Category: AP or Double Enrollment
Winner: Choeun Lim
“Roots of Resistance”
Towering pillars of branch and bark
Below, flora that crawl
Well trained ears may hear the “hark!”
Whispered in rustic drawl
With careful eyes, one can see
Creepers with leaves in tragedy
From brutes with oxfords caught in daze
Unknowing the value of hand-grown maize
Found in each crevice and corer of
Creepers, indifferent to rise above
Exists a light within each leaf
Brightened by deep camaraderie
Determined to conserve such livelihood
From tramples of leather-bound feet,
Days are spent stood with wood
Refusing to admit defeat
This poem is a reflection of how cultural expectations from my class and social background have influenced my current values and the issues I prioritize. An exploration of the relationships between upper class and lower class, and my observations while spending my childhood in a poverty-stricken neighborhood.
The setting of the poem is a thick forest, told in the perspective of someone (myself) walking through the forest and observing the surroundings. The “towering pillars of branch and bark? refers to those of a higher class, who oftentimes have the shared behavior of constantly striving to climb the social ladder as high as possible, just as trees constantly grow upwards. Meanwhile. the flora that crawl” refers to lower classes, indicated by the physical disparity between the high class being in the skies and the low class being on the ground, but also by the description of their cries having a rustic drawl,” a characteristic often shared by what are often considered to be lower class peoples.”Creepers” is a term for plants that grow along the ground, once again referring to the symbol of the lower class.
The rest of the poem describes observations I’ve made during my time in the Hopi Reservation, a considerably low class community. There are three key characteristics of the “creepers” that tell of their culture. One, the “hand-grown maize” is a nod to comn as a staple crop for indigenous peoples. both for agricultural reasons and cultural practices like dances. Two, the creepers being “indifferent to rise above” indicates the expectation of people to stay in the home and Reservation, rather than leaving to pursue higher education or becoming a part of standard American society. Three, the “light … brightened by deep camaraderie” highlights the deeply rooted family values and the importance of shared community for the Hopi people.
Taking these observations. my personal interests can be seen developing throughout the poem The negative connotation when referring to “brutes with oxfords.” implying my distaste for those in the upper class that look down on lower classes, the “leaves in tragedy” indicating my subconscious blame towards the wealthy for creating a system that left the Reservation in poverty, and finally, my “[determination] to conserve” the beauty I found in the Hopi peoples vibrant and genuine culture and lifestyles.
Category: Grade 11-12 Honors
Winner: Aiden Kim
“Little Birds”
Fly little birds fly
even though weather is dark and stormy
do not lose your path
fly little birds fly
even though feathers do not fit to you
do not lose your own color
fly little birds fly
you are the strongest bird in the world
do not follow them and make your own way
I am Aiden Kim who is attending an international school right now. I wrote a poem that deals with the educational situation of Korean schools. 3 years ago, when I was in Korean school, I felt the educational curriculum was really weird. Everyone in the school does academic studying without any questions. They are little baby birds. Korean students don’t fly by themselves and just wait for their mothers to feed them without behaving by their wills.This was so unnatural to me because I personally think that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. That is the reason why I came to international school and tried various things as much as possible. I really love trying new things and exploring new worlds. After coming to international school, I finally felt a little bit of freedom and myself. So, I really want other Korean students to find their true self and be free. In the first stanza, dark and stormy weather represents the blame from other people and uncertainty of choosing one’s own way. “It’s too risky. You should be normal”, “Nothing bad can happen if you just stick to being ordinary”. Whenever someone chooses to stand out from the average, too many people tell them not to do it. However, I want to tell everyone that don’t lose one’s own path and keep going. What others say it’s useless at all. Even though feathers, which represent the current situation, don’t fit what they are trying to be, they don’t have to be worried too much. They don’t have to change their own color to be ‘suitable’ people. I have a friend whose dream is to be a doctor. His whole family is a doctor so all of the family members expect him to be a doctor too. However, he truly loves singing. Whenever I am with him, he always sings or talks about his favorite artist Linkin park. Linkin park is a global rock band who tried many sensational things. However, unlike his favorite group, he is preparing to be a doctor. I don’t want this tragedy to happen again. Each student has infinite possibilities and potential. If they bloom their flower by looking for their dream, they can be the strongest birds and make their own way.
Category: Grade 11-12 On-Level
Winner: Seunghwan Jung
“Gray Sky, Green Hope”
The photo shows the cityscape of Seoul at sunset, taken at JW Marriott Hotel Seoul, showing the apartments of Gangnam-gu on the front and housings of Yongsan-gu across the Han river. Seoul N Tower at the top of the Namsan mountain and Bukhansan mountain are barely visible in the back.
Environment has always been a key interest in my entire life. Instead of flashy, loud sports cars, I’ve always wanted,an electric car because it’s better for the planet. Similarly, whenever I look out at the city of Seoul, I wish I could see a clean, green scene with my own eyes. But all I see are gray clouds and concrete buildings that don’t really fit in with the natural beauty of the Han River and Namsan Mountain. I began to question whether our efforts to preserve and live in harmony with nature are really working. It didn`t take long for me to realize that, with the solutions we currently have. true coexistence seems impossible.
Urbanization and nature can not co-exist in conventional ways. Rapid urbanization destroys nature including the air, which can impact us in irretrievable consequences. There can be other reasons that affect the poor air quality depicted in the picture such as contaminated dust blown from east China, but whatever it is, human activity has definitely affected the naturescape. Sunset is typically used as a metaphor to be interpreted as the end of something or end of a golden age. In this way, I believe the time when people tried to live in harmony with nature using conventional methods has reached its limits. Even though we’ve tried hard to find solutions. we cant fully adapt to the ways of nature. We definitely need new ways of thinking. I believe that creating a sustainable future with nature is now in our hands and in the hands of the next generation. If we keep relying on the same ideas and technologies from the past, we’ll eventually hit a wall that stops us firom perfectly coexisting with nature. It’s clear we need fresh approaches to make this work.
That’s why I captured the dusty air over Seoul in this photo, highlighting the careless production and rapid development we see today. Ten years from now, if I take a photo from this same spot, I hope to see cleaner air, eco-friendly transportation, and greener buildings that show a real balance between nature and humanity living together.
Category: Grade 9-10 Honors
Winner: Ellie Ko
Discussing social issues with others seems challenging when you are young. You might have experienced feeling ignored after talking to those who may not agree with you. Perhaps, you were afraid to be seen as an outlier of the majority. In my case, my parents challenged me to share my opinions on sensitive topics, including politics and gender issues. Through this work of art, I reflected on my past experiences that developed my passive attitude towards discussing such issues with others. However, I intended to portray not only what had been hard, but also what I gained from those experiences.
Category: Grade 9-10 On-Level
Winner: Juhee Seo
“Victim and Perpetrator”
I’ve been both the victim and perpetrator of gossip. Gossip is the one that l’ve tried to avoid and stay away from but even when I’m trying my best to stay away from gossip, it always sticks to me and bothers me. It’s impossible to avoid gossip in full life like a disease around the air. It happened in school, office, and even through social media. At a certain point, I’m sure there will be people who know me through gossip not actually interacting with me even if that is not true. All this wildfire of gossip from the single spark as it travels from the people’s mouth to mouth. The point that is scary is that it is almost impossible to find whether the information is true or false and this provides anonymity. Hiding behind the mask, people began to exaggerate the fact of what they’ve heard from the next person like a telephone game that ends up with destruction of fact and disinformation. The truth has twisted and destroyed that is unrecognizable from how it started.
Going back to how I’ve become the victim and perpetrator of the gossiping. I personaly experienced how gossip can hurt people deeply and I tried to avoid and from the gossiping. However, as I mentioned before, it is unavoidable. I soon found myself being the perpetrator of gossip, thinking simply and spreading the information that can be false.
This painting describes directly my own experience. By drawing one person in two parts, I highlight my message that one person can be both victim and perpetrator. When you block half of the person who is in the middle, one side that hears the gossip, the person’s eyes look sad and that is showing being the victim. However when you see the other side, that person is smiling and telling the information exaggerating more and more by enlarging the speech bubble which shows the perpetrator. Also by not drawing the whole part, I emphasize that it will be repeated, never ending.
My own experience of being both the victim and perpetrator show how quickly the point of truth can be wrapped into an unrecognizable lie. Filled with anonymity and lack of responsibility. The world is a place where untrue whispers hold more power than provable facts and that’s the thing that we have to be aware of and improve.
