My grandmother, Savta to me, was born a week after Kristallnacht, the “Night of Broken Glass,” named so due to the amount of glass from broken windows that littered the street following an antisemitic attack in 1938.
I'm from the Land of Smiles, the beautiful country with temples and palaces where monks and royalty live. I'm from a mind of great creativity and words, and a mind of artistry and language. I'm from a household of hurt and love-filled words.
Note to the reader: This essay is meant to accompany the essay that I wrote called Crying on Rocks which is on YWP.
A Meditation on Snow White, Bullies, and the Beauty of Kindness
The Vermont general assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont. The legislature is a bicameral legislature which means that there are two groups, the Vermont House of Representatives and the Vermont Senate. 
In semester one of ninth grade, I met my newest obsession. In semester two, I suffered the consequences.
I couldn’t see anything. I stumbled around, trying to find the wall of the cave. After walking aimlessly, I began to hear a distant noise — murmuring mixed with the sound of soft tapping.
I wasn't always the stoic, expressionless introvert who rarely smiled. There was a time when I loved greeting people on walkways and actively sought out new connections.
I always thought that superheroes were so cool. Like who wouldn’t think that shooting lasers out of your eyes, having invisible jets, a car that can turn into a motorcycle, and being able to fly wasn’t cool. My 3rd grade self didn’t think so.
On September 2 of 2022, I packed three short sleeve shirts, two long sleeve shirts, and four pairs of pants into a backpack and left my house in Sharon, VT, for four months on an intensive expedition semester school: Kroka Expeditions’ L
Jordynne McKinstry
Emily Silver
Thetford Academy
English 10
April, 18th 2023
The Ability To See One’s Inner Personality Before Their Body