires me to work harder. Very significant help and inspiration is the reading of spiritual books. The lives of saints and their advice are like a “manual guide” for life. The result of spiritual life is to become more humble.

Another area that is connected to previous areas in which my actual and ideal selves differ is personality. I could apply the same formula for personality as for religion or education. In my opinion, we should not be absolutely satisfied with our personality. I am not implying that people should be desperate about themselves or complain, but to say, “I am doing great, and I do not need improvement,” could be counter-productive for us.

In my life, I have discovered that I need to work on my patience, my extroversion and my humbleness. That means listening more than speaking.

In conclusion my actual and ideal selves differ in several ideas: family, religion and personality. They all are connected with each other, and they all must cooperate together.

I cannot improve my personality without religion; I also cannot lead good spiritual life without good family life. To improve my selves means to eagerly work on all of them together.

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Yaryna Proniv, Level III Ukraine

The first area in which my actual and ideal selves differ is adventure. Cleveland downtown has a lot of good places to visit. Cleveland Public Library, the Museum of Arts, the Museum of Natural History are the best places to spend time during the weekends.

Summer time gives my family more opportunity to travel. Last summer, almost every weekend we chose a different place to go in Cleveland area. We visited a lot of waterfalls, including Niagara Falls; we saw and walked a lot of parks; we visited Columbus and Pittsburg. We did it to not stay at home, to not be bored. My ideal plan of adventure is to travel to Europe every summer, to visit the capitals of all European countries, and to live for a couple months in some of them; for example, I dream of renting an apartment in the attic of an old building in Paris, Oslo or Amsterdam.

Entertainment is the second area in which my actual and ideal selves differ. Four days a week my husband is not home because of his work, so my children have just me as a parent. It is not easy to stay with two children. They need my help with everything: food, homework, even games. In the mornings, they go to school and I go to college. In the afternoons, I meet them after school and we study together, we eat together and we have fun together. Our entertainment is defined by their age limits. Since I try to limit my children’s access to the electronic devices, the choice of their entertainment is divided between playing table games, reading books aloud, or watching films. Sometimes, when all three of us do not have a lot of homework, we can go to the movie theatre; often, we do this on Tuesdays, when the Cinemark of Strongsville Mall has a discount day. I like spending time with my children, but my ideal entertainment image is a little bit different.

I would like to go to Play House or Severance Hall every Thursday with my husband, well dressed and with fancy hairstyle, and with no children; or to a night club every Saturday night with my friends to dance and drink something other than milk.

The third area in which my actual and ideal selves differ is my family. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, my husband is not home four days a week. This is the worst fact of my real life. He works as a truck driver; he delivers loads to the east of the USA. He earns good money, so I do not have to work and can study. This is the best aspect of my life. I am grateful to have such a good husband, but my ideal picture of family life includes my husband’s everyday presence.

To summarize, adventure, entertainment and family are the areas in which my actual and ideal selves differ. Once I read about an interesting mental technique according which we have to imagine our future life with the smallest details, and with the run of the time we will reach our dreams. I hope my dreams come true.

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Cultures and Customs

all native to various regions of Africa. Also some of our American friends were there. It was also the occasion for hangout. Everybody was happy to be there. In the schedule we had meeting, eating, and dance. For food there was the braised sheep, the braised chicken, the fried plantain, and the Ivoirian favorite meal cassava couscous. For drink we had fresh water, soda, and beer. We did not have wine because most people at the BBQ didn’t like wine. At 4pm we finished talking we started to eat, everybody at the BBQ agree in a hurry to eat because we were all very hungry and the food smelled good. Women were in charge of serving food. For all Africans at the BBQ, the food tasted very good but for our American friends it was real spicy, so they had problems eating it. But finally everybody agree satisfied and we started dancing to African music, but our American guest couldn’t dance well. They sat down and took pleasure in watching us dance.

Zeppelins

Darius Tuskenis, Level I Lithuania

Different People

Oksana Chernykh, Level I Ukraine I would like to tell you about the difference between American and Ukrainian people. It is not very easy to explain, but I will try. I came to the U.S. when I was 30 years old. I felt that I was not like Americans. Of course, a big part of my life I lived in another culture.

The first thing that I noticed in the U.S is that people always smile. I don’t want to say that it is bad, but it was not usual. It doesn’t matter where you can see people, on street, in a store, everybody smiles and says, “Have a good day”. You can’t often hear it in Ukraine, because people are more serious, and they don’t smile without a reason. I think it is really sad. The second thing is that American people are more politely then my compatriots.

My opinion is it is because Americans get used to wearing a mask. I mean it is not always good to show people you really think. Maybe it is right. But for Ukrainians to tell the truth is the most important, and it doesn’t matter what others think about you. I guess it is because our people are more emotional, and they can’t hide their feelings. It is bad, but sometimes this is very useful. The third thing is welcoming guests. In my native country, you can go to visit your friends without an invitation any time, but in the U.S. you can’t do it. First you have to call before you are going to visit somebody. Of course I can enumerate endlessly what is different between Ukraine and USA, but I don’t think that it is really needed. I love them both. I understand that each country has its own culture; I’m sure that each of them can learn something from one another.

Lithuanian people really like a dish from potatoes. That’s Zeppelins. Are Zeppelins the Lithuanian national dish. Zeppelins are a meal usually from grated potatoes, sometimes from boiled grated potatoes. Inside you can put some meat, some mushrooms or curd.

My family also like zeppelins, and we make them with joy and all our hearts. However, it’s not easy to make them. We often boil Zeppelins in the first week of summer, when we celebrate my birthday party. A lot friends comes who help make this dish. This job need a lot hands. One group of people peel potatoes, a second group of peoples grated it, the next group off people make ingredients which need to fill the potatoes. Sometimes we make joke, and one zeppelin made without anything inside. Someone get it, and it’s a surprise. Then we put all zeppelins in big pots and begin to boil. While boiling zeppelins, people from babies to adults go to our swimming pool. That same day is the opening of swimming season. Other people cook shish kabab. When we finished boiling zeppelins, all the friends sit around tables in my backyard. We begin eating a delicious meal with sour cream, chopped bacon, and drink my beautiful home brewed beer. We enjoy our work.

African Summer BBQ Kouassi Goli, Level I Ivory Coast

Last year, our African community organized a little BBQ in summer. We wanted to enjoy the good weather for summer. Many Africans living in Cleveland were present, 20

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Shioko

Wesley Gulley, Level 1 Japan

Special People Israel Taregue

Shioko is my special friend. Shioko is not his real name. It is his pen name. Long ago, Shioko had a pen name called “Zaemon”. But now, he is “Shioko”. First, Shioko is very kind. He always talks to everyone kindly. I never saw him not kind. Second, he does a lot of things on YouTube. For example, he makes music, makes original stories, and makes games live. He makes music a lot. He creates original stories with the music he makes. He uploads these three things – stories, music and games. Finally, Shioko is a hard worker.

Shioko always does a lot of things while he thinks, “What should I do to make good things?” I hope he becomes a famous worker. Shioko is a very good friend.

Dotcha

Hortense Ahizi Level 1 Ivory Coast Israel Taregue is a wonderful son. He always is a good person because he loves everybody. He is friendly with other children. My son is extremely good because he learns very quickly. He always has good grades. He also asks good questions all the time. For example, “Mum, why are you sad today?” He likes to ask for something before he takes it. “Please Mum, I want to drink this milk.” He likes to study a long time .He often draws some animals and he asks me to give the names of them. He wants to learn everything.

His life is like an adult. Israel Taregue is my wonderful son.

My Mom’s Personality

Klo Kone Level I Ivory Coast Dotcha Kone is a special person in my life. He loves my family. He participates to all ceremonies that we organize in my family. On every occasion he brings gifts. He is doing us great service. He is shopping for us. He is fixing my husband’s car for free. He makes me laugh every day. He texts me ten jokes a day. He usually tells funny stories and makes faces. He is an amusing friend. He likes celebrations. Always he invites us for the barbecue. Sometimes he puts on clown’s clothes and amuses my children and me. Dotcha is an important man in my life.

My Daughter

Mechelee Torres, Level I Puerto Rico

My mom’s personality is complex. She is very serious, but it doesn’t mean that she is a bad person. My mom sometimes is strict with me. It’s really hard because I don’t understand why but I love the way she is. Now that I grow up I know everything she does for me and my sisters. She works very hard to give us what we need. Sometimes she doesn’t eat to give us food. That time is now in the past, now she is a different person.

Every day she supports me. She always worried about us, she is very protective. She is like a tiger if somebody tries to hurt me or my sisters, she comes to defend us. She has a gentle heart and sometimes when people talk to her, they need to be careful because they can hurt her. I love my mom the way she is. It’s doesn’t matter what people say about her because they’re a lot of people who envy her. In conclusion, my mother is a complex person.

Hanan Lamdak, Level I Morocco My daughter is special. She is funny because she tells me funny stories and she makes me laugh. She is beautiful. She usually plays games and watches TV. She likes to go outside and jump or walk in the park. Sometimes she makes trouble a lot at home and she cries a lot After if she finds nothing wrong, she stops. She is friendly and she is my life, because I do not have any family in Cleveland. I like her because she is my daughter. She is special in my life.

Dong

Jing Liu, Level I China Dong is my husband who is a good man. He always has a smile face. He is not tall. I have known him since I studied in middle school. We got married 17 years ago. He loves our family very much. He found a building materials company after we got married. He always works hard. He is very kind and very honest with his employees. He likes sports.

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Some examples are golf and Taiji. Sometimes he and I like to take a walk in the park. My husband is a wonderful man.

My Angel

My Son

Fatih Olgac, Level I Turkey (Kurdish) My mother is the important person in my life. She is a friendly person, because she talks with everyone .She is a strong person, because she has 8 children and she raised us with the perfect traditions. She is helpful. She always helps people when she can. My mother is special in my life and she always will hold us every time and I think she will help us all the time. My mother likes to cook traditional and special food. She cooks Kaburga dolmasi .We eat kaburga when we have holidays. Also she helps my niece when she is crying because she is a baby. She always cleans our home and makes food. She usually cooks very delicious food. My mother is very special to me.

Nigora Yulchieva, Level I Uzbekistan Imran is a special child. Imran is my youngest baby. I had my youngest child ten years, after my daughter. That is why Imran is my lovely and sweetheart baby. Now he is two years old. He has a lot of energy. He tries to speak and explain something in very interesting ways. He is a funny baby. He does not sleep well. He loves to kick a ball. He likes to run and walk around. He is very friendly and always plays on the playground with other kids. Imran is a unique and important baby in my life.

My Husband

My Husband

Rayyona Yusupova, Level I Uzbekistan

Hongying Rong, Level I China I admire my husband. He is an excellent person. He loves me from the bottom of his heart.

He always helps me to do my favorite things. He gave me a lot of good ideas. He is a very good son, because he respects his parents and takes care of them. His mom had cancer. He tried his best to help his mom. He gave her the best care and everyday he said hello to his mom. He is a nice father. Because his business is in China, he is not with us in America.

He cares about his son a lot. He calls every day. He does not only tell him to study hard, but also to become a better person. When he has free time, he always comes here to spend time with us. He is my son’s role model. He is a very kind person. When he started his own business, he did not have lots of money. I remember that one employee was sick. He visited him at home. That employee’s mom was sick too. He gave them some money. These days, my husband helps a lot of poor people. I am very lucky. I have a good husband. I admire him. We love him very much.

My Soulmate

Elizaveta Shamailov, Level I Russia My husband Ben is the love of my life, because he is an important person in my life.

Ben is very kind and helpful, because he loves to help people always. He is a hard worker, because he always works and he is busy from morning to evening every day. He does construction. Ben is a genius and very smart. He designed beautiful buildings. He is a great person. Ben is a very handsome man, because he is tall and slim. He has beautiful eyes and hair. He looks like a famous actor Sylvester Stallone. Ben is a very special person 24

to me .He always stays with me. We really love each other and we want a big family .We are a very friendly couple and we talk a lot about everything and our future life. I love him to the moon and back. He is my soulmate.

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Abdull is a lovely person. He is taking care of our family all the time .He teaches me with patience if I don’t know something. Sometimes he takes me to a coffee house and we enjoy the trip. I love him so much. I want to make him happy. He is trying to make us happy and also always wants us to be friends. He is a truck driver. My children and I always wait for him to come home after long times. Abdul and I are growing our lovely kids and trying best to make them good people. He is a unique and important person in my life. I can live without him. Abdull is a handsome special person.

My Favorite People Kadiata A. Djigo, Level II Senegal

My favorite people are my mom and dad. I love my parents because they are hard workers. They have taught me so much about life. My parents have shown me how to be a decent person and a hard worker. They brought me to the U.S.A, put me in school, and supported me in many ways. They make sure I am doing the right things, making good decisions, and following the right path. They guide me and give advice. Not only did they give me a life, they also love and care about me. They feed me and clothe me. They taught me how to cook, clean, wash clothes with my hands, and take care of my siblings and myself. I am what I am today because of them. This is the greatest gift that God gave me. I love them. They inspire me so much. One day I would like to be like them and teach my children the same way they taught me about being a responsible, respected, and courageous person.

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My Father’s Example Pwe So, Level II Burma

My father provides a good example for his family through his strong work ethic and his moral leadership. He wakes up every morning to go to work on a farm an hour away from his house. When working, he gives everything he’s got. When he gets back home and sees my brothers are fighting, he tells them to make up. He will then tell them the right way to handle their problem. Fighting to solve a problem is not the right way. He feels sad if the boys fight all the time and not talk it out. He would always give us advice when we ask for it. Also, he helps out a lot in our community by giving advice to others. When some of his friends need help with something, he will give them a hand. In addition, my father is a man of God. He reads the Bible every day and shares with us almost every night. I admire him very much for the way he helps others.

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Special Times and Places House of Legends

Zoriana Stakhovych, Basic Level Ukraine In Lviv are many interesting restaurants and cafes. One of my favorite restaurants is restaurant called “House of Legends.” This restaurant is located on the Staroievreyska, 48 Street. The façade of the house is decorated with a large dragon which produced a flame at 9:24 P.M every day. At the entrance to the restaurant you will meet a sorcerer dressed in a tuxedo and a hat. There is a legend that if you rub his button on a tuxedo then your desires will be fulfilled. He also tells the oldest legends of Lviv. The restaurant has seven floors. On each floor there is a room that has its own legend. There is a room of Lviv cobblestones, a Room of Sounds, a Room of Lions, a Book Room, a Room of Dragons, a room of Weather.

The interior of the restaurant is in the old medieval style. The tables, chairs and benches are wooden with a metal casing. The menu includes traditional Ukrainian and European cuisine cooked in the oven. After you visit all the rooms you can climb the roof. There is open terrace where you can drink coffee and see the panorama of the city. Welcome!

The Dining Room in My Grandparents’ House Sergey Em, Level II Kazakhstan

The dining room in my grandparents` house was my favorite place in my childhood.

It was the main room in the house. It was a small, dark, wood room which was the first room when you enter home. There were two big windows and the walls and floor of wood.

The floor of the dining room was hot because the house had an old furnace. The furnace was under the dining room. Also I remember a small round wood table with a white table cloth. The table stood in the center of the room without chairs. The dining room didn’t have any furniture expect the table. Everyone set on the clear floor. It looked like Japanese style because Korean and Japanese cultures are similar. It was national tradition 28

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for us. My grandfather always said that sitting on the floor is good for your health. All of my family members tried to get together twice a month at grandparents` house for some holiday. My aunts brought some delicious dishes and my uncles helped my grandfather to do some housework. My grandmother and my aunts and some children cooked different dishes in the kitchen than we together served the table for dinner in the dining room.

After dinner the adults stayed over the table and discussed something. Children prepared some concert. We did some funny the shows and songs and tricks. One time we tried to do some trick. My older brother wanted me to sit down on him and he was sure that he could hold me. It was a mistake. I fell and broke my hand some time later I was fine. My grandfather preferred to listen to our songs. After the shows my family drank tea with delicious cake and different jams. We heard different funny stories which happened with our parents at work or old stories about my grandfather`s life. He always taught us that we must be friendly and do everything together like the big family also we must help each other. I liked to watch when my grandfather scolded my father and my family relative, it looked funny for children like me it was absurd. My grandfather was the principal person in the family. Also I remember my grandmother, she was very smart woman. She always pampered us. She didn’t scold us and her children. Sometimes kids and adults played Korean cards in the dining room, I loved this game because it was easy game for children.

Sometimes my grandmother read book or sang Korean sing in the dining room. I think that I was very happy in this room because we were together, we joked and laughed together, we were friendly. I will never forget about my lovely place in my grandparents` house.

My Grandfather’s Grain Storage Building Hadia Fany, Level II Ivory Coast

I want to talk about one place that marked my childhood and is still very special for me: It is my grandfather’s grain storage building. It is in my country, Ivory Coast. More precisely it is in my village Boundiali, there was no electricity. To keep corn, millet, beans, peanuts or yams after harvest, each family had to build a grain storage building. You can find only this model of storage building in the north of my country. It is specialty of the north in Ivory Coast. Like all the others, my grandfather built it with his own hands even before the birth of my father. The grain storage building had a cylindrical shape and included a small opening that was supposed to air the room. There is no door. To store or remove the food, it was necessary to lift the roof so only adults could do it. My grandpa built it in from the ground and had straw on the roof. He did not paint, it is natural. The straw was not attached to the building so, to store the food, an adult could easily stand on a small stand, remove the straw and have access to the interior of the storage. When you open the storage you smell fresh grain. My grandfather is a farmer. He grows all kinds of grain in his fields. He cultivates it just for personal consumption, so when he brings those grains back home. My family members come to sort and remove the bad grain, and dry it in the sun, so the grain will keep for as long as possible. During my childhood at the age of 10, I was very curious. I remember an event that happened after the peanut harvest one morning of a weekly market day in my village. That day, while the adults were busy selling Special Times and Places

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their produce at the market, I slipped through the window into the attic by curiosity but also to eat the peanut. I fell asleep in the attic. When I awoke, I heard my mother’s crying and the sound of drums announcing the disappearance of a child. Indeed, since the morning, not having seen me, my mother helped by all the village, searched everywhere throughout the day. And they even though I left with the street vendors who came to the market. My uncles even went to look for me in the neighboring villages. Nobody thought I could be in the storage because it was closed. And when I awake, hearing the drums, I realized that something was happening in the village. Yet, prisoner in the storage, I did not know how to come out. And I started crying and screaming but with all the noises, no one heard me. I stayed all night. It was only in the morning when my grandfather had come to get the food to give to the women for cooking that he saw me. He shouted with joy and the whole family found themselves around me, relieved that I was not lost. Since that day, I have not dare go to play in the storage building. Since that day in remembrance at this event, my grandfather and the old men of the village call me “the daughter of the storage.” My grandfather passed away last year while I was here in the United States, but I remember that day when he was my hero, freeing me from his storage building prison.

Whenever I have the opportunity to go to the village, I visit this storage as a special place that marked my childhood.

High School Basketball Tournament First Place Prizewinner Vahe Dervishyan, Level II Armenia

May 22, 2014 was the finals of the basketball tournament between high schools in capital of Armenia, Yerevan. Our team participated in that tournament, and we had to work so hard for the triumph. That day, I tried to be focused and motivated. In the morning, I awoke at about 6 a.m., brushed my teeth, took a shower, had a small breakfast, and then I went to our high school basketball court. At 7 a.m., I was the first man who entered the court, even before the coach. I took a ball and tried to practice my dribbling.

Then I tried to make long shots for three points because I played on a shooting guard position. At 8 a.m., all my teammates and coach were on the basketball court. Following our coach, we tried to play against each other. During the training time, one of our players, who was a point guard of our team, got injured. He injured his ankle after landing.

It was a big loss for us, and the coach didn’t know who is going to play in that position that night. Because the point guard is the most important player in the game, he didn’t want to add someone from our bench. Then coach determined to switch me from the shooting guard position to the point guard position. I told my teammates that I cannot play in point guard position, and I’m not the best dribbler. I didn’t say that to the coach because I respected his decision. We finished our training at 11:30 a.m. That was one of the most motivating mornings in my sports career.

In the afternoon, coach preferred keep us together and be more focused. At 1:30 p.m., we had a lunch in one of the best restaurants in Yerevan. Coach told us do not to order meat, dessert, or something that hard to digest. That kind of food can affect our play, so 30

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we preferred to order vegetable salads, rice, and organic orange juice. We spent one hour there, and after the lunch we went to the coach’s house. We were there around four o’clock.

Their coach explained us the tactics we are going to play that night. Coach told the center player to help me lot and set the screens when I’m going to pass someone because I was not the best dribbler. Then he told me that I probably will not to play almost whole 3rd quarter because he wants to see me fresh in the 4th quarter. In the 4th quarter, he will remove me from the point guard position to my real position as shooting guard. Our power forward was a really strong guy with big muscles, and he will cover the opponent’s shooting guard because he was a great shooter. Then coach said our center player will cover the opponent’s power forward. Because I was 6 feet tall, and he was 5.11, I’m going to cover the center player. It was a little bit of mixed tactics, but we were sure that’s going to work. We stayed in the coach’s house until one hour before the game. I have never been that much focused especially in that afternoon.

In the evening, before the game, we prayed together, and I was sure that will help us to win the game. At 7:50 p.m., two teams entered the court. There were almost 400 fans in the court. At 8:00 p.m., referee threw the ball, and we started the game. The first and second quarters were not so interesting, and it ended 47 to 49 in favor of our opponents.

I felt really uncomfortable in the point guard position, but I took a couple jump shots and made 13 points. I made a one free throw, two threes, and three two point shots. Following coach’s tactics, in the third quarter, I played just for one minute. In the beginning of the fourth quarter, we were down 69 to 76, and coach moved me to my familiar shooting guard position. It was my time, and I had to make a lot of three points. I made four three points in the fourth quarter. Score was 87:87 in the last 22 seconds of the game. We had to score in the last seconds for the win or go into overtime. In the last two seconds of the game, my teammate gave me the ball for the last shot. I missed the shot, but fortunately during the jump shot, the opponent touched my hand. I had two free throws. If I made just one free throw of two, we will win. Pressure was big from the opponent’s fans. They started booing and screaming loudly to distract me, so I missed the first free throw. Then I took a deep breath and made a second free throw. Our team won. I was the most valuable player in the final game with 26 points, 5 assists, and 11 rebounds. At the end of the day, I remembered that I prayed, and that really helped me to make the second free throw.

Every year on May 22, I always remember how our team won the finals of the basketball tournament.

My Beautiful Back Yard Saleh Abdulrahman, Level II Yemen

My back yard is wonderful place to stay and relax. I love to spend a lot of time there.

There are trees all around it. The yard is wide and very large. It has a really big tree in the middle and under the tree there is a small swing with two chairs. Next to that there is a white table with four chairs. It is nice to sit there because it is shaded even if the sun shines. Also, we have a small shed in the back of the yard that we put all the tools of the yard there, such as trimmer or mower. There are also plants in the yard such as flowers, a Special Times and Places

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peach tree, tomatoes, apples and green tea plants. I like the green tea because sometime I carry my cup outside and put the green tea in. I like the taste because it is fresh. In fact, I go there almost every day. I like to talk to my family, especially my wife, and play with my kids. My daughter who is two years old likes to play with the swing. Sometimes she takes me to push her on the swing. And my son who is one year I just hold him and walk around the yard. Also, if we have a party or birthday, we usually have it there. In addition, there are some beautiful animals come to the yard, such as rabbits, deer and pretty birds.

I love when they come. I like to watch them. Sometimes my wife and I put food leftovers in a special place in the yard that the animals or birds can reach. These days, I take care of the yard by myself because my wife and kids have been travelling. When they come back in a few months, my wife and I are going to make the yard more and more beautiful. We have already planned for it. The hard work is going to be next summer. We are going to get more plants, and we are going to buy good soil for them. The most interesting thing is we are going to make pretty shapes with different color flowers. One of the shapes I am going to make is my wife’s name without telling her I did this until the flowers grow. I want to make her surprised, and I am going to give them to her as a gift. To conclude, my terrific back yard is the most important place for me because I can spend my free time in a comfortable way.

Memorable Day of My Life Rabin Gurung, Level II Nepal

The day of June 10, 2013 was one of the most memorable days that I ever had. The day began with a busy morning. In the morning, I woke up at approximately 4 a.m. and then went to my brother’s bedroom to see whether he was awake or not. He was already awake and was taking a shower in bathroom. I headed towards the kitchen, and there I saw my mom was cooking breakfast for me and my brother. Because we were running out of wood, my brother and I had to go to the mountain to collect some wood to cook food.

Our grandfather lived on the side of a mountain, so we had to go there and bring some wood to our home. While I was taking a shower, my father awoke and after that my sister awoke. I headed towards the kitchen to help mom to make breakfast. After I helped mom in the kitchen, I started to collect some bags and rope to tie pieces of wood. When we finished eating breakfast, we took our bikes and started riding toward the mountain. We rode our bikes for twenty minutes and after that we walked. It took approximately three hours to get to the destination. That was a lot of work I had to in the morning.

My afternoon was complicated. We got to my grandfather’s house at 11:30 a.m. Nobody was home when we got there, so we decided to collect some wood in the nearby forest. It was raining a little and the wood was pretty heavy. We chopped the wood and made pieces of firewood that were three feet long. Then we put the wood in a pile and tied the wood with rope. After we were done with packing, we ate lunch while it was raining. We rested there for a half hour, and we returned to home. We had to carry that bag of wood on our shoulders or on our heads. During the return home, the walkway are rough as well as slippery, which was dangerous for us. Sometimes my foot slipped, and I fell on the ground, 32

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but I didn’t get any serious injuries on my body. This happened to me several times while walking down the mountain and to my brother, too. Finally, we crossed the mountain and stepped on the land. We still had to walk almost 10 km to get to home. In that duration, we still had to face more difficult situations. It was still raining, and we had to cross several rivers and hills. First of all, it was hard for us to cross the sandy river. The river was full of sand, but on rainy days, the sand didn’t let our bicycle tires move. After struggling a half hour, we made it out of there. Walking through the mountain and crossing rivers in the afternoon was difficult.

The evening was cold and exhausting. At around 6:00 p.m., we were stuck at the side of another river. The running water in the river was really huge, and we couldn’t cross it, so we had to stay on the side of the river. It was still raining, and our clothes were totally wet.

The day was getting darker, and we were freezing. I was thinking, if nobody came to us for help, we should stay all night there under cover of the tree. Finally, I saw my father and his friend coming toward us. By seeing them, I was so excited and my brother too. We crossed the river and headed home. It was approximately 10:00 p.m. when we reached home. For dinner, we ate fried noodles and went to sleep because we were so tired. All in all, the day was unforgettable to me.

My Grandmother’s Garden House Oksana Chernykh, Level II Ukraine

My favorite place in childhood was my grandmother’s garden house. I spent a lot of time there when I was a little girl, especially in the summer. I called it the “magic garden house”. The place was magic, because I could do there whatever I wanted. This place was outside and had a big table and wide benches on both sides, where our family could have lunch or dinner. Above the table grew grapes which shaded this place from the sunlight.

Next to the garden house was a big apple tree. My grandfather planted it. I remember how my cousins and I plucked apples and ate without washing them first. On the left side from the table was my grandmother’s chicken house. There were no more than ten chickens. It was a small chicken coop with access to outside and a fence around it. I liked to feed chickens and collect eggs. But most of all, I loved when my Bubby made the best toast with the fresh eggs for me. I sat on the old bench in the garden house and couldn’t wait to taste my grandmother’s dish. The smell was incredible. Even the neighbors could smell it. They were good people. Between the neighbors’ and my grandmother’s houses was a fence which had a door. My grandma and her neighbors could visit each other any time without an invitation, even if someone just needed salt. I liked when my family sat at the huge wooden table in the garden house. This table could accommodate more than 15 people. My grandfather made it by himself. The garden house was really nice place with a few flaws. First was that this magic place didn’t have a roof. If the weather was bad we had to move to my grandmother’s main house. The second one was mosquitoes. It wasn’t comfortable when they bit us. There were many mosquitoes because near grandmother’s house was a river. The best thing about garden house were the flowers. They grew in front of the table. There were many kind of flowers. It was excited. I could look at this flower Special Times and Places

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patch forever. I miss for the days when I could come to my grandmother’s garden house.

All and all, the garden house was a wonderful place where I spent a lot of time of my childhood and which I still keep in my heart.

The Town River

Moussa Doumouya, Level II Ivory Coast In my town the river is the most busy place. It is at the entrance of the town. Everyday a lot of people, men, women and children go to the river for different reasons. Some people go there to laundry, others go fishing and others go to swim. A lot of kids go there to have fun.

There is a lot noise, the cries of children, the songs of adults and the cries of pets. I went every Sunday with my grandmother from 6:00 am to 4:00 pm. She did laundry and I had fun. My grandmother was fifty years old, but she did not look like an old woman.

On Sunday I woke up very early at 5 am. I awoke my sisters and brothers. We helped our grandmother to carry the bowl. I always went with my fishing rod and my soccer ball.

When we arrived there I found my friends and we started fishing. We standing in the water to fish. The river was not deep and the adults could cross. There was a lot of rice fields around the river. When there are a lot of people, we stopped fishing. My friends and I went into the water to swim alongside the adults. The river was very long, but not deep. The water flowed slowly. When it was raining the water ran very fast and the children could not go. We were between six and twelve years old. When we were tired of swimming, we went out of the water to eat something. After eating, we had a rest. Then my friends and I went to play soccer. There is different smells, sometimes good, sometime bad. There is anything in the river. Animals go there to drink. Sometime the water got very dirty but we continue to use this water. Our river is the only place of our town where we can see things and a lot of people together. The landscape is very beautiful and peaceful. The elderly and young people go there. The women and kids also go there. The pets also go there. The farmers go to their fields next to the river. In conclusion, the town river is most busy because there are anything and a lot of people every day. Everybody goes there for various reasons. I learned a lot about the river. It’s a place that really marks me.

Vegh’s Mansion Garden and Park Renata Molnar, Level II Hungary

In my old village Vereb, I spent a lot of time in a place called Vegh’s Mansion Garden and Park. This place will always be a special and memorable place in my heart. Until 1945, every village in Hungary had a mansion with a rich family who owned the land.

At the end of World War II, the Vegh’s mansion was destroyed by a bomb. When I was a child, the garden and park became overgrown and transformed into woods. It became a mysterious sight. The park is located in the middle of Vereb. A little dirt road goes to the 34

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park from the main road. The dirt road has a tiny stone bridge that goes across a swampy little creek. The creek has water lilies, numerous loud frogs and lots of hungry mosquitos.

The park entrance is an unfinished soccer field that became a meadow with many wild flowers and mushrooms. In the summer it looks like a colorful bouquet. Around the unfinished soccer field are acacia trees. When they bloom, sweet smell is everywhere. On the left side is a swampy creek that smells like dirt. On the right side is the bushy, thick woods. Through the woods are many trails. Some of them are wider, some of them are really narrow. The old park is on a hill. Therefore, the woods seem like a huge, gigantic forest. The park has four old, large trees. Four or five people holding hands are not enough to embrace them. I can feel the history from these giant trees. As a child, I got goosebumps when I saw them. Plenty of birds and animals live in the woods. The air is filled with birdsong and crickets chirping. This place relaxed me every time. There was a fallen tree trunk in the middle of the park. It was like a couch. That was my favorite sitting place. I could sit on my trunk couch for hours. Deep in the woods, far from the mansion, is an old solitary school building. My family is connected in many ways to this old park. My mother started her first school year there as a student. My great grandfather was the gardener and landscaper for the whole park. I saw old pictures of his gardening work. The landscaping was an amazingly gorgeous masterpiece. I am very proud of him.

When I was a child, my father, brother, and I often herded our sheep on the unfinished soccer field. My father told many interesting stories about this place that he heard from his grandfather. This place was my favorite escape place. I knew every secret part of it. I will always remember this forgotten and unique place in my old country where I spent a big part of my life.

Memorable Day

Aram Ohanian, Level II Armenia The last day of my vacation in Batumi, Georgia in August 2017 was a very adventurous day. The day begun approximately at 1:00 p.m. because it was a vacation, and my best friend, Narek, and I had been sleeping as long as we could. We woke up, looked at each other, thought about how wonderful our vacation had been during the last week, and decided to walk to the beach for the last time. Unexpectedly, we met some of our friends, Rob, Mayis and Raz, at the beach. They had come to Batumi for a fencing tournament, and that was their last day, too. After swimming and a lot of fun conversations, we felt that we were so hungry, so we went to eat something together. We ate traditional Georgian food called Khinkali, which is delicious. Then we all decided to drive back to Armenia at 7:00 p.m., so we went back to our hotel and packed our clothes. That was what happened at the beginning of this day.

The evening continued to be nice. The weather was perfect for a very long ride, and the mood also was great. We had to drive almost 500 miles. Narek and I were in my car and the other guys in the other car. Of course, the hardest part for this homecoming trip was the drivers’ job. I was driving my car because Narek is not the best driver, and Rob was driving the other car. We drove almost 70 miles, and then I got a phone call. It was Rob. Special Times and Places

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He said that the gas gauge in his car was broken, and that they had run out of gas. Narek and I looked each other and completely together said, “This is not good!” Then we drove back and gave them the extra gas that I had in my car for this kind of situation. After that, we continued on our way, but the weather was not good anymore. It was dark already, and it started to rain but not so hard. We were on the 200th mile when I got another phone call from Rob. My friend who was sitting shotgun next to me, Narek, was already asleep, so I said to myself, “Not again!” I picked up the phone, and Rob said to drive back because the belt of engine was broken and that they could not drive without fixing it. But none of us could not fix it, so Narek, who woke up after this call, and I started to ask people on the streets if they knew somewhere that we could fix a car. Almost nobody answered to our questions because it was 2 a.m., and we were speaking a foreign language to people.

Finally, we found someone who could normally speak to us, and he showed us where we could find a mechanic. The mechanic worked 30 miles away from us but in a totally different direction. Then we had to find out how to pull Rob’s car because we did not have rope to pull it. Rob and I cut the seat belts out of his car and connected them together.

After producing this strange rope, we started to pull. During this adventure, we did not notice that the rain had started coming down hard. I had never seen such hard rain in my life. When finally we reached the repair shop, we found out that the mechanic was drunk.

He said that he was not going to fix the car in his condition. While we were discussing about what we should do, the police came. They gave me and Rob tickets costing almost 200 dollars for each car for parking in a wrong place, but we didn’t have another choice because it was the only way to park when the one car was pulling the other. For almost one hour, the police was creating our tickets, and I spent all of that hour in the police car.

The police couldn’t create the tickets because our passports were not Georgian, and at 3 a.m. nobody was answering to their calls. I had no idea what was going on outside of that police car. When the police officers were done with the tickets and let me and Rob to go, we surprisingly found out that the car was fixed. Narek helped the mechanic to do that, promising that he would give him another bottle of vodka after fixing the car. After making sure that everything was okay with my friend’s car, we started to move on, hoping that nothing wouldn’t stop us after all of these problems, even the weather, which was just the worst weather for driving. When we stopped at a gas station, Mayis and Raz came to us laughing and said, “You can’t imagine what else just broke in Rob’s car.” It was the turn signal switch. Fortunately, at almost 6 a.m., we reached to Armenian border, and our scary but the same time extremely interesting night was over.

In the morning, we were already in Armenia, and I was still driving. We all were very tired and hungry. When we stopped at another gas station, we discussed and decided that after all of these adventures, we had to have one more day to rest. My grandma’s house is in a very small and peaceful village, and no one was living in that house at that time, so we all decided to go there and stay just one day. This village is perfectly suitable for passive vacation, but we all knew that when all five of us were together, it couldn’t passively rest.

However, after one week of a super active vacation, we started our driving for one day of “passive” rest. Overall, for me, it was a perfect vacation with a not perfect, but very memorable last day of vacation despite all of the problems and adventures.

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President`s Election in My Country Sergey Em, Level I Kazakhstan

My country, Kazakhstan, received independence on August 31, 1991 and the first President`s election was the 1st of December that year. It was the fastest election; people couldn`t decide which President they needed. It was a heavy time. People didn`t know about democracy. They didn`t know how to live next. They always lived under communism. They never saw another life. The temporary government moved to power.

People didn`t have choices. They knew only one leader, Nazarbayev, because all the media had spoken only about him. After the President`s election, our President offered to change the Constitution. He offered to bring in new sections about Presidential elections, such as the President can participate in elections many times and the President can hold the post for 7 years. After the first post, people didn`t have another candidate.

They again selected our President. People didn`t go to the election, but their vote was counted. They lived poor, they didn`t have a job, they were angry. People didn`t believe the government. After 14 years, people came to understand the word “democracy”. Some people gave their opinions about our president and government. We had some opposition parties which didn`t agree with the President’s politics. The 3rd election was like a circus because people understood that their opinion is nothing and their choice is nothing too.

After 20 years, people didn`t want to change anything, they are used to living thus. Now people of Kazakhstan don`t want to change the President because we think if we change the President, we will begin to live again from the first step. We are tired. This is our democracy; this is our choice.

My Special Place

Second Place Prizewinner Iryna Perepelkina, Level, II Ukraine The backyard of my son’s house is my favorite place now. When I visited my son at first six years ago, it was an empty yard with a single magnolia tree near the house. The magnolia was beautiful. The old huge tree had roots on the surface of the earth. The tree was especially nice in the spring when the gorgeous white-pink flowers cover its branches.

But these flowers pleased the eyes not too long. Instead of the flowers, the magnolia’s light green leaves make a shade tent over the yard for most of growing season. I wanted to make a flower bed in his yard, but my visits were not so long to do it. Two years ago, I came to live with my son in his house. Last summer, I made a little flower bed near the house, but my dream was to make a big flower bed on the roots of the old magnolia. I had no seeds of my favorite kinds of marigold because it is impossible to bring any seeds to the U.S.A. At the end of the last summer and in the fall, I collected seeds of different sorts of marigolds.

I took them from different places: from the flower beds of the Cleveland Botanical Garden, from the neighborhood, even from beautiful parks in Chicago, where we were on Labor Day last year. And now I have a big collection of seeds. In June this year, I began to make a big flower bed on the roots of the old tree. I got soil with compost and made a little Special Times and Places

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fence around the bed. Then I planted the seeds of wild flowers and my favorite marigolds.

I didn’t have any garden in Ukraine because I lived in the center of big town. My mini garden was in flower boxes on my balcony. I cultivated different flowers there, but most of all I loved marigolds. Now I have opportunity to make a really big flower garden in the almost empty backyard. In July, the first yellow, orange, red and even dark brown flowers of the marigolds blossomed. Their specific tart odor is especially strong and pleasant after the rain. Marigolds have petals that are velvety to touch and our cats like to touch and smell them. There are a lot of different birds in our backyard. Their voices sound from the morning to night. Every evening, a family of deer comes to our backyard, but they don’t eat my flowers. The marigolds smell unpleasant to them. Our neighbors try to grow organic vegetables, but “guests,” rabbits and deer, eat tomatoes and zucchini. I told the neighbors about Ukrainian farmers, who plant marigolds among the vegetables to defend them from different insects. I advised my neighbors to take seeds from me and to do as the real farmers do. Now our nice neighbor likes to come over our backyard to admire the colors of the flowers. She is an artist and her evaluation of my work is especially pleasant for me. Now our backyard is a nice place not only for me. Every evening after his job, my son remains there and relaxes. On the weekend, if the weather is good, we sit under the magnolia, near the flowers, have tea or coffee, read and enjoy the birds’ voices. We remember our flowers on the balcony in Ukraine. My son usually says, “Mom, you have made here a piece of Ukraine”.

My Special Day

Aleksandra Sviridova Level II Russia The day I had my interview at the American Embassy, May 21, 2015, changed my life.

The day began early in the morning. It was a pleasant, warm spring day. I woke up at 6 a.m. and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for me and my father. I fried for us eggs with chicken sausages and made a delicious strong coffee. When breakfast was ready, I went and awoke my father quietly so that my mother would not wake up. Dad and I had a good breakfast. A little later, we started to leave. However, my mother woke up, and we decided to sit together and talk about what will happen that day. My mother calmed me and asked me not to worry. She always says behave as usual because you are a wonderful girl. Then we left the house and went to the downtown for an interview for immigration to America. I was very worried, but when I saw the smiling American man opposite me, I felt a little lighter. The interview was very quick and easy. At the end of the conversation, he said that I was given a visa, and everything was good. I could hardly restrain my emotions so as not to scream with happiness. Finally, when I left the Embassy, I saw my dad was sitting nervously on the bench. I quickly ran to him and shouted, ”I am moving to live in America!” The morning of this day changed my life forever.

The afternoon continued even better than the morning. In a great mood, I went with my father to grocery store to buy some delicious food for lunch. We went to our favorite store near the house. My father and I were in such a good mood that I wanted to buy everything. I wanted to sing and dance with happiness. My father acted like a child. He 38

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put me in a shopping cart and began to roll around the grocery store. People around us did not understand what was happening, but everyone was smiling. My father rolled me in the shopping cart, took food and piled it on me. After approximately forty minutes of shopping, we went to the cashier. I was buried in delicious, sweet foods, ice-cream, candies and fish for mom. After we paid for the products, we were approached by the store manager. The manager explained to us that we cannot behave this way in grocery stores. It is not safe. We apologized and said that, in fact, we had never done that, just today, because we have a special day. When we came home, my mother did not know the good news yet. But when we went into the apartment, she saw our faces and understood everything without words. She just came up to me, hugged me and cried. She said she was crying with happiness, and she also did not know how to live without me and will miss me. My afternoon was filled with laughter and happiness. I really enjoyed it.

Our evening continued with a pleasant dinner with close friends of our family. We invited our friends to consult with them, and celebrate the receipt of a visa to America. On this important evening, my mother and I cooked a delicious dinner. On our festive table was traditional Russian food. I baked a pie with apples by myself. Our guests came on time, and we sat at the table. That night we all laughed a lot. Everyone congratulated me and said that I am very lucky. Our friends shared their experiences with me and gave me a lot of good advice. It helped me a lot because they had lived in America, and they knew how to behave and how to start life in America. Our dinner with friends was very friendly.

We all were a little tired, but very happy. This day I will remember forever my life turned around 360 degrees.

New Year 2017

Stanislau Yakubouski, Level II Belarus New Year 2017 was the one of many beautiful days that I have spent together with my wife. This New Year day began with a nice morning. This day was a first day of my wife’s and my vacation in Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic. We woke up at about 7 a.m. and started doing our regular things. We put on our clothes and went to have breakfast in the restaurant in Grand Bahia Principe Resort. My wife and I were so excited because we wanted to see the sea as soon as possible. After breakfast, we took our towels from our room, and we went to the beach. Soon, the beautiful view with big green palms and bright blue water appeared before our eyes. I had waited for this moment for such a long time because I had not seen the sea since my early childhood. There were chaise lounges and palms on the beach and the white fine sand everywhere. We put our towels and my bag on chaise lounge. Then I ran quickly from the beach and jumped into the sea water, and I tasted the salt in the water. My wife went into the water after me. There were very big waves on the sea, so the water lifted us up and down. In that moment, my wife and I were laughing like children. Our New Year’s morning that day was excellent and impressive.

The afternoon came so quickly and was a good continuation of the morning for us. After our active morning, we were very hungry, so we had to have lunch. We went to our room, changed our wet clothes to more formal ones, and dropped our belongings in the room.

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After that, we went to the Mexican restaurant to have some lunch. There were a few cacti thriving in the front of restaurant, and young men in traditional clothes met the visitors of this place. In Belarus, Mexican food isn’t a popular type of food, so in the restaurant we tried to find courses familiar for us. Our choice of a course was random and definitely good, so I think that it was the luck of the wonderful day. When we finished our lunch, we decided to leave the hotel property. It was interesting to see the nature of the Dominican Republic. We went along the beach away from hotel. Our walk took about two and half hours. There were many interesting things on the beach such as colorful wild birds, coconuts on the sand and different types of trees. After about forty minutes of walking, my wife and I stopped for a rest and to take pictures of the nature around us. The view in that moment was amazing. The sound of the sea was very relaxing for us. On the way back to the hotel, we met other people. They walked along the beach, and they maybe also were interested in the Dominican nature almost like us. When we came back to the hotel room, we decided to take a nap. Our afternoon was full of new impressions.

Later, the New Year celebration party started at night. There was a special banquet in a restaurant of the main building in the hotel resort. The restaurant was decorated in a New Year’s theme. The staff of the restaurant gave glasses of champagne to people who came in, so we took some and waited for the food to be served. There was a lot of cooked seafood, such as lobsters and crabs, and French and Italian food, so the dinner was great. After dinner, the time for dancing and fun began in the main hall. We had bright New Year lady and gentlemen style hats and danced together this night with other people. In 12:00 a.m., New Year, 2017 had come, and the holiday fireworks started at this moment. We were captured by this sight. Our party ended after the fireworks, so we came back to our room very tired and happy. Our New Year’s party night was filled with good feelings and memories. To conclude, New Year, 2017 was one of the many good days of my life.

Unusual Christmas

Ivon Zapata Manrique, Level II Colombia Christmas day, December 24,1995 was a different Christmas. Christmas morning was fascinating. The day began with the news that we were going to share our Christmas night with another special person whom our mom told us would be kind of like our sister for one week. For some people, Christmas is an exclusive family affair, but for my parents Christmas is about sharing, helping, and giving thanks to God for everything. In Barrancabermeja, Santander, a Catholic church had a program where families could adopt a child who has no family to spend Christmas and New Year in their homes. My parents decided to enter into the program and they adopted a girl for one week. Her name was Alejandra. In the morning, we were told by my parents about having that girl in our house for Christmas, and my sister and I got excited about the news. Then my mom made this amazing Colombian breakfast for us. After our breakfast, we went on a long drive to pick up Alejandra. We drove to a church, where the kids were waiting to be picked up by the families. My dad went to talk to a lady. He asked for Alejandra. This lady took us to see Alejandra. She was sitting next to her brother. He was supposed to go with another family, 40

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but my mom asked the priest if we could take both of them with us, so they could be with each other. The he priest was okay with that. We were so happy that we could bring the two kids to our house. On our way back to my house, we introduced ourselves to them.

We talked to Alejandra and Fabian about how they were feeling. They were so happy that they had the opportunity to have a real Christmas with us. My mom and my dad had already met Alejandra, but my sister and I didn’t know her. My sister and I started to get to know them while we were still on our way to my house. We told them that we couldn’t wait to get home so we could show them some games that we had and all the Christmas decorations. They were really excited to see all of that. It was such a beautiful day.

Everything was going perfect, and we were excited. The morning was really interesting.

In the nice afternoon, once we got home, my sister and I played with the kids for almost 3 hours. We just were having so much fun, and they looked so happy. My mom went out by herself to get more presents because she originally wasn’t planning on having Fabian over for Christmas because she didn’t know that Fabian was Alejandra’s brother. After playing for a while, we had a little break, so the kids could rest. Then Alejandra and Fabian came to my sister’s bedroom and told her that they wanted to play again with us. We took them outside, and they got to meet all our neighbors. We played with all of them. We had fun, and I loved how nice all of the other kids treated them. Everything was so perfect.

We felt blessed that we could share our house and time with those kids. We went back to my house and had some lunch. After lunch, Fabian, Alejandra, my sister, and I sang along really loudly my favorite Christmas music. My dad came along with my favorite dessert that he always remembers to get for me. Alejandra and Fabian were wondering what it was, so I showed them, and they were so impressed because they never saw anything like it. It was a big heart figure covered it by sprinkles. After having some dessert at my house, we went to my grandparents’ house because is a tradition to wish them happy Christmas before dinner. We stayed at my grandparents’ house for a little while talking, playing, and watching TV. After all of that, my parents took us back to my house. It was a really good afternoon.

The night arrived, and we went back to my house. My parents were planning on taking Fabian and Alejandra to the rest of the neighborhood in the Novena. The word Novena literally means “ninth,” and it is used to describe a certain type of Christmas meeting that happens over nine nights before Christmas. At 7:00 p.m., the Novena started at the house next door. My sister and I were exciting to introduce our new siblings to all the families at the Novena. My mom said a special prayer because she always prays very beautifully, but on that day, she said the most beautiful prayer I had ever heard. As soon as the Novena finished, we went home to change our clothes. For dinner, we dressed up in fancy clothes.

Alejandra and Fabian didn’t know that my mom had new clothes for them, too. When they saw them, they were so happy. They really liked the clothes, so they couldn’t even wait to put them on. Finally, the night came around 9:00 p.m. My dad took us around the town to see the Christmas lights. At 10:30 p.m., we sat down for our dinner. At 12:00 midnight, we receive our presents from el Niño Dios (the God child). I will never forget the faces of Alejandro and Fabian. When they opened the gifts, they cried with happiness. One of Fabian’s gifts was a football. He said that he never had a new football. He ran to play

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with my dad and Alejandra. My mom, my sister and I were watching them. I think that Christmas was unique, happy, and the best day ever. It was unusual and such a fun day.

Tornado

Yara Slaibi, Level II Syria I went through on unforgettable experience when I saw a huge tornado for the first time. It happened on vacation when my parents and I traveled by car. At first, we were traveling from Kuwait to my country Syria. We were having a nice time together.

Suddenly, we felt something strange, and the sunny weather seemed to change. Then we looked out windows and saw a dark huge tornado. It was far away from us by miles, but it was still evident. Soon, the tornado moved by strong spinning movement. It destroyed the trees and the farmlands. After that, we felt afraid, so my little brother began screaming and crying. Meanwhile, my father stayed away from the tornado. It was a terrible moment.

After a while, the tornado started to go away. Then we could see the devastation caused by it. Next, we stooped for a while. We checked the place if they are someone hurt. Finally, we went back to the car and prayed to God we were in life. Nothing terrible happened to us before like moving beside a tornado, so we will never forget.

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ďťż

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something my therapist called “repeated exposure.” I needed to be in operating room frequently, but when I feel the overwhelming fear I leave the room for ten minutes to calm down and breathe, then I go back in again. As a result of this repeated exposure I got control of my unexplained OR fear, but I knew that becoming a surgeon is not for me.

Life’s Lessons

In conclusion, there are many different ways to overcome fear. I sought help from friend and a specialist, learned special techniques (deep breathing, repeated exposure), and used a medication to overcome my fears. Sometimes fear has a negative impact on our lives. We can overcome our fears by acknowledging them first then be willing to make a change. It is important to not let our fears control our life or dictate it.

What Scares Me Experiences That Taught Me to Overcome a Fear Mishael Almowayna, Level III Saudi Arabia

Fear is a natural feeling when we perceive the danger of any kind. It is normal as long as it does not affect our daily life. I always considered myself as a strong woman with no fear other than a minor fear of certain kinds of insects. When I was a medical student I discovered my first true debilitating fear. I discovered a second irrational fear when I was an intern. Fortunately, I had two experiences that caused me to overcome both of these fears.

My first fear was speaking in public, a specific social anxiety. I had to do medical research, then present it in front of my classmates. The first time I had to do this after I started speaking, I felt something strange. For the first time, I could feel my heart beating.

It was going so fast like it was going to explode, I lost my voice, and most importantly I forgot what to say. Obviously, I did not complete my presentation, so I did not have a good grade, although I worked hard for it. Since that moment I knew that it was not right to feel that way, and in my career, I will often be presenting or speaking in public. In order to solve this problem, I started practicing in front of a mirror, or I presenting to my earnest friends. Also, I was taught a relaxation technique called “deep breathing” which helped me a lot. Not only that but I also started using metoprolol, a medication that slows the heartbeat. Eventually, on my final presentation that year, I was confident and satisfied to overcome my fear of public speaking.

The second awkward fear I used to have but finally overcame was from the operating room (OR). I remember when I had a privilege entering the OR, I was excited and thrilled. Nevertheless, the moment I stepped in I frantically tried to catch my breath, yet I assured myself that the shortness of breath is just from the mask. But when I removed the mask I knew that I was deceiving myself. I did not want to believe that I do fear the operating room, nor did I want to feel humiliated. This time it is not just the feeling of my heartbeat racing, in fact, I fainted once during surgery. What I did to conquer my fear of public speaking did not help much in this situation. I sought help from a psychotherapist.

I tried different ways but the only method that helped me to overcome my fear was 44

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Slavia Pantelejic Level II Serbia

Fear is an integral part of our life. What scares me the most is the thought that something bad happens to my family. I think everybody has that kind of fear. Thank God I have both parents, three sisters and brother. I worry a lot about them. My brother is the youngest one, and I think my biggest fear starts with him. When my mother gave birth to my brother, immediately after that she had a clinical death. Thank God the third electro shock returned my mother to life. In beginning, we didn’t know anything about that even my father. We were at home and had guests over celebrating the birth of my brother, not knowing that my mother was struggling for her life. My father found out a day later. My oldest sister and I found out when my mother and brother came home from the hospital both healthy. It scares me a lot to just even think we could lost our mother that day.

Fortunately, we didn’t. God has preserved her for us.

Two and a half years after my brother was born, my father came up with idea that my mother can come to America. She could because her parents were in America, and she finished her high school here in America. She applied for visa, and of course she got it.

We kids were not happy about that. Our parents told us it will be temporary, and my mom will apply for a family reunion visa. They tried to convince us that we’re going to have a better opportunity in America. The Day at airport when she left was the worst day in my life at that time. I still remember we were crying, and she was trying to calm us down. She kept saying “Just think what happens when I give a birth to your brother. If I had died that day, I wouldn’t have a chance to help you guys at all. But now I know I can give you a better life.” Saying that she tried to encourage herself and us to. The worst part was when she really needed to take the flight. My brother was just two and a half years old, he didn’t want to let her go. Neither did we, but we had to. That day I had mixed feelings. I felt terrifying fear. I had the feeling I was losing her, and I had a feeling my older sister and I grew up that day. I wasn’t any longer a child of twelve years old and neither was my older sister. She was thirteen then. We started to be responsible for our youngest sisters and brother. While my friends played with dolls when they come back from school, we had a real baby at home to take care of. I was always worried about him when I wasn’t at home.

It scares me a lot if something happens to him, and I’m not there. It was very hard for us. I tried not to cry in front of the younger kids because I had to be strong for them. My father Life’s Lessons

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was very strict, and we couldn’t change his decision. He kept saying it won’t take much to complete the papers for us. It turned out that it took more time then we could possibly think. It took us ten years to come here. My mother was going back and forth. She tried to stay in our country as long as she could. Usually she stayed for two or three months.

Since the first time my mother left, I become very responsible for my sisters and brother.

Sometimes I think I tried to be like a mom for them. Silly, right? But it doesn’t matter what I did, making cake for birthdays or staying awake when they were sick, nobody can take mother’s place. No one can make up for my lost time with my mother. I’ll always have the feeling that I didn’t have her when I needed her the most. That feeling is terrifying.

I’m very close with my sisters and brother. I would like it if I could protect them from anything bad on this earth. But I’m aware that a lot of things are not in my hands.

It is not good to be scared, but sometimes that pushes us to improve ourselves to be better and to be strong, if not for ourselves then for someone who is precious for us.

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Loyalty is being patient, forbearing, enduring, long-suffering and forgiving; Loyalty is caving everything you have and surrendering yourself to the unknown.

Loyalty is being able to live in pain so the other can be happy.

Loyalty is living in pain and hurt and soreness and agony; thinking it’s cheer and happiness and joy.

Poetry

Loyalty is staying, for as hard as you may fight it.

Loyalty is, without any expectations, considering their presence “enough”.

For as beautiful as that word might sound, Loyalty is cruel and brutal and heartbreaking.

For as charming as that word might sound,

If Only We Were Birds

Loyalty is frightening and offensive and terrifying.

Janine Wazni, Level III Lebanon

We, human beings, were all born and grew up with the ability of leaving people behind us; yet, just some of us learn how to hide that natural skill; still, everything end up coming back to its peel.

A wise man named Harun Yahya once said: “I always wonder why birds choose to stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth, then I ask myself the same question.”

See birds’ spirit symbolizes freedom, wisdom, perspective and many other things.

However, by reading a text, a poem or even a quote, we are free to understand it, explain it and define it the way we want to. One of the greatest powers of thoughts is that no one can take them from you; nor impose to you what they think to be true. Your thoughts are yours and yours only.

Two years ago, when I read that quote, the first thing that came to my mind was the word Loyalty.

What a small and easy word to say, yet so big. I asked some of my friends to define it for me, and they gave me so many different definitions; and all of these definitions that were given to me were, in my eyes, meaningless. And my question remained unanswered. After all, we all speak and define things out of our own experiences.

Yet, at some point, it becomes a way of living, and more; it becomes a part of you, a part of who you truly are.

However, comes a day where every loyal person decides to leave.

See, it’s not out of cowardice or fear; but why suffer when there’s nothing to win?

Comes a day where every loyal person wakes up and notices how unwise that word is and how senseless it is to be loyal.

It’s like drowning in the middle of the blue ocean, helplessly.

Or even falling into a black hole.

So maybe now you understand why the strongest ones end up leaving the ones they love, and why the weak ones end up leaving the ones that love them.

Maybe now you understand why being Loyal takes from you everything, and leaves you with nothing…

If only we were birds...

“What does Loyalty mean?”

Loyalty isn’t just being faithful to the one you love or remaining firm in your beliefs in the one you love or being honest with the one you love or even being completely devoted to that one, and only one; whoever that “one” might be.

Loyalty is much deeper than all of that.

Loyalty is coming back home after a long burned-out day, Loyalty is giving deeply and everything you have – blindly; yet, receiving so little.

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Poetry

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Positive Aspects My Life is Beautiful

Valentyna Skulinets, Basic Level Ukraine I thank you God for the wonderful life that he gave me. I can enjoy life. I have a wonderful family. We love God. Also, God created a beautiful nature, and we also enjoy it.

A wonderful life is very important for me. It is for me as an air without which we cannot live. I thank god for my life because it is beautiful.

Positive Aspects of My Life Third Place Prizewinner Dina Valko, Level III Russia

How much does it take to be a happy person? How many people actually consider themselves happy? What makes our lives joyful, bright, and positive; thus, what makes us happy? Many people ask themselves those questions every day. Some people find answers while many do not. I was fortunate enough to find answers to all of those questions. My family, freedom, and welfare are aspects that make my life delightful, bright, and full.

My family is the most positive aspect in my life. Having a family is the biggest blessing and the hardest labor at the same time. It takes a lot of mental effort to be a wife and a mother. I am a very strong person, so sometimes it is difficult to postpone my own interests. However, I strongly believe that compromising is one of the important keys to strong relationships. Sometimes, it gets overwhelming because just realizing that someone’s life depends on me and my decisions makes me anxious. From time to time, I straggle to cope with everything, but at the end it is worth all the effort. I feel that my life would be empty and meaningless without my husband and my children. The moments we spend together are priceless. It is great to feel loved and needed. Sometimes it takes a lot to be a good wife and a mother, but I would not trade it for anything in the world.

free. What is even worse is that a lot of people choose to be captive. Freedom is one of the greatest commodities in the life. Freedom gives us wings, so we can fly, dream, be inspired, and be creative. A lot of people do not really realize how lucky they are simply because they have freedom to become anyone they could ever imagine; they have an abilities and rights to express themselves in any possible way. I value freedom that much because where I came from freedom is a luxury. Thus, only brave and strong-minded individuals can afford to be free. Many people voluntarily choose to fasten themselves, gave up their dreams for a quiet, unnoticeable, and conformable life. For that reason, when I was living in Russia, I felt as if I was tightened down with ropes. At that time, I could not understand what bothered me. Later, when I moved to the United States, I figured out that I was suffocating because of the lack of freedom. I am very grateful that I have an opportunity to be a free person.

Another positive aspect of my life is welfare. I am very grateful for all I have: for a house, where I live comfortable with my family; for food and clean water that we have access to; for job opportunities, so we can earn enough money to support our family. When I was a child and the USSR collapsed, I remember how my parents struggled to provide essentials like food and winter clothes for me and my sister. There simply were no jobs anywhere in the country, but the cost of living was extremely high. My family, along with millions of others, was desperate and abandoned by the government. I am the most grateful that I have access to medical care. Being healthy, I never thought that it was that important. When my daughter was only four months old, she was diagnosed with a lifethreatening disease. Only because we have access to one of the world’s best medical care, now my daughter is not only alive but also thriving. Where I come from, in order to save their child, people have to sell everything they have, raise money, ask for donations, and very often give up everything they love and travel to other countries to get the necessary medical care. Though we work very hard for everything we have, gladly we have decent healthcare, safety, and other aspects of a sufficient lifestyle.

In conclusion, without my family my life would be meaningless and empty; freedom keeps me alive and cheerful; because of life circumstances I am able to live comfortably.

Those aspects make my life complete. I consider myself a very happy person. Is it always easy to be happy? Although I must admit that I am a lucky person, because all the opportunities I have gotten during my life, it is not always easy to be happy. Sometimes it takes a lot of effort and strength to be or become a happy person. My key to happiness is appreciating everything you have, working hard work, and catching all opportunities that life gives me.

Another positive aspect of my life is freedom. By freedom, I mean rights, opportunities, and the ability to be or become anyone. Unfortunately, not everyone has the luxury to be 50

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dogs. People are misled by pet stores and breeders that purebreds are a better choice.

Research shows that mixed-breed dogs are better in health and have longer lives.

Some people might say there are already enough rules and regulations about shelters killing dogs and dog breeding. This point may be true. However, people who breed dogs profit at the dogs’ expense. People need to know that most breeders are not responsible.

It is extremely important to limit the breeding of dogs to give all dogs an equal chance to have good lives.

Opinion

In conclusion, humans should think and take more action to solve the many issues with the out-of-control dog population. All dogs have rights, just like humans, and deserve long and happy lives. Without a doubt, stronger laws about dog breeding will help to stop the negative business cycle and the unfair treatment of killing dogs at shelters.

Dogs Need Our Help Naomi Ulmenstine Japan

Right now, close to 90 million dogs live in households in the United States as pets.

Humans and dogs have been living together as far back as 13,000 years. We have helped each other for many years. For example, dogs help humans with hunting and home protection while humans feed and take care of them. The relationship between humans and dogs has been developed to give and take. However, humans should be more concerned and active about the overpopulation of dogs right now.

First of all, people need to think seriously about dog shelters. In the U.S. every year, just over 1 million dogs are put down at shelters. Do they need to be killed? Many people drop them off at shelters for selfish reasons. For instance, if dog owners are moving, their landlord doesn’t allow pets, or if a dog barks too much, they might take them to shelters.

Also, people should think about an animal’s rights. Dogs feel pain, kindness, and love, just like humans. Stronger laws and regulations are needed for dog shelters and their patrons.

The federal government or state governments should check and record the names of people who drop dogs off at shelters. A person who dropped a dog off for a selfish reason could do it again with their next dog. People shouldn’t be allowed to “dump” dogs at shelters so easily.

Second, the federal government should check dog breeders more strictly. Besides good breeders, there are many bad and illegal breeders in the United States. Bad breeders have rough environments. For example, dogs are kept in small cages all day due to breeders not wanting to give more space for the dogs. Also, some breeders don’t give enough food, take them for walks, or even play with them. In addition, the female breeding dogs are often treated the worst. The female dogs’ health is always terrible because they are badly nourished or develop skin diseases due to repetitive pregnancies. They are also stressed greatly with separation anxiety from their puppies being taken away so many times.

Finally, people should research and understand how to get a dog. People do not need to get a young puppy. They should go to a shelter to get a dog to stop the current business cycle, which will help with the overpopulation of dogs. Also, people do not need purebred 52

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