WHO-Contest | Young Writers Project

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[Photo credit: Kevin Huang, YWP Archive]

You're a teen (or pre-teen) in 2020, but who are you? What makes you uniquely you? What would you like people to know and understand about you? Where or how do you feel most like you?

Respond

Responses to this Challenge

Jan 25

poem, nonfiction 2 comments challenge: WHO-Contest

Treblemaker

Jersey number 15

I’m jersey number 15.
I'm the girl that warmed the bench in 7th grade,
dutifully handing out water and watching the score with bouncing knees.
The person who makes random posters
for the upper classmen on the last day of the season
The one who was excited to buy her first pair of cleats, and be part of something bigger than herself.
~ ~
The girl who gave the pep talks to her team in 8th grade,
then sat back down on the bench.
I'm the team mate who accidently scored in her own teams goal...
And that kid who shouted the loudest.
and made up corny school chants, rhyming names with jibberish- some of them stuck.
~ ~
I'm their person who tried out for high school sports in 9th grade,
I was one of 3 freshmen that didn’t quit the team after preseason.
I was the team member who arrived at practice early,

Posted: 01.25.20

Jan 20

poem 4 comments challenge: WHO-Contest

Inkpaw

Ink Tipped Wings

I fly on wings of shredded paper
and my fingertips are permanently ink stained
there is paint in my hair
and holes in my jeans
I don't care though
cause in my mind what I wear doesn't matter
and the only things I paint are my walls
there is no need for me to have a gender
and when I laugh
it always sounds different
I dance on a stage made of mismatched socks
and I smile the pain away
they say curiosity killed the cat
and it might do the same to me
I write my life on wrinkled pages
and draw my dreams with broken pencils
my heart is only held together
by stitches made of love and pine needles
there is dust on my window blinds
and fairy lights on in my closet
my heart beats to the song I am singing
the song of peace, joy and living
I splash through the puddles of disappointment and sadness
cause I'd rather watch the water sparkle

Posted: 01.20.20

Jan 15

poem, nonfiction 0 comments challenge: WHO-Contest

LadyMidnight

here be dragons

I think I float sometimes
maybe without knowing
but my little thread
breaks
and i fall upward
but I'm not complaining
of course
it's the best way after all to touch the
stars.

I know I hum to myself
And whisper over and over again
So when i reach the double bar
I’ll can spread myself across the staff
And clink rusty keys together
Until the resounding echo
Is a resolution of harmony.

I dotted ink in my fingerprint
today
a small act of rebellion
so that they remember
I'm here still
waiting for
that moment where everything
changes.

I'm not sure that anyone
even exists
I mean i have no evidence
except for photos
taken through someone else's lens
and what should that mean to me?
its only a memory I stole
to heal my
bleeding heart

I write too much
well that's an understatement

Posted: 01.15.20

Jan 15

poem 0 comments challenge: WHO-Contest

Inkpaw

who I am

I am made of moonbeams
and shaped by my craft
the flowing words inside of me
that I can never hold back
I am unidentified
mysterious
and often quite mischievous
who am I?
well
I am me
I love
and I laugh
I smile
and I have a mild pickle addiction
I am random
and magical
I love who I love
and I often scrape my knees
on the pavement
of time
falling over backwards
and drinking cold tea
I am spontaneous
dorky
and fun
I throw open doors
and down hallways I run
till I'm aching
and my rib cage feels like its breaking
from the wild beat of my heart
sometimes I'm a fish
swimming all day
not into getting tan
I laugh and I play with the waves
letting them bury my feet in the sand
sometimes I'm a bird
I fly till I'm tired
and then I sit in a tree
watching the world

Posted: 01.15.20

Jan 14

poem 0 comments challenge: WHO-Contest

Inkpaw

such a question

Who am i?
such a question
it leaves you searching in the dust of old ideas
and broken dreams
for something
that still doesn't sound right

it makes you crazy trying to determine something
anything
that you know as a fact
to be true
about you

To be asked such a question
Feels like falling
but this rabbit hole has no bottom
and there is no mad hatter
to tell you it's time for tea
for the only beverage here
is your own tears

to ponder
this question
is to question
yourself
who am I?
You ask
but you still don't know

you could like to eat ramen
and dance under the stars
you could be made of laughter
and jokes gone to far
But you would still be left wondering
who you are.

Posted: 01.14.20

Jan 14

poem 1 comment challenge: WHO-Contest

Burnt Black Petals

Are I...

Paper cranes are flying around
Fluttering in the breeze.
The smell of raisen toast
Buttered to perfection.
The click of a mechanical pencil
The glimse of a robin
The wish of me.
The wishes of me.
Are I someone who is unique and common
Or normal and weird?
Are I me or you or a mixture of what I wish
Or am I out of my hands?
What if my skeloton jumped out of my body and roamed this place?
No.
That wouldn't be.
I like me.
I like me too much for I to jump out of me.
I like my hair.
It tangles
It wrangles
It make's me scream in frustration
But it's I.
I like my skin
It's filled with imperfections
And bit's
But it's I.
I like my eyes
Dark
Rich soil brown
A bit tired around the edges
And a bit arragent.
But it's I.
I like me,
Yes,
But I prefer I.
Purple hair is me

Posted: 01.14.20

Jan 14

poem 0 comments challenge: WHO-Contest

fire girl

Time

I am the sunblock caked into the crevasses of my skin,
I am the shock of lightning that bursts through my veins,
I am the sun licked shoulders stinging fretfully,
I am the sweet caress of the wind whirling the
thoughts of this will end someday away,
I am the grit of the sand stuck in my shoes,
I am the full day of sunshine
boxed away to be opened on a cloudy day.
I am the heat of the core reflecting on a well worn face,
weathered beautifully by time.

I am a girl of flowers,
a rose beginning to bloom,
a poppy swaying in the breeze,
a lily begging for room.
I am a girl of heat,
a sun lighting up the home,
a vein pulsing with lava,
sunshine brushed out by a comb.
I am a girl of waters,
a river passing by,
a lake of quiet stillness,
a ocean of tears to cry.
I am a girl of summer,
windows all the way down
rolling in the lush green grass,

Posted: 01.14.20

Jan 13

poem 1 comment challenge: WHO-Contest

AvaClaire

Who am I?

This is the girl with hair of fire.
The girl with the love of all things.
Who you will see running through the woods.
Flowers in her hand.
The girl who feels the notes of music.
A feeling of comfort.
Soaking up the beat.
Soaking up the sun.
The girl who lays on the beach.
Smelling the sea.
Or maybe floating off the coast.
Wrapped in the ocean.
The girl with marshmellow in her hair.
Dirt on her hands.
Kneeling in the weeds.
Tomatoes spilling from her pockets.
The girl who loves being first.
As much as she loves being last.
The girl with the highest stack of pancakes.
With a dislike of any maple syrup not from the green mountains.
The rolling hills.
The sprawling fields.
The girl with her face against the window.
Counting the cows.
Counting the trees.
The girl sitting next to you.
Who you will often see raise her hand.
Confident.

Posted: 01.13.20