16190_hackley

and on the ice. Our coach, Lexie was very strict. She threatened to kick you out of practice if you
talked out of turn. She made us repeat the moves over and over again until it was perfect.

We were skating to the music from High School Musical. Our routine involved many
complicated elements including: a wheel, a block, a pyramid, and a circle formation. The hardest
part about synchronized skating is to skate at the same fast pace as everyone else, while
remaining perfectly in sync when you are doing complicated moves. It requires precise counting,
balance, strength, power, agility, and expression. It is difficult to do all this while smiling at the
judges and audience. We spent hours practicing our routine.

When we returned from boot camp, we continued to practice once or twice a week
throughout the fall season. Practices were three hours long and they were exhausting. I would
come off the ice, my fingers frozen, my thighs burning, and my arms aching. It is hard to keep
your arms perfectly straight, with constant grabbing and releasing your teammates while twirling
on your skates. There were lots of falls and collisions and a few tears, but after months of
practice, things finally started to come together.

After four months of hard work, we went to Boston for our first competition of the year.
Even though we were very nervous, we skated really well. I think we had good extensions,
excellent shapes, and perfectly straight arms. When we heard that we won second place, we were
really excited because my team last year did not do as well. We were so ecstatic that my team
member, Natalia, even cried. These were tears of joy. Our hard work paid off. A couple of weeks
later we had our second competition.

It was a cold December day. It was very chilly and chaotic inside the skating arena. The
stands were packed with spectators. Many ice skaters were milling around in their costumes. It

smelled like hot dogs and french fries from the concession stands. My ice skating team was
competing at 2018 Terry Conners Synchro Open. We were very nervous and excited as we
stepped onto the ice. Everything was going well until Molly had a catastrophic fall. When Carlie
tried to avoid crashing into Molly, she fell too. It took her a really long time to get back into
position after she fell. Our confidence wavered, but we tried to finish the program as best as we
could. We tried to smile larger and pretend the falls did not happen. On the inside, we were
crushed. We managed to complete the program, though.

After we got off the ice, Coach Lexie did not give us her usual big smile.
She said, “You guys did okay, but you need to learn from your mistakes. You need to
learn how to get up when you fall down. Molly, everyone falls down. It’s not your fault. There’s
no need to cry.”
Molly still could not stop crying. We had been working on this for four months and we
really wanted to do well. After this tragic fall, my team was very emotional. We tried to comfort
Molly as best as we could. Afterward, we watched the older teams skate. They were beautiful
and powerful; something to strive for.
A few weeks later, we had to skate in another competition. When I walked in I was very
late, so I had to rush around looking for the right locker room. Once I got there, almost everyone
was in their dresses. I put my dress on and hastily applied my makeup. Once I was ready, we
lined up to get onto the ice and we were really nervous. We were afraid that one of us was going
to fall again. Our performance was perfect! Luckily, we did not have a fall like last time. We
were really proud of our performance. We improved a lot from the last competition and won
second place!

After the competition, we went to Elm Street Diner to celebrate. We ordered these
enormous milkshakes with our meal. We spent a lot of time telling jokes and reminiscing about
the season thus far. We giggled about the time Carly was rocking in her chair and accidentally
fell in a restaurant. My stomach hurt from the milkshake and from laughing so much.

This experience taught me never to give up, even though you fall down. It taught me that
hard work pays off. It taught me how to be a supportive teammate, and it taught me how to
overcome disappointment.

Spencer Flaxman

“My Lity Vacation”

Have you ever been on a cruise to the Galapagos Islands? The Galapagos Islands are a

bunch of islands outside of South America. They are a part of a country called Ecuador. It is the

most beautiful place I have ever been. I left during my winter break in December of 2016. In

Ecuador, it is mostly hot, humid, and rainy.

We were at Laguardia Airport and it was very busy. It was bigger than a big herd of dogs.

Now, my mom, my dad, my sister Natalie, my grandma and I were ready to take off on an eight

hour flight all the way to Ecuador! When I got onto the plane and I saw my bed, I knew it was

going to be just as comfortable as my bed at home. For the first two hours of the plane ride, I

watched some TV on Netflix and started watching a movie. Then, I fell asleep for about another

two hours. When I woke up, I got really, really bored...but something good happened. They were

serving breakfast! So, I ate pancakes, waffles, and a bacon egg and cheese. (By the way, I eat a

lot of food!)

Now, there was about an hour left until I got there, and I was really, really bored, so I just

went back to sleep. When the plane landed, I was still sleeping, and so my dad had to wake me

up. When I looked out the window, I saw that I was in Ecuador, and I was thrilled!!

When we went outside of the airport, it was really hot. It was 98 degrees Fahrenheit! To

get to the Galapagos, we had to take another plane, but it only took about two hours. When we

went outside of the airport to go to the connecting plane, it was really windy. When I saw the

plane, I was shocked. It was the smallest plane I had ever seen. It could take only about 12

passengers at a time, and we had five! When I got on the plane and I sat down on my seat, it was

very, very uncomfortable. Everything and everyone was just squished together...and that is the

only thing I hate about plane rides, except how high planes fly in the air. The whole plane ride
was terrible. The whole time, I was uncomfortable, couldn’t fall asleep, and my ears were
popping about the whole entire time. When we finally got there, I felt a little better.

Then we were waiting for a cab to pick us up to go to the dock where the ship was. When
the taxi came to pick us up, it looked very different. It was covered with all different colors. It
was kind of cool, though. We got in and went to the dock, but there was a problem. The driver
went the wrong way. Since my dad is good with directions, he went on maps and found the right
way to go. Since our driver went the wrong way, we had just made our cruise ship in time called
“Eclipse.”

When we got there, all we saw were small rubber boats going back and forth through the
water. Then, it was finally our turn! When we got on the rubber boat, my sister and I made some
friends. One kid that we met was older, but he was very nice, and there were also two twin boys
that were my age. There were also other older kids there, but they were not as friendly. When we
saw the cruise, it was pretty big. When we went inside, we almost got lost the second we even
got in! There was a game room, a hot tub, a movie room, and one big outdoor lounge area.

But, it was dinner time, so, we ate steak and fish. After we ate dinner, we were bored so
we went into the movie room and we watched the Lego movie. When the movie was over, it was
10:30pm! It was time to go to bed. It was hard for me to fall asleep, but I finally fell asleep at
about 11:15pm, and I was ready to go to the first island when I woke up! That would be day one
of exploring the Galapagos Islands!!

I woke up just waiting to see where I was, but the first thing that I heard was my mom
saying:

“Wake up... it’s time to have fun!”
When I looked out of my window, I saw it. A beautiful island named Rabida just waiting to be
walked on. I was so excited! I was so excited that I went to breakfast by myself. For breakfast, I
only ate eggs because I could not wait to go explore. We all went outside to go onto the mini
rubber boat and off we went.

On the first island, we went snorkeling, I took pictures with my underwater camera, and I
saw turtles, fish, sharks, and so many other creatures. After that, we went back on the land and
took a big fat hike. We walked 6 miles! It was very fun. After that hike we got very tired,
especially Natalie. She was very tired. When we went back, we had dinner and went to bed very
early, and before I knew it, it was day two and we were going to our second island.

It was day two, one of the best vacations of my life so far. That day our plan was to go to
the island called Isabela, to learn about land animals on one of the islands. First, we went to
breakfast, and this time, I had a very big breakfast. I had pancakes, eggs, cereal, and a sausage,
and I ate all of it! After breakfast, we went back to the rubber boat and we headed to our second
island; it was a very quick ride. When we got there, we first got to go swimming in the light blue
water. That was really cool. Later on, we saw a lot of snakes, lizards, and blue and red footed
bobbies. And then, we got to go snorkeling again! We all got back just ready to go to sleep
because we were all so tired. We went for a quick dinner, and we went right to bed.

The next day was the best day of the trip, but, it was very different, yet still fun. We were
going to an island that people lived on. It was called Santa Cruz. We were very excited! Natalie
and I hopped out of bed very quickly and enthusiastically just to get ready to go to the last island,
but our parents were still sleeping, so we woke them up and we headed for breakfast.

I had another big breakfast. I had pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, and a sausage. After
breakfast, we put on our sunscreen and we went out on the small boat. Everyone was very happy
to go to Santa Cruz for the whole day. The small boat driver got on the boat and off we went to
Santa Cruz.

Right then we are at Santa Cruz and this was an even bigger island than we thought. It
was just so big. We did not even know what to explore first, but we did end up having lunch. I
had a lobster roll, my mom ate a salad, my sister ate a grilled cheese, and my dad had a
cheeseburger. After that, we checked out the water. The water was so blue and it was just
absolutely beautiful. After that we went shopping; we bought cool clothes and we also got a lot
of bracelets. We were just having the time of our lives, but before we knew it, we had to go back,
and we were also very sad because it was time to go home the next day.

When we got back onto the cruise, we packed our stuff and then we went to bed. The
next morning we were already near the land, so when we got on land we saw the coolest thing
I've ever seen!. We saw a big otter laying down on a bench. It was the coolest thing I've ever
seen in my whole life at that moment.

We went back in an taxi cab and we headed off to the airport. Funny thing is that on the
plane, I did not do much. I really just slept and watched a lot of TV. I was really tired. I needed
to be home. It was like I was home sick, but after a very long plane ride, we finally got back to
the JFK airport. Then we got into an Uber and went home. When we got home, it was 9am, but I
did not care and I fell asleep for the rest of the day.

This memory was so important to me because it was my first time out of the country and
my first time on a cruise. I have learned about animals that I did not know about before and I had

a lot of responsibility during this vacation. I think I have grown a little more mentally. I say that
because I saw animals that were much more calm and peaceful. This memory really impacted my
life. The experience that I had just made me want to do a lot more research on where I was and
what exactly was really there. Overall, I just had the best experience of my life so far, and I
always wonder, ​what will be my next one?

​ ​Christopher Flores “Scary Thrills and the Kingda Ka”

The warm August air breezed my face as I walked into Great Adventure not knowing

why I was there.

“Why are we here?” I asked my mom.

“It’s a surprise,” said my mom in an excited tone.

We were at Great Adventure, a Six Flags park in Jackson, NJ, home to the Kingda Ka-the

tallest roller coaster on Earth, and El Toro one of the scariest wooden roller coasters on Earth.

What makes El Toro so scary is that it has a very tall drop and the tracks are very rickety. Great

Adventure is home to all sorts of rides: metal, wood, tall, short, bumpy, long, smooth, loopy, and

rickety.

My mom surprised me, so I wouldn’t know why we were there.

When we got there, there was a long line to get into the park.

“Ugh,” I said, “we have to stand in the long line.”

“Or not,” says my little brother, Patrick.

“What?” I said confusedly.

“Christopher, go to the front of the line,” said my mom.

“Okay?” I said in a puzzled way.

When I went to the front of the line, I saw my cousins Catherine and Matthew, and my

Aunt Ronnie and Uncle Rolly.

“What are you guys doing here?” I asked.

“Here to ride roller coasters of course, ” said Matthew.

“And we’re going to go to your house after!” said Uncle Rolly, excitedly.
“Cool!” I said.
“Good thing we’re at the front of the line,” said Matthew. “We’ll be the first people into
the park.
“Let’s go to the Nitro,” I said.
“Catherine and Matthew want to ride the Kingda Ka,” said my mom.
As the park opened, I felt a pang of excitement rush through my body.
“Ok , we have to go straight to the Kingda Ka so that we can be first in line,” said Uncle
Rolly.
As we walked to the Kingda Ka, I felt a mix of joy and excitement. When we get there,
the glistening bamboo reflected the sun, annoying my eyes.
“Ugh,” I said, “the ride isn’t even open yet; we have to wait.”
“It’s O.K. we’ll just have to wait it out,” said Uncle Rolly.
“Are you guys excited?” I asked.
“Of course!” said Catherine, “this is a once-in- a-lifetime opportunity. Don’t chicken out
now!”
“I’m not going to chicken out!” I said.
“Look, people are getting on!” said Matthew.
“ ‘Bout time!” said Matthew.
When I realized what was happening, I thought to myself, h​ow did I get myself into this​?
When we turned the corner, there were the metal poles and chains for keeping people in line.
“Wow! The line gets this long!” I say in amazement.

“ Guess so,” said my mom.
“If you were in that line, you would be stuck there for 2-3 hours on end,” I said ,“who
would stand in that line?”
“Good thing we got here quickly!” said Matthew.
“Well... it is the Kingda Ka,” said Catherine.
“Wouldn’t it be cool if it was also the fastest?” asked Matthew.
“ It's only 21 mph, slower than the fastest roller coaster,” I said.
“The fastest is in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, isn’t it?” asked Catherine.
“Yes, it’s called Formula Rossa, and it goes 149 mph. Pretty cool, right” I said.
“So close, but yet so far,” said Matthew.
“Pretty much,” I said.
We waited in line for 5-10 minutes while the crew set up the last adjustments.
“Good, it’s not a long line,” I said.
When the crew opened the gates, my mom said, “We are going to be on the first train of
the day!”
“Awesome!” I said enthusiastically.
We walked forward towards the train that was ready. We found our seats in the middle. If
you sit in the back, the train pulls you forwards. If you sit in the front, the rest of the train pulls
you forwards. We waited for the crew to come and tighten our seats. The crew checked and
tightened our seats and we were ready to go. The train moseyed along and stopped at the
“Slingshot of doom” (that’s what I called it). On the side there was a sign that read:

ATTENTION RIDERS
On occasion

Kingda Ka’s train
Will not travel over the hill

This is a
Normal occurrence.
The train is designed
To safely roll back

And reset to be
Launched again
The last part panged inside my head, and I tried not to think about it.
My mom was saying her usual, “Who got me onto this?” in a joking sort of way.
We waited ten seconds, then a mechanical recording said “Get ready, get set,​ G​ O!”
We were shot down the runway 128 miles at the g-force level of five. We went up
and up and up 456 ft into the air to the top. I was a bird in the air. I could see
NYC and Philadelphia from the top. I waited for it, then it came. The 456 foot
drop spiraling down and over the hill to slow us down.
We got off and went into a store to look for a T-shirt of the Kingda Ka. I
was so dizzy that I could barely walk.
This memory was important because I found a true talent that not
everybody would do. I learned from this experience not to give up. I was asked
many times if I was ready for it. I was also debating it myself if I should get on or

not. From this experience, I learned that it won’t hurt me if I try something new. It
impacted my life because I can say that I conquered the tallest roller coaster on
EARTH! And most people say that it is really cool that I did that!

Ashley Hollingsworth
“The Castle”

As the plane took off, I was nervous but excited. I had butterflies in my stomach as the
other planes got farther and farther away.

“We are headed to Florida, girls!” my mom said, excitedly.
“Yes!” my sister and I said with a smile. It was 2014. I looked out the window while
watching a play about the Disney Junior show. I watched while I held my two dolls, Tiana and
Princess the dog, close to my chest, as I imagined what will happen next. The plane ride was
exciting, but it wasn’t as fun as when we landed. I felt the hot Florida sun on my back as we
walked out the airport. We took a bus to our Disney resort.
As we got closer, I saw the Art of Animation sign. We walked through the door and I was
amazed at how big it was. A kind lady greeted us and gave us pins that said,“1st Visit”. We
walked past many white walls and doors until we reached ours. We walked in the room, and my
sister and I screamed. It was an Ariel-themed room. We toured the room excitedly. We then ate
pancakes and sausages for breakfast.
After breakfast we took a bus to Hollywood Studios. We took pictures with Disney
characters, like Mickey Mouse, and they signed in our books. We went on many fun rides, like
the Toy Story ride.We walked around some more until we saw Darth Vader. He was on stage
trying to fight Luke Skywalker. We watched him for 10 minutes and then we left. That evening
we saw fireworks and a show on water near the Hollywood Tower Hotel.
The first day at Disney was so much fun! The second day we dressed like princesses. My
sister and I got the whole princess treatment. My mom painted our nails and did our hair. When

we were ready, we put on our princess dresses and we took a bus from our hotel to the Magic
Kingdom. We walked through what looked like a town in Louisiana, until we reached
Cinderella’s castle. It was big and looked just like the movie. When we got closer, my parents
asked if we were ready for breakfast. When we walked into the castle, we saw Cinderella taking
pictures. When we got upstairs, I saw all the princesses and it smelled delicious. We took
pictures with the princesses and ate delicious pastries. When I saw Sleeping Beauty across the
room, I almost ran all the way to her. I felt like exploding dynamite when I took pictures with
her!

After breakfast we went on more rides, like Tomorrowland, where we drove super fast
cars. I went with my dad and raced my sister. As we finished, my mom and sister were happy
because they beat us. Then we spun tea cups until we felt sick. Through a small wooden hole we
saw the Seven Dwarf rides being built. The day was eventually over, but there was another place
that we went to-Animal Kingdom. This is where we saw elephants, zebras, giraffes, flamingos
and ostriches. We went on a fun ride called Dino Rama that spun and went up and down. We
also went to an arcade and played air hockey.

When we got back to the hotel, we got ice cream, and that's when they broke the news.
“We are leaving today,” my parents said. My sister and I started to cry. Before we left,
we went to the gift shop. I got a Minnie Mouse stuffed animal and my sister got three Little
Mermaid dolls. At the airport, I had my doll close, while my mom went to get Starbucks.
“Are you guys hungry?”my dad asked.
“Yes,” my sister and I said.

When my mom got back, my dad and I went to get a snack. We walked across the tiled
floors until we reached a Burger King. We got chicken and french fries. We waited a little while
longer, sitting on the soft cushion seats. Finally, our plane was here. The sun had set and it was
dark and the plane was quiet. I had mixed emotions. I wanted to stay in Florida, but I wanted to
go home and see my family, too. I wanted to close my eyes, but I didn’t want to miss a moment
of the flight. I fell asleep and dreamt about my favorite place we went to while on this trip-
Epcot. We saw all the Mickey Mouse characters. Their fury hands on my back made me sweat
even more. We had walked into a lunch room with big hot air balloons on the ceiling. I ate the
cinnamon bun and then my mom and I went on a ride called Soarin. I faced my fear of heights on
this ride. After that went to an aquarium where we talked to Mr. Ray “Finding Nemo” in his
lagoon. A shark ate my sister and I while my dad took pictures. We saw colorful fish in the tank.

Before we left, I looked back at the big golf ball as we got on the bus. We drove back to
our hotel where we took more pictures. By our hotel, there was a treasure chest we went digging
through. We had dinner at Belle's palace. It was fancy, and the food was delicious.

“Wake up,” my mom said, “we are almost at the airport.”
“Okay!” I said with a smile. When we got back, my uncle picked us up and took us back
home. I thought about how long it took for us to get seated at Mickey's Restaurant in Epcot.
When we got home, I could still smell the cinnamon buns we had for a snack. I could still
taste the sweet pink cotton candy we shared. I couldn’t wait to go back to Disney World and see
the big Cinderella castle and see all the princesses and eat delicious breakfasts.
This vacation got me closer to my parents and my sister, and it was so much fun. I will
always remember my first time there and how much my parents did and gave us for the trip. This

vaction also made me want to bake because we at a lot of delicious sweets. I will always
remember the feeling of walking in the hot Florida sun all day and then feeling the cool rain on
my arms. I will never forget jumping in the pool to cool down after being in the hot sun all day. I
learned I could do anything I put my mind to if I try, and that is a really important lesson!

Kalin G. Huang

“The Struggle to Improve”

It was 2017 and it was winter. I was looking down, not only my fear, but my brother
cutting into the ice with good movement. He was slick, and every turn he got closer to finishing
the steep icy trail, or if I would call it the “Dark Path”. I had heard stories of people slipping and
hitting trees on this trail, and the result wasn’t good of course. I did have a chance, but I just
refused. All my friends had gone down and it started to get colder and colder as I just sat and
stared. My face was covered in sweat and I felt a huge weight on my shoulders. All these
thoughts kept coming and going and then something clicked…Suddenly, I realized I was going
straight down the trail. The wind was so strong, it got through my goggles and blinded me. I tried
to slow down, but the ice was hard to carve on, and I knew if I kept going straight, I would slam
into a tree! Let’s stop now. You are probably wondering how this happened, and by the way, I
am skiing down one of the hardest trails on my mountain, going at least 46 miles per hour, and I
can’t turn!

Now let’s get back to telling how this all started. It was a normal day. I had just woken up
and my parents had told me to start putting on my ski clothes. I had slipped on my pants and shirt
and started to go downstairs when I realized I had forgotten to put on my socks, so I quickly ran
upstairs and put them on.

I had just finished putting on my socks when my mom called to me again, telling me to
go downstairs for breakfast. Half way down the stairs, I stopped to smell the pungent omelet that
my mom had prepared. I could also hear that the juicy bacon was finished because of all the
sizzling; my mouth started to water! When I finally got downstairs, I saw my brother waiting

impatiently. His eyes looked red like he had been waiting to do something all night. My dad was
on the couch checking emails. When my mom had realized I had come down from upstairs, she
seemed to cheer up.

We started to eat. All the flavors blended so well in the omlet. I started to dream of me
being the best chef in the world and making dishes for famous people, like a president ,or
cooking all kinds of things that were different from other people’s dishes.

Then suddenly, I was interrupted by my dad’s booming voice.
He said, “Go upstairs and put on the rest of your gear, or you will be late for training.”
My brother and I glanced at each other and started to climb the stairs.
I started to imagine again my brother and I climbing the tallest peaks, hanging on with all
our might on a single rope, and when we get to the top, we will see the sun setting. It would be
beautiful. But then again, my brother interrupted me and told me to hurry up and get to our room
and get changed. I rushed up the stairs to find my brother half way done changing.
I started putting on my back protector and snow pants when my brother yelled, “Finished
changing!” and went downstairs.
It felt lonely, those few minutes. I could hear the clock go ​tick-tock​ over and over again. I
started to dream that I was lost in space with a leak in my spaceship. I was losing oxygen per
second! I did the last few things I could do... contact Earth for help and look for the leak. Then
suddenly, I tripped over my bed and realized what time it was. I was a half hour late. I rushed
downstairs to find everyone gone. I started to ask myself, ​Did they leave me or did they just wait
outside?​ Finally, I put on my boots and went outside. They were there waiting for me. I ran back
inside, put on my jacket, and then ran back to the car.

The moment I sat down, my brother asked me, “What took you so long?”
The next thing to happen was us stopping to stare at a car in a ditch on the side of the
road. The person was ok, but did not look happy. We decided to drive on slowly.
As we reached the mountain, I started to get out. My dad passed me my bag and skiis. I
started to run up to the lodge. When I finished putting on my ski boots, I saw my brother leaving
the door. I panicked because by now, I was an hour late to my training.
When I finally got on the lift, I was an hour and ten minutes late. When I got to the top, I
saw my team about to go down a trail, so I frantically scated to them.
But then I froze- they were going down “The Dark Path.” Now is the moment where I
went down on the Dark Path, and was about to hit a tree. I focused all my strength and made the
turn to avoid the tree, luckily.
As I went to the bottom, I felt a feeling I never felt before, like I had done something
amazing. And because of that moment, I always want to break my fear and feel that way. Today,
I always go down that trail without fear, and man it is fun!
This memory is very important to me because it taught me to get out of my comfort zone
and try something new. I now feel much more confident, and this year, I actually went to an even
harder mountain and did every trail super fast, including the hard ones.
After each skiing season, there is always one thing I think. I​ can’t wait for the next one!

Zena Hume
“My First Ivy League”

“Why does Zara get to go to a brand new school and I don't?”
“Because.”
I wanted to go to a new school for a long time. I went to my previous school for
four years (Pre-K 3, Pre-K 4, Kindergarten and first grade). At the end of Kindergarten,
my best friend moved away. Then I started to dislike the school because I also had a
bully. I ended up having a new friend, but he did not talk to me often.
I wanted to leave school, so I asked my mom. She did not think much about it at
first, but then I asked more and more and we went through some schools and thought of
Hackley as an option. I said it looked nice and went on to looking at more. Then I saw
Rye Country Day and said it was okay, but I thought Hackley looked better because there
were more people who looked like me who attended the school.
Then my mom remembered that my brother and sister tried to take the test but
never got in.
“Why does Zara get to go to a new school and I don't?” Zara, who is my sister,
changed schools and went to the Harvey school.
“Because it’s a hard school to get into,” Mom responded, but I still wanted to try.
I would take a test, called the ISEE, and take tours of the school. I would then wait for
months to get the results and I could not tell my friends until the end of the year if I got
accepted, but could tell my teacher. I even told every teacher that I applied to Hackley. I
was so excited! I wanted to tell everyone I knew, but I couldn't.

One day my classmate overheard and told everyone.
She bumped into my conversation with my teacher asking, “Your moving
schools? Where are you going to move to?”
“I'm going to Hackley,” I replied.
She was actually kind of like my bully. I did not care for her; she pushed me and
called me names, but knowing I was going away from her was a great feeling.
Then she said, “I'm going to Hackley too!”
I was so mad! I believed her for a little, until it came for me to take the test. I went
to the library at Hackley where I met Ashley. Ashley, who is now my BFF, was just like
me, and we got along quickly. Then my now friend William came and he was also nice.
We all went into the computer room where we took the test. We were in the room for two
hours or more. I heard kids crying saying they were scared to take the test. I started to
get scared then. I thought I was going to fail the test and never get into Hackley.
A couple of weeks later, we all took tours around Hackley. We spent a full day at
Hackley. We went to the Lower School, the Middle School, and the gym. Then we went
into different classes to see what it would be like to be a Hackley student. I wanted to get
in so badly. I never before had the chance to go to a new school. Getting into Hackley
would be my first new school. I was so excited to get my results.
It was a summer morning and my mom was in Jamaica. She called me to say that
she had something important to tell me. She asked me what I wanted the most, and I told
her it was to get into Hackley.
Then, she said, “Congrats... because you did!”

I was ecstatic! I screamed so loudly that I woke up my grandma and my
neighbors. I told all of my teachers I got accepted and they were so happy for me, but my
bully said that she also got in the school, too. This time, I told my teachers she was lying
and said I never saw her taking the test. They emailed her mom to confirm, and her mom
said she did not take the test.

Shortly after the results came out, we got a Hackley pillow in the mail. I waited
for the mailman every day looking to see when the pillow would come in. I now wanted
to know what class I would be in.

I was placed in class 2D. When I got to my new school, I saw William and
Ashley. That is when I also met Martha. She was nice and funny and we got along
quickly. All of these people were my first friends at Hackley, and I am really glad I met
them all. I remember reading ​Harry Potter​ read alouds and talking about Hermione,
Granger, Harry Potter, Dumbledore, Ron Weasley, Cerberus, and Professor Severus
Snape on the rug in our classroom.

These are some of my fondest memories at Hackley, and I really miss being in
second grade because it was one of the years where I made some of my best friends and
loved the teachers. My friends have brought me happiness and memories for years to
come, and I am happy that I made the decision to come to Hackley. Hackley has made
me such a better person and the people here inspire me everyday. I love this place and the
people here. I’m still really good friends with all of them, and I talk to them everyday.
This is a special “thank you” for all the great memories, guys!

 

Ben Iaderosa
“A Crazy Italian Summer”

Have you ever had your family come from another country? Oh, and they don’t speak
any English?

It all started on a simple June day. I was relaxing on the couch watching TV and then I
realized, “Oh my Gosh, my family is coming from Italy!” I said in excitement.

I ran to my mom and asked her if we were going to have a fancy dinner when they came.
She said, “No, we are going to make signs and go to the airport.”
We had a lot of fun making signs, and after at around five o’clock, we got into the car. I
was in the car with my grandma who is also from Italy, but has stayed with us ever since she
came from Italy for my sister’s communion.
We drove, and drove, and drove until we finally got to the airport. I couldn't wait to see my
cousins, my aunt, and my uncle. We waited and waited and when they came through the door,
we heard, C​ hing!​ The door that connected to the pick up area opened and our family came
through.
We hugged and talked and then split up boys in one car and girls in the other. When we
got home, we ate food that they brought from Italy, like mozzarella and frittelli, but when I woke
up next morning it was all very different.
I woke up and five people were also up: me, my dad, my aunt, my cousin Ilaria, and my
grandma. My grandma gave me a hug that lasted ten minutes, the normal lasts three seconds. But
that wasn’t the bad part, and I actually enjoyed the hug. The bad part was that all there was for

breakfast were these weird cookies filled with jelly, and croissants; no eggs, no bacon, toast, and
no waffles.

I whispered to myself, ​Does such a world exist?
Soon, my mom woke up. Oh, great! Sofia (my sister) and Biagio (my cousin) woke up
with stuffed animals in their arms and all the adults started babying them. It was like they had
them under their trance. Ilaria and I were the only ones who didn’t fall in their demon trance.
For my little cousin, Ilaria, who by the way was two years old, I would understand, but she
was doing nothing; it was all Sofia and Biagio. A six and seven year old who were not able to
put on their own shoes seems obscure, right? Finally, my Zio Gio woke up, and as soon as he
woke up, everyone started debating on what to do. I put my stand for the Museum of Natural
History or Comic-Con.
My mom wasn’t so pleased with what I said and said, “It is their first day here and you
want to show them fake animals and giant raisen rock collectors?” and then my sister advised
that we should go to the Bronx Zoo.
I was furious because she knew I hated being next to animals on hot, dry, and sunny days,
because, well... think about it! You’re dry, your eyes are filled with sun, you’re sweaty, and your
nose is filled with the smell of dirt and poop.
But we still went to the zoo. We drove and I even got a good half an hour nap in. When
we got there, we split up and bought two family passes. I asked if we were going to buy the full
pass, but mom said no because we did not need to and that it was very expensive.
After we went on line, I realized my mom bought the full pass, and when I told her, she
gave me a whole lecture on trusting her and that she knew what she was doing. After she realized

I was right, we had to do the line all over again. After all of that, it was surprisingly a lot of fun. I
even got an Icee, but as soon as we got home, I learned that I was going to have to sleep in my
parents’ bedroom.

When I woke up, it was the same pattern as the day before. I spent all day with my little
cousins pretending to be Power Rangers with one and doctors with another. I was starting to get
tired, so I just combined them so we played evil doctor testing on a fighting Power Ranger.
When my sister wanted to play, I offered her to be Biagio's partner, but she didn’t accept the
position; she insisted on having the head doctor position, which would typically be my position.
We argued and argued but out of nowhere, a miracle happened! My two year old cousin who is
Italian, somehow understood what we were saying and screamed at Sofia saying, “B​ en è il
dottore principale,” which meant Ben is the head doctor in Italian. Well, Sofia sure was shocked,
and scared by this.

We ate lunch after that, and guess what it was... yummy, delicious, and green lentil pasta.
It was actually very good, but it got better, because my little cousin Ilaria and I ate the food and
weren’t so picky about it, like Sofia and Biagio. We got to leave the table early and got to play as
Sofia and Biagio cried. Sooner or later, our parents agreed for them to not eat it.

That afternoon, my friend’s aunt came from Italy and now my uncle would sleep on the
couch, in the living room, where the TV was. So now on top of everything, I couldn’t watch TV
in the morning or the next two weeks. It was the exact same pattern, and we mainly hung out at
the pool. I also had a lot of swim meets that my family came to.

The week later we went to Splish Splash which was so much fun! We got to hang out and
we had a great time.The next day we went to Boston, and we had the time of our lives; we got to

see where the Boston Massacre happened, where they wrote the Declaration of Independence,
and we saw where many famous figures were buried. We also went to my favorite place to eat,
Panera, and saw Harvard University. After that we went to Rode Island, which was also a lot of
fun, but we stayed out of really creepy hotels, and the food was horrible, but the ice cream was
great.

Next was a four hour drive with my cousin, which was a nightmare. My sister was there
too, and at that point, I wish I went in the other car. I was so hot and I had a horrible headache; it
was terrible! When we got home, we just relaxed and chilled that night. We had a sleepover in
one big room, and it was so much fun, until everyone agreed that we should go back to our
normal beds because we all could not sleep.

There was one more week left and it wasn’t so bad, except for that moment when I tried
to connect with Biagio and he threw a stick at my head. The story was: we were playing
lightsabers and I won. I happily got my toy bow and arrow and shot it straight into a can. My
cousin angrily picked up the toy arrow and threw it at my head. I fell down; it felt horrible and I
was in so much pain. It hurt more than when I broke my arm. Angrily, I avoided and ignored my
cousin for the rest of the day, but we eventually made up, you know, after he said sorry.

When it was the last day, I was so sad. We hugged goodbye before they left for the airport,
and at that moment, I realized family is the most important thing. This memory is important to
me because this was the best summer with my family I have ever had. I learned that family is the
most important and that you should always take care of them. I have emotionally grown through
this experience and I will plan to always love my family in the future.

Micah Jones
“I Thought I Was Going To Die”

“Creek!” I was on the train going down to Columbus Circle for basketball practice. I
was on the D train, the fastest one down to 59th street Columbus Circle. I was having a good
day; I got two tests back and both were above a 97%. Because of this, I thought nothing could go
wrong. I was going to basketball practice and was going to play. My dad and I got off the train
shortly after and headed out of the train station.

When we walked out, it started to rain. As we started to walk, we saw J​ azz​ at Lincoln
Center. It’s a mall that is seven stories high. It has fancy shops and has a theatre for jazz bands
and jazz orchestras. It has poster boards with broad lights that I like to look at. I’ve been there
five times before to listen to jazz music.

I asked my dad, “Can I go there again?”
He replied, “Maybe.”
“Ok.”
I stumbled as I was thinking about how basketball would go. “Let’s go then,” I said.
After about five minutes of walking, we got to the gym. I saw my coach and teammates and they
said, "What are up to, Micah?" As they shook my hand, we headed upstairs. While that was
happening, my Dad left.
My coach started handing out balls so we could play. We finished our warm up and then
had a break. Our practice was only two hours long. After that, we did drills and then played five
on five practice games. We played until we had two minutes left. The score was 20 to 18, and my
team was losing. I was still having a lot of fun. F​ ive, four, three, two, one​, and I shot at the last

second and made it! The game was over. We got dressed and went downstairs. The score was 21
to 20.

My dad picked me up and we went to the train station. Down at the 60th street station is
the Underground Market. I love to get donuts from there. I ordered the cereal donut and the
chocolate frosted one. It was delicious. After that, my dad had to refill his MetroCard to get on
the train.

I asked, “Can I refill the card?”
My dad said, ”Yes, of course.”
I did it and then went to the train stop. The train arrived and it was jammed packed, so we
could not get in. We had to wait for about 12 minutes for the next one. It felt like 1 hour.
I asked, “Can we take an Uber?”
“No, it will be too slow.”
I said, “Ok.”
While we waited, I got on my dad's phone and watched Youtube. I love to watch Morgz
or Spencer Flaxman. After that, I played a video game. It felt like forever until the train arrived.
We had to go on the next train, even though it was also jammed packed. We got on, but I
couldn’t get in! I was stuck in the door. I was super scared; my heart was beating as fast as a
cheetah! The train started to move a little bit. It was getting closer to the pole and I could hit it.
All I was thinking was getting inside the train. We moved a little faster and faster, but my dad
pulled me in. I was having a heart attack; I thought I would be stuck outside of the door. I was
trying to regain myself, but it was hard to overcome. After a few stops, I could finally sit down. I
was falling asleep, but my dad kept me awake. I was getting tired after a long school day, and a

tiring basketball practice. After about ten minutes, we got to our train station, and we headed out
to the street.

My dad asked me, “How was your basketball practice?”
I said, “It was ok. I thought we had an exciting scrimmage!”
We were soon home and my mom said, "Hi, how was basketball practice?”
"It was ok."
My mom asked if we were ready for dinner, and I said yes and ate dinner. I then went
upstairs to take a shower. I got out still thinking about the train ride. I brushed my teeth and put
myself to bed.
The next morning I got up and put my clothes on. I went downstairs to relax for a solid
twenty minutes. We soon got into our car to the bus stop. As we were going down, I told my
mom the story when I was on the train. I got on the bus and headed to school. We had a few
classes before English. We had to start drafting our memoir, and I was thinking about the scariest
time of my life that I could remember, which was that moment.
After school, I went to my house and started my first two pages of my memoir. I was
trying to think of a scary story that I could remember, and then I thought about what happened
the day before and knew that could be my story.
I realized that the subways are unreliable, and when there is a crowded train- don’t go on
it, and that I need to stay close to my Dad when we travel. I felt a little bit braver. It’s important
to me because it is a time of “coming of age” when I get braver. It also meant that I can have a
good day but something bad could always happens. I also learned that emotionally, I get very
scared when something bad happens. This was a very hard experience to process.

Ellie Karger

“Peter Pan”
“Cut! That was great guys.”
When I was five years old, I started going to this two-week day camp called KJK. The
building was old, but there was a big shiny room when you walked inside. There were thirty
people introducing themselves in the big room.
“Audition time,” I said.
“You will be great,” said my mom.
“I am a little nervous,” I said.
“It is ok to be a little nervous,” said my mom.
“Ok, bye,” I said.
It was time. I was so scared; I really wanted the part of Tinker Bell. I wanted to be her so
badly when I was five. Then I started singing, and they stopped me in the middle of the song and
said, “That is all we need to hear.”
I didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but there was one more week until I
found out, and three more weeks until my 6th birthday.

(One week later)
I walked into the first day of camp. I was waiting to see what group I was in. I was either
in red, which was the young group, blue, which was the middle group, or green, which was the
older group. I was put into the red group probably because I was the youngest person in the
whole entire camp. My counselors names were Julie and Anthony, and the cool part was that

they were siblings. The funniest person at the camp was Rickey the piano man. He worked with
me a lot.

Then it happened; it was time to get our parts. I really wanted to be Tinker Bell for at
least one scene. The counselors started handing out the scripts, and then I got mine. The scripts
were flipped upside down so you couldn’t see what part you got. I was waiting until the
counselors said you can flip them over. I flipped mine over and I saw the word TINKER BELL
in all capital letters. Then I looked at what scenes I was in. I was in them all!

My counselors gathered the whole red group together, and we went in the corner of the
big shiny room.

My counselor Julie said, “Everyone make a circle. We have to tell everybody our parts.”
It was my turn to share.

I was so excited to tell everyone. Then I said, “I got Tinker Bell!”
Then this girl in my group named Gabby said, “Wow! I am in a lot of scenes with Tinker
Bell.”
“Cool! Maybe we can hang out together?” I said.
“Yeah that sounds great,” said Gabbie.
“ I have a question for you. How old are you?” I asked.
“I am nine. What about you?” asked Gabbie.
“Um... I am five,” I said.
“Oh ok. Wait... don’t you have to be six to come to KJK?” asked Gabbie.
“Well, yes... but my birthday is the day of the show,” I said.
“Wow, cool,” said Gabbie.

“I have a question for you. Do you want to come to my birthday party?” I asked.
“Yes, that will be so much fun,” said Gabbie.
So the rest of the day went on until these two older girls came up to me and asked, “Are
you Tinker Bell?”
“Yes, why are you asking me?” I asked.
“We are the Peter Pans. We also think you are so adorable. We are wondering if you
want to eat lunch with us,” they said.
“Yeah, I will eat lunch with you, but can my friend Gabbie sit with us, too?” I asked.
“Yes,” they said.
“ I am excited to work with you, and one more thing... what are your names?” I asked.
“My name is Alice and her name is Kate,” they said.
After we ate lunch, everyone in the whole camp made a circle. We started reading over
our lines altogether. It was so much fun!
It was time to go home and tell my mom my part. Right when I got in my car seat I said:
“Hey mommy! Guess...”
“What?” asked my mommy.
“I am Tinker Bell!”
“For how many scenes?” asked my mommy.
“ALL OF THEM!” I said, with great excitement.
“Wow!” said my mommy.

From then on, I had two more weeks of practicing to go. On the day of the show I got to
the stage at 7am and I knew I had a long day ahead of me. Right before the show, we did an
exercise that would calm us down. We all screamed as loud as we could and then we were as
quiet as we could be. Then it was show time. I was so nervous when I “flew” on stage, but once I
came on stage, my whole family cheered for me. It was the greatest feeling in the whole world!
When I was done with the play, my family was telling me how proud of me they were. After the
show, almost all of the camp went to an ice cream place called Peachwave. My mom let me get
as much as I wanted; it was the best day ever!

I knew I wanted to keep acting, and so far I have. I have been acting at KJK for five
years, and I hope I keep acting in general. In this experience of my life, I had ups and I had
downs, but I got through the good times and the bad times with the help of my friends and
family. I learned that when you put your mind to something, you can definitely get it done.
Acting is my favorite thing now because of this one play that changed my life. I have grown so
much since then and now I am very good at acting. One skill that I learned was memorization
because I had a lot of lines to memorize in only one week, which was very hard to do. That is
why I chose this memory to write about. Acting might be your thing or it might not be, but either
way I hope this inspired you to try something new!

Jake Katz
“A Trip to Italy”

It was about to be the first international trip I could remember! Yes! I was going to Italy.
I could not wait! There were two hours left for us to even get in line to board. I felt I was
unprepared. All I had was one tube of Pringles, two bottles of water, a bag of Cheez-Its, and a
bottle of Gatorade! I knew I needed more, at least I thought I did. My mom said I had enough.

“They serve food on the airplane,” Mom said.
I knew what was wrong with airplane food. It was barely cooked, cold, and disgusting.
Also, I would not drink anything that did not come in a can. I would not have anything with ice. I
would use straws only. Mom was getting Shake Shack and a little “treat”, so we went to get more
food in preparation. It took a lot of time to find a Shake Shack. When we found one, I was
already hungry. I ordered a grilled cheese and cheese fries. Then I remembered,​ how on Earth
was I supposed to enjoy this on an airplane?​ I thought about it for a little bit and decided I could
still eat it on the plane when it was cold. I asked Mom what the treat was and she said, “donuts”.
I was overjoyed! I like donuts! I chose Boston cream, and then we made our way back to the
gate.
We still had an hour and a half before the gate even opened for first class. It would be
about two hours until it was our turn to board. Mom asked us if we wanted to eat some Shake
Shack. I forgot for a couple minutes how I was basically starving.
After eating, I was bored. I did not want to play on my Kindle because I did not want to
drain my battery. I just stared out the window for about an hour and fifteen minutes until -

“Jake, why don't you use your tablet? There is an outlet below,” my mom said. I spent the
next fifteen minutes just downloading every show possible.

After that, we got in line. That took another half hour or so. I was finally walking on the
plane. The plane was a lot bigger than the one I took to Colorado each year. The one I took to
Colorado had five seats in each row. This one had eight seats in each row. Also, the one to
Colorado had eighteen rows back and this one was thirty something. I asked what seats we were
in, and I was super happy when I found out. We were in row 34. THE LAST ROW. This meant
that no one would be kicking my seat, and we’d be the first to get more food from the cart. Don't
go saying that I said airplane food was bad. I forgot they had Pringles!

I was now seated and waiting for the plane to take off. On my chair was a pillow and
blanket. They were in a bag, but I still would not use them. You don’t know who used those and
I didn’t trust that they were very clean. Someone probably had puked on it. I put it far under the
seat and did not touch it again.

The airplane seats had screens and believe it or not, they had GAMES. I could be
entertained! Yes! We still had fifteen minutes until we got on the runway. I was finally about to
take off! I decided to just talk to my dad until we took off, but he was already ASLEEP. I
decided to play a game on the seat screen. I played this weird game called Hue Dropz, but it was
very boring. It was basically one of those “candy crush style” games. Five or so minutes before
take off, my game turned off and this video about “airplane safety” started playing. Finally, after
the video ended, we got on the runway. There were two planes in front of us that took
FOREVER to take off.

Finally, we took off. That is the most exciting part of an airplane flight. After that, I was
bored immediately. I ate some Cheese-Its and slept. I woke up about a half hour later and my dad
was reading a downloaded newspaper on his Kindle. I looked on the seat screen to see if any
other games were there. There was this geography quiz game that seemed interesting and I tried
it. It was okay and then at the end, it offered me to play it on multiplayer. At first, it seemed
weird to me to have other people coming over to my seat screen to play a game with me, but then
I realized it was online. I sent an invite to my sister’s seat and my dad’s seat. My sister was
sleeping but my dad joined. My dad beat me by about 7,000 points (don’t blame me; I don’t
know where the capital of Kazakhstan is. I don't even know which continent Kazakhstan is in!)
Why does my dad know this? He went back to sleep after that. I tried to sleep too. It was
impossible to sleep. I watched tv on my Kindle and tried to just keep watching until I fell asleep.
Finally, after an hour, I slept.

We landed and it took another half hour to get off. I did not know why. We walked
around and found the international security station. We did not necessarily “find” it. We knew
we had to get there because my dad makes international business trips all the time. We figured
everyone else has had experiences with an international trip, so we followed them. The line was
very long. After that, we just walked around until we found the car rental place. Surprisingly
enough, there was an American car rental service that I have heard of before. The service was
called Enterprise.

Finally, we were at our hotel in Italy. I got out and checked in to the hotel and found out
that we were not in the main hotel. We were in a little two room house. That meant my sisters
and I were SHARING a bed. I was angry. I turned on the TV. I tried to find something to watch,

but nothing was in English. I turned on my Kindle and watched TV there. I did that until my
mom told me there was a pool. I liked the idea of going to the pool, so we went. I was very
happy until my toe touched the water. It was FREEZING. My mom told me that she did not
think they heated pools in Europe. It was unenjoyable. I just sat and watched my sisters
somehow survive the cold water. After that, I went back to the room. I played on my Kindle for a
little while before dinner.

The next day I woke up to a rather rude awakening. My 3-year-old sister was using my
stomach as a TRAMPOLINE. I was awake with my eyes open the fastest in my life.

“What is Siena like?” I asked my mom.
She said it was old.
We got in the car and left. We had to make two stops before REALLY going Siena.
First, we went to the nearest bank. We traded in money for more Euros. Next, we got Gatorade
and Pringles in a local grocery store. Then we went to Siena. I asked my mom how long it would
take to get there.. She said fifteen minutes at the same time my dad said an hour. After about ten
minutes, I knew my dad was right. At the fifteen minute mark, my dad saw something in the
mirror. For some reason, the rearview mirror was at a weird angle. My dad saw a HUGE Prada
outlet. Prada is an Italian clothing store with really expensive clothing.
Anyway, at the same moment he saw that, he said, “Look what I found!”
We took a train to Rome a couple of days later and arrived at our new hotel. The pool
was huge, but once again, cold. I spent three or four days in a row looking around at everything
in Rome. I went to a giant fountain called the Trevi Fountain, and that night had the biggest
gelato ice cream cone of my life. We went back to the Fountain that night too. There were some

Italian police there, just to keep the place secure. My three year old sister was sitting on the side
of the fountain and almost fell in. She fell backwards but my other sister and I caught her just
before she touched the water. It could have been the size of my sister’s face. On another night, I
went to eat at a place called “Tre Scalini”. The pasta was good there.

I had a lot of fun moments in Italy and that was the highlight of my summer.

Shaun Kim
“The Hidden Benefit of an Injury”

I was moving down the fencing strip at a fast pace, while my opponent was panicking
backwards trying to defend himself. I felt the strip under my feet. I heard lots of conversations. It
was very bright and hot under my helmet. But right when I was about to hit my opponent, I felt a
sudden pain in my right leg. It felt as if someone had shot an arrow in it. I fell on the metal strip
making a clattering sound. The referee yelled

“Halt” and my opponent stopped moving and stayed where he was. I was in Baltimore,
MD, inside an Expo center, laying on a metal floor in pain. The referee walked over to me and
gave me a hand. I reached and grabbed it, and he helped pull me up from the ground.

He asked, “Are you OK?”
“I am in pain. May I see the trainer/medic after the match?” I said.
“Sure, I will call him over later.”
After the match, which I lost 5-3, the referee called over the medic as he promised. When
the medic arrived, he told me to take a seat, so I did. Then he talked to me about what happened
and where my leg hurt. He pushed certain spots on my leg to see which muscle I might have
pulled. He pushed both sides and the top and the bottom of my leg. He asked me where it hurt
again and I said that the bottom of my leg hurt the most. He gave me a plastic ball and told me to
massage my leg with it, so I sat on the ball which was under my leg.
“Does it hurt?” he asked.
“Yes,” I responded..
“I think you have pulled your hamstring,” the trainer said.

I could hear a faint gasp from my mom. At the time, I had no idea what my hamstring
was.

“Should I still fence?” I asked.
“Your call,” he said. Then he asked if he could have a short talk with my parents. My
parents agreed and stepped to the side. It only took a minute for them to finish talking. My dad
and mom walked up to me.
“ Do you still want to fence?” my mom asked.
“ Yes,” I said. No one spoke.
My dad was the first person to break the silence, “I don’t think you should continue. You
might hurt yourself even more if you do.”
“But this is the last time I can fence at the NAC (North American Cup) in my age
category,” I said.
“He has a point,” my mom said.
“Fine,” my dad moaned.
“Yay,” I shouted.
“Just be careful,” my dad said.
“Sure,” I responded.
The trainer in the middle of our discussion took an ice pack out from his bag and left.
After finishing the first round I had won 3 of my matches and lost 2 of them. There was a long
break between the first and second round. During the break, I headed over to the medic again to
grab some more ice for my leg.

After 20 minutes, the second round started. In the first round I had a bye, which meant
that I didn’t have to fence anybody. I had to wait for the next set of people, which took five
minutes. Within those five minutes, I watched them fence and realized the person who won was
slow but tall. After watching my opponent, I went to the metal strip I was assigned. It only took a
minute for him to show up. I started to fence him and realized that my injury was kind of helping
me. My injury prevented me from missing touches because I moved at a slower pace and had a
bit more time to study my opponent’s moves better. The injury also limited me from using speed
which was an advantage for him because he was slow too.

I did not have a lot of people watching me. To the side of the fencing strip, I saw my
mom, my dad and my coach. It was very bright .I had beaten him 10-6. I watched my next
opponent then went to my next strip. I had a little more people watching me now. I had my
friends and their parents watching me too. It wasn’t as bright as last time though. Every point I
scored, I heard cheering behind me. I won 10-7.

I had made it to the top 8 now. I did the same routine and won 10-9, a close victory.
During my quarterfinal match, I overcame a very strong fencer and won shockingly with a score
of 10-2, but my leg started hurting a bit more during semi final and I lost that match 10-3.

I shook hands with my opponent and walked to the corner of the room and cried. I had
gotten 3rd place, but was embarrassed of the low score. Later when the finals had started, I had
stopped crying to go watch the kid who had beat me. He beat the other finalist 10-9- a close one
to win to take the Gold medal.

Ten minutes later, the award ceremonies took place. They called my name. I walked up to
the man holding the 3rd place medal. He pulled it around my neck. Then I stood on the podium

spot that labeled 3rd place and watched the 2nd and 1st place kids get their medals. There were
lots of pictures taken, which I did not particularly enjoy. Then we left the Expo center and went
to the airport to go back home.

After this experience, I have learned that I have to start to listen to my body a bit more,
for example, when coming home from sports practice and my body is tired, I should sleep
instead of staying up and playing games. Also, I need to do a lot of conditioning exercises to
strengthen my muscles and improve my stamina. I have recognized that a small thing can cause a
big problem. Another example, if I would have stretched my hamstrings for three minutes before
the match, I would have never pulled my hamstrings. Lastly, I have realized how to find the light
and joy in things, even when you think it's not possible.

Rohan Krishna

“T​ op Twenty in the Country in Chess​”

“ HONK HONK, move car,” said mom. There was a big thunderstorm going on.
You could tell mom was a little stressed.

“So Rohan, are you sure you want to go for this chess class? I mean, it's pouring
outside!”

“ Yes, mom...we went over this.”
“Are you sure? I mean chess is really hard!”
BOOM! The thunder echoed.
“Mom, can I just try it out, please?”
“Okay.”
I entered the school where the class was, and it's pitch dark inside, which made me feel
like I was the only one there. I walked down the hall and then out of nowhere, a man came up to
me saying:
“Hello, are you here for the chess class?”
He led me into the classroom where a lot of kids also came in as the class progressed.
They were all nice and really good at playing chess.
“ So, Rohan, how was the class?” asked mom.
“Amazing,” I said. It was like I truly bonded with the game.
I came home and it looked nice and smelled fresh. As the weeks went on, that chess class
became very easy, so I wanted to leave. I begged my mom to take me to a different and more

advanced chess class. She did some research and found a place in Harrison N.Y. That Sunday
afternoon, I was about to enter the building.

“Hello, there!” said a very tall man. His name was Mike Amori. He was Italian, really
nice, and had a big smile on his face. He was wearing jeans and a leather shirt.

There were about fifteen kids who came to the class. All the kids there were very nice. I
played a really good player and I came out with a frown on my face.

“Rohan, it’s okay that you lost, it happens,” said mom. “You’ll bounce back.”
Then I realized that she was right; it was only a game. After that bit of encouragement
from my mom, I went home to practice and then played chess games online in every free
moment I had.
Then it was time for my first chess tournament.
I told my friend Spencer and he said, “You got this! You can do it!” I was thankful to
have such a good friend.
I got to the place where the tournament was being held in a school called Greenwich
Country Day. It was huge, and the place was filled with parents and kids. When we got a table to
sit at there, my mom signed me up.
Then we heard the announcement saying, “ K-1 section its time to play.” That was the
name of my section.
“Rohan, stay calm and you will win,” said my mom.
I went into the playing hall. It was super quiet and you could feel the tension in the room.
I came out of the playing hall after 30 minutes and I had a huge smile on my face because I had
won.

“Great job, Rohan. I knew you could do it.”
“Thanks, mom.” I felt a rush of power and I thought to myself, ​maybe I can do it​.
As the tournament progressed, out of 4 points I scored 3.5; it was a good tournament and
I got second place.
The year went by fast. I was practicing a lot of tactics. Tactics are chess puzzles used to
strengthen your knowledge of chess. In chess you have something called a rating, and the higher
the rating the better the player. My chess rating went from 0 to 1104!
By the time I was 1104, Mike Amori became my coach. I went to a lot more of his
Sunday chess classes. He was a nice person and he knew his stuff. Every Tuesday
I had a lesson with him for one and a half hours. He told me that I was nearing a new level, and
soon I will have to practice harder when the time comes.
Over the years, Mike formed me into an amazing player. I had learned so much from
him.
Over a few years, Mike became like family to me; he was nice and he was my guiding light.
Also, I went to more and more tournaments and I won the Grand Prix!
The Grand Prix was a big chess competition; it was by grade and it was how well you did
throughout the whole year. I was presented a plaque with my name on it. It was my first really
big award!
The next day, Mike came over on my scheduled Tuesday session.
“So Rohan, this is the time for the big question.”
I sat there looking puzzled, but deep down I knew what the question was.

“Rohan, are you sure you want to still play chess? You are now at a new level. It will be
really hard and you'll have to practice a lot more.”

“Mike, I love this game. I want to continue playing even if it means practicing a lot
more.”

Mike liked my answer and said he had a surprise for me; it was the chess nationals. Mike
told my parents about the chess nationals. It was the biggest tournament in the U.S. Mike thought
I should go and so did my parents. I told everyone at school, and my two friends Spencer and
William decided to come, because after all, they play chess too. My dad took me to the
tournament.

We got to the hotel where the tournament was being held. I asked my dad when my game
was going to start.

He looked at me awkwardly. “Rohan, you’re playing tomorrow. Don’t you know we
came a day early?” I didn’t know that.

Later that night we went to a restaurant. I was so nervous for the next day that I didn’t eat
anything. My dad was worried for me; he could feel that I was nervous.

“Rohan, what’s wrong?”
“ Nothing, really... I’m just nervous.”
“Well, don’t be, just do your best tomorrow.”
The next day I was frightened. I was so nervous, but I still went into the tournament hall,
came out and I won!

The rest of the tournament went really well, and I got four out of six points, and ranked twentieth
in the country! My other friends, Will and Spencer, also did really well. To get to where I came
was tremendously hard. Every single day of the week was a week of hard work.

What I’ve learned from this experience is that you can’t take the easy road out.
Sometimes you think that you’ve gotten away with it, but it will haunt you; it will come back to
get you. The only way to succeed is to fail. There were multiple times when I lost but I still
worked hard and came back. Also, it’s important to never believe that you can't achieve your
goal.

I chose this memory because I felt it showed how hard you have to work to achieve your
goal. It's never easy. One big way I've grown is that now I never try and take the easy way out
because I know it will haunt me. I practice hard to try and achieve my goal. This memory
impacts my life in a good way because it has taught me a bunch of lessons.

Emmanuelle Krolick
“Life at the Cove”

I awoke that morning with an ache in my stomach and a crick in my neck. Today was the
day I would leave these girls after 3 ½ weeks.

Nobody ​really​ understands camp until you get there. The camp I was going to was in
Maine, which was really far from home. The camp was called Fernwood Cove. It was located
next to a beautiful lake and hidden from society. Little did I know how much fun I would have in
that lake;whether it was swimming, wakeboarding, paddleboarding, or jumping on the water
trampoline with Surelle.

My mom, my brother, and I brought my bags into my bunk and there were four people
sitting on the floor making friendship bracelets. One was a very tall man, who had way too small
of a chair, named Ross. Ross would be my bunkle (bunk uncle). Another was a woman in her
early twenties, maybe college-age. She had a welcoming smile but it didn’t seem like she would
be my favorite counselor. She seemed very different from me. She wasn’t very sarcastic and we
didn’t seem to have much in common. She was my bunk mom. I knew I had two, so maybe I
would like the other one better.

The other two there were girls my age. One girl, who I would later find out was
Elizabeth, had dirty blonde hair and a strange voice. She was very all-in-your-face, if you know
what I mean. The other girl was Avery. She had very blonde hair and a sneer permanently on her
face. To me, she seemed a little rude, but way less obnoxious than Elizabeth. They both were
very smug and rude. They didn’t have an ounce of hospitality to offer me. They were very

boastful and talked incessantly about how they had been here for three years and how they knew
the camp so well. What I’m trying to say is, it wasn’t the best first impression.

Once all the other girls arrived, there were two that I thought I would become friends
with. One was Naomi. She had dark brown hair, was very outgoing, and super comfortable for
this being her first time at camp. We both shared an instant friendship and made a promise to be
CBFs (Camp Best Friends) no matter what. The other girl was Hope. She was very talkative and
knew a lot about camp because her sister had been going for a few years. She was pretty funny
and seemed cool.

Some other counselors came. One was my bunk aunt, Ellie. She seemed nice, but stern.
When she came to say goodnight to all of us, she got quite angry when some of us were late. I
knew I should always be careful around her. The other person that arrived was my other bunk
mom, Lydia. She was​ really ​clever and benevolent. She was by far my favorite counselor! She
went to Uni in Scotland, and was born and raised in England. I love both of those places and was
born in London, so that helped me have something I could relate to her about. Our bunk moms
would actually sleep in our cabin while our bunk aunt and bunkle slept in different places from
us.

On the first night of camp we couldn’t sleep. We stayed up whispering and tip-toeing to
each other's beds. Our counselor told us to be quiet a few times, but they knew we wouldn’t be
able to. A huge thing at camp was onesies. Everybody had them. Whether it was a unicorn
onesie, a narwal, a lemur, or anything else, you had to have one! So that first night, all of us
woke up at four in the morning to have a onesie dance party. I know, weird right? Not at all at
camp. Camp was different. We were full fledge sprinting, sliding, and jumping from bed to bed.