Congratulations to everyone who entered and wrote such wonderful wintery pieces! Please enjoy some of our favorites below!
First place: Anika Olesen – Grafe 9
When we were younger, outside the window was a white blanket of snow. Petals of the white blanket gracefully floated from the sky and melted into the ground. Off of the roofs, ice grew into long clear carrots. And even though we were scared they would fall on us, we stared amazed at the glow they beamed below. But now, we can’t find the joy we found back then. As the wind rattles outside your windows, the trees fall, and the rain floods the world around us, we are older. Will we ever find our younger selves again?
Second place: Dia Wang – Grade 10
“Just wanted to drop by…” I said, hands holding a sunny bouquet of chrysanthemums. A chilly breeze pushed me further through the doorway, carrying a flurry of snow onto Laylee’s hardwood floor.
“Come on in then.”
Laylee had been alone since the day I first saw her. Her bright red hair flared silently amidst a blizzard. Her solitude had branded her the title “Witch Upon The Hill,” never seeming to fade, even with passing time. It was fair in some sense; I was entranced when I first met her, but nowadays, she feels the same as anyone else, just sadder.
Third place: Silvia Hentemenn – Grade 9
Ever since I was little, my family would always pick out one new ornament per year. We walk around Concord center–eyes peering into shops–with hot chocolate in our gloved hands. We are bundled up in warm coats with colorful lights reflecting themselves onto our skin. The whole town always feels like something out of a hallmark movie, something almost too good to be true. Once we’ve made several rounds around the various shops– inspecting the ornaments they have to offer us– my brother and I would go back and choose our one ornament. Our one ornament of the season which by proxy had to be the best ornament. Concord could only offer us their best ornaments because nothing else would do.
My brother would always choose something blue and delicate like some of the handmade glass ornaments that some shops had. But, while I loved delicate ornaments I would always choose something with more meaning. Not when I was little of course, these ornaments were often sparkly and pink, but once I was older I began to choose things with meaning. Like a little black cat that reminded me of my little black cat I love so dearly. Or, the little olaf from Frozen which my mother and I would watch on the daily. This has always been my favorite tradition, and maybe it started just to limit Andrew and I from buying hundreds of ornaments. But, now it’s a treasured memory of mine. Something that I have to look forward to each year, something precious of my choosing.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Victoria Jiang – Grade 12
I saw the train turn into a tiny dot in the distance as the snow bit my cheeks with its coldness. On the train was my whole family – all from New York. I tried to savor the final glimpse of the train’s back, as a nostalgic part of me knew I would think back to this moment often. For me, winter break is solace, solace which I find in family. It is paprika soups and the crackle of the stove when my grandmother is cooking. I only see them around Christmas time because of the distance. So, I stay on the platform, watching.
Sarah Kiefer – Grade 12
It hasn’t snowed anywhere in 70 years. They knew it would happen; the snow started falling less and less. They didn’t care enough to stop it then, so now it’s just lost to generations past. Every Christmas Eve, we sit down for dinner, and Grandma tells us stories about the magical snow days becoming fewer and fewer. I close my eyes and see myself building a snowman like the one Grandma describes. I’d like to imagine the snow isn’t gone for good; the clouds are just saving up. And so, I’ll see my white Christmas one holiday season.
Awards will be given out after winter break to the winners! Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter!
