Claire in Poland

When I was six years old, my twenty two year old sister told me, “you don’t want to grow up, trust me.” But at that moment, I wanted nothing more than to grow up. I wanted to be tall like her, so I could  reach the top shelf where the cookies were hidden.  I envied her maturity and composure.  When I was eight, I wanted to be nine because the girl who lived in the house behind mine boasted about her seniority as she was a year older than me. She received homework twice a week and her parents didn’t scold her for using the word stupid. I wanted homework, I wanted to use the word stupid.  When I was ten, I wanted to be eleven because ten was the first double digit. Eleven seemed like the real deal.  When I was twelve, I wanted to be thirteen because thirteen was the age that turned a tween into a teen. When I was fourteen, I wanted to be fifteen because I hated being the same age as some eighth graders when I was in ninth grade. When I was fifte...

Dear Mr. President,  Why do we need a wall if we are free and brave?  Dear Mr. President,  The golden rule of my childhood, hung up on every elementary school wall in every classroom, was “treat others how you want to be treated.” Do you want to be shunned because of your location or religion? Dear Mr. President,  Why do you pinch my clean white cheeks and tell me how much my dreams are worth, but shy away from the children stained with blood and debris from fallen buildings?  Dear Mr. President,  Doesn’t the Bible preach to accept and help whoever you can?  I would inform you that they say the same in the Torah and the Quran, but I am afraid you might clog your ears if I speak either of those words.  Dear Mr. President, At what second did America become ‘not great’?   Dear Mr. President,  Why is it that human sympathy and benevolence towards others hardens like paint on a wall or tea left out in the sn...

Rosy cheeks, heavy clothing, runny noses Hot chocolate and tea Meals of soup and meat Naked trees Snow up to your knees Smoke dancing out of chimneys Sledding the parks Skating the rinks After play, warm hands in the sink Frozen cars, frozen toes, frozen ponds  Frozen hopes for heat   “Only a few more months!” a woman squeaks

1. Never turn down the opportunity to travel .  Ever.  Even if you are forced to leave your dog, your boyfriend, your uncle, your mom, or your best friend, I am here to personally promise you that you will not regret it. You may find how lucky you are to have what you have and to have been born into the community you belong. Or, you may find you have been living in false light. You may find that you belong somewhere millions miles away, and you've been missing out. Either way, changing scenery every once in a while helps you discover yourself and open your eyes.   2. There is no reason to worry or even think about things you cannot control. Take a second and think about everything you control. For me when I first did this, I realized how much I cannot control. If you focus on only what you can control, life becomes bearable.  3. Let people finish their sentences before accusing them. You’ll gain much more out of it than interrupting them and ...

“A polite conversation about unimportant or uncontroversial matters, especially as engaged in on social occasions” -Google. It exists in all languages, but there’s something about American small talk that’s different than any other language’s. It seems to be purposely insignificant, purposely shallow. We say everything we don’t feel. We lie for other’s comfort. We’re doing well or good even when our cat died yesterday or we really didn’t want to get out of bed that morning. We say everything that we don’t mean. For example, let’s take the phrase “nice to meet you.” After we shake hands and smile we usually speak this phrase before beginning to converse about the snow storm that may blow over on Thursday or the car accident down on route 122 or any other subject that doesn’t require an opinion.  I was pointed out to this strange saying when I was introduced to someone in Poland. In the process I said “Nice to meet you,” and shook their hand. Quickly though, another person ...

There are no pots or pans clanging as the sun rises. No relatives laughing, cooking, baking or drinking together. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade is not on TV. I awake to silence.  There is a dinner with the American ambassador that is traditional in the sense that there is a fat turkey in the middle of every table, but cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans and relatives are not present. A day later, there is another Thanksgiving dinner, but with friends. A “friendsgiving”, if you will. We assign foods to each other and I attempt to teach traditions of the American holiday. The girls dress in skirts and tights while boys wear button down shirts and dress pants with a belt. In the kitchen three of us peel potatoes, another three fry the chicken in egg yolk and flour. We set the table with plastic forks knives and plates. We stand around the dining room table decorated with food and say how thankful we are to possess the ability to stand around a maho...

As November 8th approaches no one can escape talk of the election even across the Atlantic Ocean. Every second post on any social media is most likely a joke about Trump or Hillary, an anti-Trump or anti-Hillary post, or a post that yells at you to vote. Teachers make references to the election as a part of lessons and students argue over polls and statistics in class and at lunch. “Who will win?” Everyone ponders anxiously. In spirit of this memorable election, I decided to send out a poll for students to choose which candidate they would vote for if they had the chance. The poll ended with 166 votes and provided Hillary Clinton the win of 79.5% or 132 of the votes and Donald Trump losing with a mere 20.5% or 34 of the votes. To acquire even more information, I sent out a facebook message to the entirety of ASW’s high school hoping for some responses on students’ individual reasonings for choosing the candidate they chose as well as what they predict the outcome of this presid...