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November/December 2008 This special issue of Teen Talk features the winners from the Vineland Public Library’s annual Teen Writing Contest. Teens submitted poems and short stories to be judged. Out of 6 short stories and 6 poems, three winners were chosen from each category. This issue includes all of the winners. Congratulations to those who won and thank you to everyone who participated. 1st Place Poetry
Winner—Emily Schuler
The Unknown Emily Schuler, age 15 Richland Black Clouds spill like ink over the horizon
Emily Schuler, age 15 Richland Give me a place,
where joy is plain as day. Give me a place,
where wars never start. Give me a place where
rain isn’t feared. Give me a place,
where night and day are one. Give me a place,
where man never lies. Give me a place,
where all can be free.
Ashlea Messick, age 14 Millville
I hustled here and there to find a
door unlocked As I sat on the blocks I looked around
in fear I sat there for awhile, then realized
where I was, I got up and walked toward my favorite
shelf I took the whole collection and ripped
them off the rack, As I read the Magic Attic Club I was
whisked back to the past, Me and my four friends landed on a
ship, I chose another book when my first
one was complete, As I read The Boxcar Children, I helped
crack the case, it’s true; I lost track of time as I read all
through the night, “I’m not a crook”
the worker cried, “I came to let you out.” “I don’t want to leave”
I said, “I’m just starting to have fun.” That night I left the library, went
home, and jumped in bed. If you get locked in a library, here’s
what you have to do Stephen Emily Schuler, age 15 Richland
Recently, Stephen had been acting strangely. I asked him what was wrong, but he just shrugged and walked away. I figured that it was only a temporary thing and he’d be over it by the end of the week. I was terribly wrong. I had never thought such a horrible thing could happen to my best friend. I had never thought Stephen could go to sleep each night, afraid that he might not see the next day. On Thursday, Stephen wasn’t in school. I was a little worried. He hadn’t been looking too good for the past week. It hit me that he had been out a lot this past month, so I tried not to worry too much. I had a strange feeling in my gut when I was called down to the office fourth period. I had a feeling something bad had happened, but I couldn’t figure out what it could be. My mom was standing near the school entrance as I walked down the long hallway toward her. She said we were going to the hospital; that’s all. Stephen’s mother was sitting
in a chair, crying, when we got to the hospital. I kept trying to figure
out what was happening, but deep down, I think I knew. A nurse came out
of the room closest to our little group and gave us a “I’m sorry,” she said, and Stephen’s mom burst into more tears. “What happened?” I asked as tears welled up in my eyes. “What’s wrong?” The nurse sighed, smoothed out her dress, and looked to Stephen’s mother. She answered through sobs. “Stephen has had Leukemia since he was seven. He didn’t want you to know.” She looked at the floor. The shock of the whole thing was more than I could bear. I ran into the room that the nurse had just come out of. I looked at the boy lying on the bed. He was as pale as a ghost. I took his hand and dropped it immediately. It was colorless and icy. It was then that I noticed the steady, solid beep coming from the monitor beside the bed. The tears that had been welling up in my eyes slid down my cheeks. My best friend was gone. The Gates of Heaven Beny Perez, age 16 Vineland
As you can tell, my life isn’t so resplendent; it’s more of a dark and eerie picture. People don’t see the pain that others go through because they’re just too busy judging them. Honestly, I feel like I am standing in a crowded room and I am screaming at the top of my lungs and nobody looks up. I would kill for someone just to listen to me. Still, I am just a shadow in the dark. I found myself staring in the mirror thousands of times just watching and waiting. I guess you could just say I was waiting for a change, or maybe a whole new face to appear out of thin air. What I see in the glass is the most scared and timid soul in the world looking back at me. All you have to do is look behind my eyes. Make sure to ignore my tears since everyone else does. I am not superhuman
and I have the marks to prove it. The marks on my arm are only a symbol
of a teasing of death. It takes a truly dead soul to bury himself. You’re
probably asking what was going through my head at that time; nothing but
flashbacks of all the pain I have received. The pain that I felt as I
put Death’s scythe to my arm was a feeling of release. I feel it wash my body of
all the pain and heartache I have suffered through the years. The rain
makes me feel alive again. He became my new best friend, a new friend who loved me with all his heart. That stranger is now my everything and everything in this world. No matter what, he is never going to leave my side. There’s a point in everyone’s life that comes to pass, when you realize that life is not so bad. It’s true because now when I look in the mirror, all I see is a beautiful child of God smiling back at me. He is the only one who saw me when I was invisible. Stop! Actually keep going. There is a gate where I can see paradise and yet it’s still closed. That gate will open and when it does, I can be sure I will be standing right in front of it waiting. I can bet you any amount of money that when that gate opens, there’s only going to be one person I will see and that’s my new best friend. I can’t wait to see his face and give him a humongous hug while feeling his body and having him say, “You’re safe now.” Take note that your gate is going to open too. To where, I have no idea, but we still have a chance to change the outcome. Still, all I know is that I am going to walk with my friend through the gates of heaven. Here I come, Paradise! Liz Centeno, age 17 Vineland
So many people judged Peyton and constantly compared her to everyone else. They always compared her to others who were out doing wrong, or to girls who were out being wild. Peyton was never that type of person. Still, she always recognized her individuality and knew she was going to prove them wrong. None of Peyton’s brothers or sisters graduated from high school, so ever since she was little she dreamed of being the first. Following her dream did come with obstacles on the way. Peyton was never the same as the other teenagers. She never felt like she had to involve herself in the activities the other kids her age took part in. Sometimes she did wish she was like them because they seemed not to care about anything. They did whatever they wanted without worrying about what others thought, but she knew deep down that she could never be like them because she was different. Stealing, fighting, doing drugs, or having kids at a young age weren’t things she wanted in her life. She was about to start high school and she knew it was going to be a total change from what she experienced in middle school. During the beginning of freshman year, Peyton met a guy named Brendell. Brendell was considered a “player” and everyone in school knew him as “the guy who wasn’t capable of being in a relationship.” She never imagined them becoming anything serious, but that was soon to change. All she heard was girls talking about Brendell and mentioning who else he was dating. Peyton wanted to cry when she heard these comments, but instead pretended she didn’t know who they were talking about. The guy she was in love with was already breaking her heart and she felt like she wasn’t good enough once again. In her mind, she felt like she could somehow change him and show everyone he can be faithful and he wasn’t the guy they perceived him as. Things remained like this between them throughout their sophomore and junior years. They were together on and off through Peyton’s worries, pain, heartache and regrets. Peyton always got good grades on her school work, received awards and always took her school work seriously. Once high school came around, nothing turned out the way she hoped. She struggled, worried and tried really hard. All along Peyton was aware of her intelligence and now was determined more than ever to use it to her highest potential. She knew that if she wanted to show everyone who she really was, she was going to have to work harder and show everyone that she was more than just a pretty face. Finally Peyton was a senior. She had already accomplished something in her eyes because none of her siblings made it past their junior year and here she was, a senior! Peyton began to struggle with adolescence, getting along with her family and dealing with Brendell. Peyton never talked about all of her feelings. She never discussed what she had been going through and it was starting to take a toll on her. She never discussed her problems with family, school, or Brendall because she was afraid people would automatically judge her and put her down. All she ever did to express her emotions was write in her journal. She felt that in her journal she could say everything she was holding in without being judged or criticized. Months later, Brendell broke up with Peyton for what seemed for good. That day was so hurtful and she wondered, “Why?” Peyton helped Brendell out through everything and gave him everything he needed, but despite all of that, he still left her. A month later Peyton saw that Brendell was already in a new relationship. He had started going out with Peyton’s ex-friend and worst enemy. She felt so betrayed and asked herself what did that girl have that she didn’t. How could Brendell leave her, nonetheless leave her for her worst enemy? Every day after that all she thought about was him. She wrote him text messages, emails and letters, but got no reply. On top of that, when Peyton clashed with her family and got into arguments, she felt she had no one to turn to. She felt that everyone who loved her turned their back on her. Now more than ever, Peyton believed she wasn’t good enough. Not good enough for her family, not good enough for Brendell, not good enough for anyone. For so long she had felt insecure because of a lot of the things she wished for never worked out. School was harder than she ever imagined it could have been. It was an emotional rollercoaster for her because she felt alone and no one around her knew what she was going through. The people around her always saw her smiling and acting as if nothing was wrong. They didn’t know that that was her way of hiding her problems and not showing her insecurities. She was insecure when Brendell left her and she still had so many questions as to why he left her after having been with her so long. She also felt insecure when it seemed like her family was judging her, putting her down, and making her feel like they didn’t love her. People always seemed to tell her things about herself to make her feel low and not normal. She had felt judgment from people all around her for so long and she wanted it to end. Peyton was a girl who always felt like
everything she did was not good enough. She always asked herself why so
many bad things happened to her when she was such a good person. Despite
all of her struggles, insecurities and her wanting to give up, Peyton
kept going and graduated high school. She had reached her dream. The day
she graduated High School, she proved anyone who had every doubted her
wrong.
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