P-CCS students among winners, finalists of international memoir writing competition

Two Canton HS students placed in Top 20 of prestigious New York Times contest that received 12,000 applications

 

CANTON, Mich. – Two Plymouth-Canton Community Schools students placed in the top 20 of the New York Times international short memoir contest, which received more than 12,000 applications from across the globe. Three other P-CCS students were also selected as finalists.

Canton High School seniors Sarah Moore and Dana Sassine placed among the best in the contest for their 100-word memoirs, respectively titled, “A Letter to My Biological Mother,” and “Wearing My Truth.” (Their entries are included below and available at the New York Times.)

The other three finalists from P-CCS were Madeline Lenk of Canton High School, Patrick Ward of Plymouth High School and Ye Won Paek of Plymouth High School.

“We are so proud of our students who placed among the very best in the New York Times memoir contest and those who made the finalists list for their amazing talent and creativity,” P-CCS Superintendent Dr. Monica L. Merritt said. “At P-CCS, we work hard to help our students connect with their passions and with the wider world around them. To have five of our students’ work rank among the best in an international competition is truly special and a reflection of the world-class education our teachers and staff provide at P-CCS.”

The students wrote their memoirs as part of Plymouth High teacher Olivia Foster’s 21^st Century Global Issues and Literature class. Students submitted their work to the New York Times late last year. A panel of judges reviewed the 12,000-plus submissions from students who wrote stories about meaningful life moments in 100 words. The judges whittled the list down to 120 finalists, which included 20 winners, 28 runners-up and 72 honorable mentions.

“My students always astound me with the creative and often emotionally charged memoirs that they produce through this unit,” Foster said. “I hope this experience provides them with firsthand knowledge that powerful and effective storytelling can and should be accessible to anyone, and that everyone has a story worth telling.”

 

The Canton HS students’ winning entries are:

 

“Wearing My Truth” by Dana Sassine

The first day I touched my hijab, my hands trembled like autumn leaves, dropping the fabric twice. Mom found me frozen before the bathroom mirror, her reflection a lighthouse in my storm of doubt. “Ready?” she whispered, her perfume comforting.

I wasn’t. Not when twenty-two pairs of eyes turned to watch me enter room 4B; not when someone’s harsh whisper of “different” sliced through the air. Then Zara appeared, her grin cutting through the tension. “You look amazing,” she mouthed, shooting me a thumbs-up.

Something shifted. Each step grew bolder. I wasn’t just wearing my identity — I was becoming it.

 

“A Letter to My Biological Mother” by Sarah Moore

Dear Lindsey,

It’s me. I hope this finds you well. I spend a lot of time thinking about you. I check your Facebook page every so often to catch a glimpse of what you’re doing, how you’re doing, where life has taken you.

I sit there, pondering these big questions time after time. You haven’t wished me a happy birthday since I was seven. Would you ever care to meet me? Are you a bookworm like I am? Do you resent me for ruining your teenage years?

And, most importantly: What would happen if I clicked "Add friend" …?