2008-09 Creative Writing Winners

• 1st Place -  Wendy Serra (click here to read Wendy's essay) Miami Lakes Middle School
• 2nd Place -  Alexis Landa (click here to read Alexis' essay) St. Timothy Parish School
• 3rd Place -  Emily Raitan (click here to read Emily's essay) Rabbi Alexander S. Gross Hebrew Academy

FIRST PLACE WINNER

Silent Night

By Wendy Serra

I could swear there was a fountain of heat pouring over the crowded dance floor. Phrases and questions that I'd been hearing the whole day attacked my ears, like a bunch of mosquitoes, looking for a place to sting for the sake of stinging.

Those mindless, obvious questions were followed by mindless, obvious answers.  I wondered if they didn't actually notice that I wish I weren't there, or if they just ignored it in order to keep their expectations fulfilled. 

In between one of the pointless conversations, I felt a hand grab my elbow and pull me away.  The hand was alien to me, but welcomed nonetheless.  Breathing deeply, I felt the noise melt into silence as I walked into the brisk air of the night.  I looked at her and she looked back, and together we shared a smile.  It was the first sincere smile I'd given in the whole night, and no words followed it, making it all the more special. 

Our feet clicked in unison as we walked towards the old church in the corner, and sat in the bench nearby under a tree.  I heard the echo of the wind blowing against the leaves of the tree above me, and felt my muscles relax as the soothing sounds surrounded me.

I looked at her and saw the changes that occurred since the last time I saw her.  She was a woman now, no longer the little girl that skipped across the street every day to play dolls with me.  I had no doubt that the wisdom in her eyes wasn't there because of her 16 years of age, but rather because of the events that had manifested themselves during those 16 years.

There was no greeting; no great explosion of happiness as we stared at each other for the first time in six years.  But her silence and presence seemed to fill the air with incomparable happiness that I hadn't experienced for as long as I could remember. 

We had been planning this moment since before I had left Cuba, but now the screaming and crying and storytelling that had been planned seemed so irrelevant.  There was going to be time for crying, and yelling and telling each other everything we had done in the time we had been apart.  But at that moment, as I ran my fingers over the carved wood I was sitting upon, and the breeze flew away with all the accumulated tension within me, I felt at home for the first time in six years. 

Sharing another smile that spoke more than we ever could, her fingers touched mine as she joined me in my endless attempt to retrace the words that we had once carved upon the old wood. "Daylen and Wendy, Best Friends Forever" would be in our bench, by our church, in our town forevermore.  A silent reminder of a wonderful friendship that will always be remembered no matter how far apart we lived.

Wendy Serra,
Miami Lakes Middle School

SECOND PLACE WINNER

Celebrating Friendship Among Youth in the Past and Now

By Alexis Landa   

Take my hand, my friend, and I will lead you to a place called home.  Walk beside me, my friend, and I will prevent the harm coming your way.  Lean on me, my friend, and I will soothe your pain.  Let me help you see what I see in you, my friend, and I will help you see past your imperfections and help you see the greatness in you that shines so brightly.  Follow my lead, my friend, and I will help you get through what seems impossible become possible.  Cherish the times we shared, my friend, and I promise you, you will want to relive the most memorable moments that seem to have been lived a long time ago. 

Life is empty without a friend to share laughter, love, but most of all happiness.  Do not lose faith, my friend, because when you seek you will find.  A true friend empowers you to strive to be the person you know yourself as today.  It is never too late, my friend, because life is filled with second chances.  A friend is one who can forgive you and always remember that no one is perfect.  In times of need, my friend, I will be there to support and comfort you to the best of my ability.  "True friends are like stars.  You can't always see them, but they're always there" (author unknown).  

Alexis Landa,
St. Timothy Parish School

THIRD PLACE WINNER

Celebrating Friendship Among Youth in the Past and Now

By Emily Raitan

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "The only way to have a friend is to be one."  Nobody can live a happy life without having friends, but no one who is mean will have friends.  Friendship has evolved a lot over the years, mainly because of prejudice and technology.

One of friendship's main constraints is prejudice.  In the past people were more limited and could only be friends with people in their social group.  Many people were born and died having a fewer amount of friends than they could have had, because of prejudice, out of fear of being different.  Today this barrier has been demolished, and in most countries of the world we are free from the cage of prejudice. 

Technology has also helped make friendship blossom.  In the past, the only way to communicate long distance was by visiting or writing letters.  Today we can still do this, along with video chat, email, instant messenger, and text message.  The list gets longer every year.  In the future, who knows how we will communicate?  But one thing is for sure; technology can make friendship easier but not deeper.  That is for us to work on.

A true friend is someone who will always be there for you no matter what, someone who knows when to give advice and when to just listen and hold your hand.  A friend may not necessarily have the same taste as you, but respects you and your opinions.  You may fight with your friends, but you always make up.  Friends raise you when you're down but never lower you when you are up.  They know how to offer constructive criticism, while maintaining unconditional love.  They are happy for you in your best moments and sad when they see you cry.  True friends never forget each other no matter the distance.  This is what makes friendship so special, why it cannot be tainted, and why it should be celebrated.

Emily Raitan, 
Rabbi Alexander S. Gross Hebrew Academy