Front row: Alayjah Rodrigues, Jaylanni Miranda, Kiera Ackah, Alexis Popik, Olivia Mendes, Jayleana Borges; Back row:Mia Vaughn, Daphnee Desire, Olimpia Andrade, Eva Watts-Pine, Isabelle Fonseca, Nadia Tavares, Thania Martinez, Ms. Silva (teacher).
Our Sister’s School invited me back this year to talk to a group of young writers about the art and craft of writing fiction. These young women voluntarily stay after school in order to learn more about writing–and they are good at it!
This is a short selection of their responses to writing prompts. (The prompts are in italics.)
Some mornings she felt like she couldn’t sing. But this morning, she knew anything was possible—maybe even sliding down a rainbow, with a pot of gold at the bottom waiting for her. (Jaylanni Miranda)
Some mornings she felt like she couldn’t move a muscle in her body to climb out of bed, But this morning, she knew anything was possible—maybe even Zack, the cutest boy in her high school class, would acknowledge her for once, and she could be as happy as she was when her mother was alive. (Jayleana Borges)
Some mornings she felt like she couldn’t walk. But this morning, she knew anything was possible—maybe even flying. (Kiera Ackah)
Some mornings she felt like she couldn’t do anything. But this morning she knew anything was possible—maybe even sit with them today. Everyone wanted to be them, but they weren’t who you thought they were. (Olimpia Andrade)
If I were in charge of the world I would let everyone have equal rights and have a law that no one can judge each other. I would limit the amount of energy people use so that we can keep the earth healthy. I would also let people eat junk food. Good! (Thania Martinez)
NOTE: Our Sister’s School is an all-girl middle school in New Bedford, Massachusetts. OSS welcomes girls from diverse faiths, races and cultures. It provides a supportive and challenging environment for its fifth-to-eighth graders to excel. OSS is tuition-free for low-income students and is funded by donations and grants. It’s a wonderful school.And thanks to enthusiastic teachers like Shana Silva, OSS is fulfilling its mission.
And just for fun…
