Grades 8–10
Memoir, NarrativeWritingCHRISTOPHER is sixteen years old. A few interesting things about him are that he wrestles, he likes to travel, and he likes to eat different foods. When he grows up, he wants to be an aerospace engineer.
BRYAN is a sophomore. He has a passion for cello. His favorite type of music is classical music: Shostakovich, Vivaldi, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Bach, Chopin. He hates any sweet food or drinks. Bryan’s future career will be either a music teacher, astronomer, or astronaut. Bryan’s favorite hero is Iron Man. He has been a fan of Iron Man since he was six. If Bryan could have any power it would be super intelligence because with that power he could solve most of the world’s problems.
JAHIR is fifteen years old. He lives in and comes from Little Village. He loves anything on pizza except pineapple. He is not a morning person. He’s small but big in what he loves to do. He’s rude but can be so gentle when he has to. He was once boring, shy, and a very independent person. He would love to go on to play soccer and give his family a better life.
Dear Bryan and Christopher,
You may wonder why on earth I write so small. I would tell you the same thing I tell everybody: this is how I normally write. By the way: I am fourteen years old, I am a Hispanic kid, and I love playing. Food is my passion. I eat a lot. I take care of my siblings more than I take care of myself. Drawing is my other big passion. Cars are the number one thing that I love.
But enough of me and more about you, LOL. What do you like to do? How do you feel about doing this? Or, why do you think that we got partnered up? Do you love eating food? What kind of music do you listen to? Do you want to go to college? What do you want to be when you get older? I know what I want to be, probably an art teacher. Do you like racing cars? Do you have a car? I’m actually looking forward to meeting you. It looks like we have a lot in common, like we listen especially to the lyrics in songs. It seems like you guys are the type of people I would hang out and just have fun with.
Sincerely,
Jahir R.
~
Dear Jahir,
You sound like an interesting person. Christopher and I are in the tenth grade, we’re both in robotics club, and we like cars too. Christopher likes rap music and I like classical. What kind of music do you like? Christopher wants to be an aerospace engineer, and I want to be an astronomer or astronaut. Christopher and I are from Hispanic/Latino descent too. Christopher’s favorite food is empanadas, and my favorite food is sushi or any other Asian food. Christopher wants to be an aerospace engineer because he does rocketry competitions with the STEM Club and plans to work with bigger rockets. I would want to be an astronomer or astronaut because I want to discover and explore the final frontier .
Sincerely,
Christopher and Bryan
~
Dear Bryan and Christopher,
Well, hi once again! How’s STEM Club, Christopher? How are your competitions going? I forgot to ask you guys something last time: do you like dancing? Bryan, why are you interested in being an astronomer or astronaut? Do you guys play sports? I know I do. I play soccer and volleyball, but I play soccer a lot more. I have been playing since I was five years old.
Does either of you guys have a car? Or what kind of cars are you guys into? The best day of my life was when I started driving because I learned on a stick shift car. It was a Porsche. I’m usually more into foreign cars like the Scion FRS. They’re small cars, but I’m looking forward to getting into races. Do you guys work? Over my summer I did and that’s why I love cars.
I like some kinds of rap, but I’m more into bands. I don’t know what else to say, but right now my mind is blank. I literally don’t know anything this early in the morning.
A special place to me is my room because people think it’s messy, but it’s actually very organized to me. When you take a smell, you get a sense of vanilla. It’s very cold. It’s also very loud because I always have music on. Do you guys have a special place? What are you thinking about right now at this moment?
Sincerely,
Jahir R.
~
Dear Jahir,
It’s nice hearing from you again. I’m just going to start off by answering some of your questions. Robotics Club is actually going great. We haven’t done a lot of competitions, but in the ones that we have had, we placed very well. When it comes to sports, I have played a lot, but my favorite is wrestling.
Now that both of our questions are answered by each other, it would be cool to know something about you, like a story. I’ll start. I started wrestling when I was in sixth grade and I loved it, so I joined my school team the next year. I did pretty well, but during the state tournament I tore my ACL. It was literally like twenty minutes after I won that a kid—I’m not sure if it was on purpose—kicked my knee in. They took me to the hospital and there I was told that I had torn my ACL. It took a while to get back to my normal self after the surgeries, but it was okay because I still got to wrestle the next year. I had to wear some weird brace. It was pretty much a scary experience, but it really humbled me because it helped me figure out that everyone’s good time doesn’t last.
Now, I want to hear from you. I’m excited to see what you have to say.
Sincerely,
Chris
~
Dear Jahir,
I have gotten your letter and thought it was interesting. Now, I’m going to tell a story that is tragic.
It was March 2, 2010. It was a chilly and sunny day in Chicago. I had just come back from school. My sister was taking care of me and my little brother. I was very tired that day, so I sat down with him to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 on the PS3.
When it was dinner time, my sister called my brother and me to eat. After we were done eating, my older brother, Wally, always played cello with flair. The pieces my brother played were extremely rigorous, because it was really hard to get around the notes and dynamics to make it sound beautiful.
Me and my little brother were playing with toy soldiers when we started to notice a burning smell coming from the living room. We immediately told our older brother and sister. The source of the smell was coming from our heater. We quickly got water and poured it all over, but that did not work. Seconds later, the black, ominous smoke grew bigger and more intimidating, so we left our home and went to the backyard. It was a horrible feeling watching our home engulfed in flames.
When my godparents found out about the fire, they housed us for roughly a month while we were looked for a new home.
Sincerely,
Bryan
~
Dear Bryan and Chris,
Hello! I’ve actually had the same experience as both of you!
Chris, getting surgery is not the best. I mean, for me having surgery was horrible because I wasn’t able to play soccer for almost five months. Also, I had these special nails in my body that held my thumb in place. It was very painful because it was during the winter, and the nails would get so cold that they would freeze my thumb.
Bryan, I’ve also lived your experience. My house burned too, but it wasn’t as bad as yours because I wasn’t home when my house burned. I was at my soccer game, but I found out about it an hour later. It was horrible, and the worst part was that, once I got home, I wasn’t able to save any of my belongings. We all lost everything we had. I’m doing better now though, and it doesn’t get to me as much as it used to.
I think it was pretty brave for both of you to share your memories with me. Thank you for sharing.
Sincerely,
Jahir R.
~
Dear Jahir,
I love when I get your letters. It really does make my day because you help me understand that there is someone out there who actually understands what I went through. It sucks that this might be the last letter we send each other. I am really going to miss your stories, but I guess I can leave you with one more.
Last year, which was my freshman year, I tried to wrestle again. I didn’t really do that well. I lost every single match. I pretty much lost all hope for myself when it came to wrestling, but I didn’t completely give up because of my coach. He told me to stay and gave me advice on how to fix what I was doing wrong.
For that whole week I practiced harder than ever and finally won my first match. I had nineteen losses and one win. That win encouraged me to try harder, and my sophomore year I ended up winning seventeen times and only had four losses. The reason I told you this story is because you are going to high school. I don’t want you to give up on whatever you do. Just do what what you like and keep going.
Sincerely,
Chris
P.S. BTW that is a nice elephant.
by Maria Villareal, 826CHI
by Maria Villareal, 826CHI
Students will exchange letters with students from different classes or schools. By listening to others’ stories and sharing stories of…
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In this memoir, a few friends bond over a rare Pokémon Go catch.
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A poem about the complexity of love exchanged during the holidays.
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This poem lists all of the pieces that make up the writer's whole.
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One teen writes a letter to his 14-year-old self, citing his past fears but looking towards his present, a brighter future.
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Song lyrics about memories of cake and pizza, friendship, and giving 1,000 opinions.
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A demand to the public stop to buying ivory that seeks to explain the devastating effects of poaching on elephant and rhino populations.
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Liner notes that showcase the meaning and musicality of the Jimmy Ruffin song “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted.”
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When Instagram becomes an unsightly battlefield.
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A teen discovers the power of books to transport him to another world, and shares his excitement about becoming a published author.
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Two students across one city bond by writing letters to each other about the people they love most.
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On the funniest day of this student’s life…
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Two students write to each other about where they came from, what they love, and a few mishaps along the way in an exchange of letters.
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Making bottle flipping look like child's play, this piece outlines rules for the new, competitive Fantasy Sport "Pencils".
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A soccer-filled, feud-fueled memoir.
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A poem about spring!
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A student’s worldview is forever altered after a lesson on the Segregation Era and Jim Crow.
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A shout-out poem to some things missed (Hyderabad) and celebrated (Mom).
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A piece packed with vivid description about taking risks at an ice rink.
Amara, 826 New Orleans
An ode celebrating an important figure in this student’s life.
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A persuasive letter detailing to the recipient the pointlessness of writing a persuasive letter. A helpful example for reluctant writers.
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This poem shares the writer's love for music with the world.
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by Sharon, 826CHI
A memoir about finding true friendship.
by Raymond A., Grade 10, 826 Boston
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Through this short story, Kalyn explores ideas of home and change in an altered world.
by Inge S., Age 13, 826CHI
Part riddle, part observations, this poem leaves the reader with big things to think about.
by Elizabeth W., 826 Valencia
A persuasive piece for women and girls to unite and cultivate a culture of body image positivity.
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