2006 Creative Writing Contest Winners

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2006 Creative Writing Contest Winners
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This Passion By Alexis Mohler
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Freshman/Sophomore Division (Poetry)- Honorable
Mention
Elida High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Peggie Stubbs
Interests Writing Poetry and Fictional Stories,
Reading, Music, Japanese Bands, Manga, Animation,
Japanese/American Movies
Inspiration for the Work My inspiration
mainly comes from my mood and what is going on in
my life at the time.
Future Plans I plan on going to college,
although Im undecided on which one at the
current time, to major in an English related
topic. I plan to become either a fictional
writer or a poet.
Excerpt I stand here before you A knife hel
d high in my hand I cut my shimmering celestial
wings off
And hurl them towards the ground
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Freshman/Sophomore Division (Poetry)- Honorable
Mention
Sponsoring Teacher- Elizabeth Knick
Temple Christian High School
Interests Playing Softball, Writing Poetry,
Playing Oboe for Band, Playing Piccolo for Pep
Band, Playing Flute for Solo and Ensemble, On
Churchs Bible Quiz Team
Future Plans- I plan to be a high school science
teacherI believe that becoming a high school
teacher is a great decision because it will
combine my love for science and Gods calling in
my life to work with the next generation of
teens.
Excerpt I decide to go back the way I came. I
dare not go much farther. Yet when I turn around
, I realize that the path behind has started to c
rumble.
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Freshman/Sophomore Division (Fiction)- Honorable
Mention
Delphos Jefferson High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Mrs. Siebeneck
Excerpt My name is Chuck Michealson, and I ha
ve a dog named Fido. One time, Fido saved my
life. I was being attacked by a rabid rock star.
This rock star had everything women, money, a
giant house, women, a Rolex, women, and
everything else you can imagine, unfortunately,
he also had rabies. And this made him sad
Thats it! That is the perfect story! I knew if
I kept at it I would get it! I never, EVER,
doubted myself for an instant. I better get
working on it right away.
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Freshman/Sophomore Division (Poetry)- Honorable
Mention
Temple Christian High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Elizabeth Knick
Interests Playing Volleyball, Reading, Writing
Plays, Veterinary Medicine, and Classic
Literature.
Future Plans Attend college for veterinary
medicine and run my own large and small animal
clinic.
Excerpt Together, we could bring color and lif
e, The air would ring with the sound of the moun
tains. But the time is not right, the sun cannot
shine forth, it is a prisoner.
I must wait for the time when it is freed, I must
continue to flow.
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Freshman/Sophomore Division (Poetry) Honorable
Mention
Bath High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Charlyn Ellington
Interests Music (piano and percussion), Tennis,
and Languages (studying 3rd language)
Inspiration for the Work The month that I had
spent with my mom and grandmother at this datcha
several summers ago was what first came to my
mind.
Future Plans I am still undecided as to my
major or future profession, but I hope to
continue to write, regardless of either
Excerpt Little girl, losing her head, picking
all thats in sight, forgetting moms warnings,
returning home beaming, little basket all full
of bad mushrooms.
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Freshman/Sophomore Division (Fiction)- Honorable
Mention
Bath High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Charlyn Ellington
Interests cheerleading competitively for The
Lima Rebels, The Center Stage Hotshots, and Bath
High School
Inspiration for the Work She wrote this story
because it describes typical high school life.
It is also based on real-life situations she
experienced first and second-hand.
Future Plans Attend college to become a nurse
Excerpt The bowling part was a little lame but
I will get over it. Chad asked me out Friday,
so I have two days. I wonder what will happen!!
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Freshman/Sophomore Division (Poetry) Honorable
Mention
Elida High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Peggie Stubbs
Excerpt Listen to the tale of a mans dull li
fe, Who was married to a cantankerous wife, Wh
o being as broad as she was tall,
Dwarfed this man, who being very small,
Feared her more than any known disease,
She was a mean old woman and hard to please.
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Freshman/Sophomore Division (Poetry)- Honorable
Mention
Spencerville High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Emily Klosterman
Interests Drawing, working with animals,
golfing, singing, reading
Inspiration for the Work I dream a lot and
thankfully, I remember them most of the time.
The poem I wrote was simply me explaining all of
the things I have done in an alternate world.
Things that can hardly be done in this time and
world, but they are everyday happenings in the
realm of dreams.
Excerpt I have been a merchant and a mercenary
I have been the darkness and the light I ha
ve been human and I have been animal
I have been part of the most brutal fight
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Freshman/Sophomore Division (Fiction)- Honorable
Mention
Bath High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Charlyn Ellington
Excerpt Ark looked at the ravaged village in d
isbelief. He looked around for something to bring
him hope maybe they had taken a wrong turn. His
last shred of hope was torn from him as he found
a familiar building, his home. He ran inside and
found his family scattered about. He checked them
for life but found none.
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Freshman/Sophomore Division (Poetry)- 3rd place
Delphos Jefferson High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Mrs. Siebeneck
Interests Snow boarding, art, guitar
Inspiration for the Work Her interest in
playing the guitar
Future Plans Attend college to pursue a degree
in design
Excerpt Slick, smooth, cold to the touch vib
rates my fingers, gives me a rush. Satisfies the
souls, soothes
complicated feelings.
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Freshman/Sophomore Division (Fiction)- 3rd Place
Delphos St. Johns High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Christina Elwer
Excerpt She occasionally popped a bubble, caus
ing it to explode. The tink tink tink of her
type writer began to get on my nerves, but I kept
silent.
Freshman/Sophomore Division (Poetry)- 2nd Place
Excerpt The memory of my time with The Rock G
od, Forever seared into my mind To replay over a
nd over again, Until the day he rescues me Form
this cold, Dark abyss.
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Freshman/Sophomore Division (Fiction)- 2nd Place
Lima Senior High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Jeannine Jordan-Squire
Interests Irish History, Scottish History,
Researching Medical Information, and Politics
Inspiration for the Work I have always been
interested in psychological issues, but after I
read One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, it cinched
my interest in writing a story around mental
illness.
Future Plans Heading for Medical School
Excerpt Later, Alastair lay in the psychiatry
dormitory and opened up his T.S. Eliot book. He
tried to finish the poem hed started earlier
that day. The man who had cursed so profoundly
earlier grinned at him from the bed next to him.
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Freshman/Sophomore Division (Poetry)- 1st Place
Delphos St. Johns High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Christina Elwer
Interests I like to try to play my guitar. I
love to listen to music. Music is my very own
little secret hide-out.
Inspiration for the Work Inspired by a true
story
Future Plans Something to do with music
because music is a very large part of my
lifeMusic is what inspires me to be creative,
express myself, and show people how Im feeling
and who I am.
Excerpt Make my mind stop thinking of the only
thing it does Make my body rid you from me Beca
use I cant stand knowing my medicine man is
killing me
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Freshman/Sophomore Division (Fiction)- 1st Place
Delphos Jefferson High School
Sponsoring Teacher Mrs. Siebeneck
Hobbies and Interests- Wrestling, Soccer,
Writing, and Sketching
Future Plans I hope to be a writer when Im
older.
Excerpt The Returner threw back the long slee
ves of his trench coat and laced his fingers.
The ink across his knuckles formed an ancient
symbol that had long lost its true meaning. A
translation was unnecessary now the symbols
meant one thing and one thing only repulsion.
Between his hands, the Returner could feel the
cool metal of the medallion as he gripped it
tightly.
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Junior/Senior Division (Poetry) Honorable Mention
Bath High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Elaine Bradley
Interests Writing poetry and stories, playing
Alto Sax in Marching and Concert Band
Inspiration for the Work My twin actually
inspired me for the reflection bit because we
used to look so much alike that I cant even tell
her from myself in old pictures.
Future Plans Attending Rhodes State to become
a medical transcriptionist I also plan to write
a little on the side just for a release from my
stressful environment.
Excerpt Dying in a room with no way out Will
my soul be able to leave when my body dies
I am so ashamed of the way I must go
Crushed by my own dark web of lies
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Junior/Senior Division (Fiction) Honorable
Mention
Shawnee High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Margie Bush
Excerpt The air is hot, moist, and stale. He
hates the smallness of the room. He hates the
tiny window which allows him a view of paradise,
but blocks the sweet kiss of an ocean breeze. A
familiar feeling has returned. It is the notion
that he is in some sort of dungeon. His tie, its
knot tightly pressed against his Adams apple,
feels like a collar, choking him and weighing him
down. The Spanish speaking voices now belong to
cruel inquisitors, and they demand loyalty to a
mighty patriarch in whom he no longer believes or
trusts.
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Junior/Senior Division (Poetry) Honorable Mention
Apollo Career Center
Sponsoring Teacher- Jane Ewen
Excerpt I am like a wild flower Silent to cor
ruption, deafening to vividness
Growing rapidly and creating secrets
Anger and passion feed my fiery disposition
And my dreams and desires multiply
Creating subsistence within the fields that I
thrive Emptiness consumed by desires Built up
in the blackened fires Of corruption The reach o
f a total loss Sanctioned by our own cross Of Re
demption
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Junior/Senior Division (Fiction)- Honorable
Mention
Lima Central Catholic High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Joshua Vasquez
Inspiration for the Work An experience Alex
had with a stranger at the downtown Kewpee
inspired this story. I think that the story is
more about classism than racism and I think
sometimes those two are confused. I wanted to
write about that and about unreasonable fear
towards the poor.
Excerpt At each stop, more and more of the sa
me people began to enter the bus and take their
seats around Frank. Dark skinned and ragged,
poor and mischievous, he thought. The shiny belt
of the purse of the woman sitting to his right
flashed at him like an impatient knife. Bulges
in the mens pockets began to take on the form of
portly pistols waiting for the opportunity to
take aim. The glint of snow lost its wintry
feel, replaced instead by bags of cocaine.
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Junior/Senior Division (Poetry) Honorable Mention
Bluffton High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Beth Cogley
Excerpt She thought a long while as the game
went on And watched as Mike struck out anew. S
he watched a the parents waved to their child.
Who still smiled at a loss of 13 to 2.
After the game had ended The woman guided Mik
e with a tug To sit down as she said shed like
to be friends And she drew him into a hug.
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Junior/Senior Division (Fiction)- Honorable
Mention
Temple Christian High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Elizabeth Knick
Interests Music and Sports
Inspiration for the Work What inspired me
most was a short story I read by Jack London
entitled Moon-Face.
Excerpt One day, I was fervently drawing away
with what was possibly one of the best drawings I
had ever drawn, when the Blue Admiral flew away.
I ran after it, searching with all that I had. I
was so involved with the chase that I became
completely disoriented. I had no clue where I
was, until it dawned on me. I had stumbled into
the very land upon which was forbidden to me the
north woods.
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Junior/Senior Division (Poetry) Honorable Mention
Delphos Jefferson High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Mrs. Siebeneck
Excerpt I am not your average feline Though
I may seem sassy and high maintenance
A contributor to lifes lessons
A good companion for a teenage girl
Remember curiosity never killed anything-
Except a few hours.
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Junior/Senior Division (Fiction) Honorable
Mention
Temple Christian High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Elizabeth Knick
Excerpt "The proposition was mailed to all the
countries, and all of the arrangements were made
for the princesses to come to Lekvoria.  A new
day was dawning, and the time was nearing for
everything to fall into place.  Now this brings
us to the large, quaint town of Benestra, where
in the center sat a magnificent palace.  It was
surrounded by a moat that flowed from a huge
fountain, practically a waterfall, located in the
center of the palace.  Vines with gorgeous
flowers climbed the palace walls and wrapped
around the gates."
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Junior/Senior Division (Poetry) Honorable Mention
Bluffton High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Beth Cogley
Interests Reading, sleeping
Inspiration for the Work I was inspired to
write my work because of the heavy stress of my
life at the time, including going to college and
tearing my ACL.
Future Plans I plan to go to Albion College in
Albion, Michigan next year.
Excerpt she was traversing the high, pale clo
uds with wings unfurled and eyes bright un
til she crossed paths with Reality
and he kicked her out of flight
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Junior/Senior Division (Fiction)- 3rd Place
Bluffton High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Elizabeth Cogley
Hobbies and Interests- Playing Piano, Writing,
Playing Soccer, Acting, and Singing
Inspiration for the work- Rachel got the idea for
this story from a paragraph she had brainstormed
a year ago.
Future Plans I plan on majoring in aviation
and minoring in Spanish at OSU (in Columbus) next
fall and hope to eventually become a commercial
pilot for international flights.
Excerpt There is nothing on it, no name etched
into its wooden cross. But looking at it,
somewhat isolated from the others, I know whose
it is.
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Junior/Senior Division (Fiction)- 2nd Place
Lima Central Catholic High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Joshua Vasquez
Interests Reading and Writing Short
Compositions, Playing Violin and Piano,
Traveling, and Louisianan Cooking
Inspiration for the Work I believe that I
wrote this story to not only express my interest
and recognition of the Cajun/Creole heritage in
Louisiana, but to show that people should not
always judge on their first impulse. Dennis
previously lived in New Orleans and loosely bases
his style on Creole writer Kate Chopin.
Excerpt Sitting at his dimly gas lit bureau,
Andre was efficiently filing papers in between
huge gray puffs of smoke from his Mexican cigar.
As he was finishing up with his bank statements,
he neutrally asked his wife for something to
drink. After mixing it a little with the slotted
absinthe spoon, she nonchalantly set it next to
him. As she silently approached him, he eyed her
with a slight suspicion- one that only comes when
a normally inquisitive wife is sharply silent.
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Junior/Senior Division (Poetry)-2nd Place
Delphos St. Johns High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Susan Knippen
Hobbies and Interests- Dance, Writing for
Leisure, Drawing, Watching Silent Movies and
Independent Art Films
Future Plans I plan to attend Columbia College
of Chicago and major in film/video production
with a concentration in cinematography.
Excerpt he this boy, his re
flection punch that mirror destroy the
beauty with glass in his knuckles
on the bathroom floor with the bloo
d and tears he can trust the
lies shes told him
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Junior/Senior Division (Fiction)- 1st Place
Shawnee High School
Sponsoring Teacher- Kathie Naab
Inspiration for the Work The War in Iraq.
This work was written as a means of catharsis,
to release the tension I feel when I hear of some
new atrocity.
Interests I sincerely enjoy the act of writing
and stringing words together in such a way as to
be new and exciting. I have been an avid reader
for as far back as I can remember, encouraged by
family and teachers alike.
Future Plans I plan to try my luck at Stanford
University in California Maybe something in
journalism or perhaps something in the medical
field (both my parents are doctors).
Excerpt Then you would see a face so removed
from the present that you could see right through
his eyes, like the panes of slightly warped
glass, and behind it a dropping away as if of
some vast cliff, and at the bottom who knows?
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Junior/Senior Division (Poetry) 1st Place
Bluffton High School
Sponsoring Teacher Elizabeth Cogley
Interests Reading, Writing, Running, Flag
Corps, Watching Movies, and Listening to Music
Future Plans Study Pharmacy at The University
of Toledo
Excerpt And as each moment passed Reason fade
d from their minds At first they began to squabbl
e And then they began to fight And as the minute
s passed They failed to see their plight
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