Fall 2014: “Digital Empathy” Literary Gems

We received many powerful essays for the Fall 2014 Writing Competition. Though not every participant can win the contest, we'd like to share some excerpts that caught our eye.

We received many powerful essays for the Fall 2014 Writing Competition. Though not every participant can win the contest, we’d like to share some excerpts that caught our eye.

 

World suck is a solvable problem. It has solutions, all we need to do, is before we hit send, press save draft.

Olivia Atria, grade 7, Concordia International School, Hanoi, Vietnam

 

I know that being different it a gift. If you focus on cultivating that gift, you can be the best at anything you choose.

Ray Stovall, Kent State University, Kent, OH

 

I am going to fight World Suck by every day when I walk into my school noticing and acknowledging the most positive and supportive things I can about everyone.

Essie Ashton, grade 6, Caitlin Gabel School, Portland, OR

 

When I finally asked the person who bullied me why they did it, they told me about what was going on at home, and I helped them through it. Now we are best friends.

Shade Wilbanks, grade 7, Brevard Academy, Brevard, NC

 

My best friend is someone I would describe as a ‘laugh machine.’ Give her a twist and receive a plateful of laughs.

Samyuktha Variyam, grade 6, Armstrong Middle School, Plano, TX

 

Every person has their own unique web of people who act as a family, whether the relation is by blood or not. These wonderful people fill the places in life where empty holes are; empty holes that can swallow us whole if we are not careful.

Elizabeth Coughlin, grade 7, Northbrook Junior High, Northbrook, IL

 

I believe that when a situation appears most grim, empathy and simple human interaction are all the more important. The support of friends, family, and strangers becomes our greatest chance of salvation.

Ruby Rorty, grade 9, Santa Cruz High School, Santa Cruz, CA

 

For those who look at life in a negative perspective, it is really important to find your outlet. To find something that helps you create beauty out of your pain because pain is beauty if you put it to the right use.

Paige Sproul, grade 10, Whitefish High School, Whitefish, MT

 

I am writing this with an iguana on each shoulder.

Armen Keuylian, grade 10, Whitefish High School, Whitefish, MT

 

Through a ripple effect, ‘world suck’ will be eliminated like a vacuum eats dust. But only if we have Wi-Fi.

Jillian Findlay, grade 12, New Tech Academy, Fort Wayne, IN

 

I am not a nerdfighter. But their beautiful acceptance and creation of friendship over astonishing distances and differences gives me strength to stumble through the fog and know that we are not alone– this knowledge gives all of us the ability to change our own lives, and, if we’re lucky, the lives of others.

John Paul Welch, grade 11, Canyon Crest Academy, Solana Beach, CA

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