Somerset County 2 Creative Writing Anthology The Somerset County Creative Writing Anthology is a component of Somerset County’s Virtual Teen Arts Festival. Students’ creative writing is read by respected, professional writers. Video critiques that highlight strengths and offer constructive suggestions for improvement are provided for each student. The Somerset County Teen Arts Creative Writing component is a complement to the County school districts’ regular English classes in that it offers students the opportunity to work directly with professional writers and poets. Students are encouraged to fine-tune their writing skills and are given insights into the creative process. The Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission wishes to commend the students whose work appears in this anthology, and hopes the experience will inspire them to continue writing as an expressive art form. All students, artists, and school liaisons have our heartfelt thanks for their work in helping us produce our first Virtual Teen Arts Festival! Cover Artwork: Maia Vidal, 13 Branchburg Central Middle School Grade 8 3 SCHOOLS & STUDENTS ALEXANDER BATCHO INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL Teachers: Erika Barney Vanessa Dickson ...................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Trip Freitag ............................................................................................................................................................................ 10 Sebastian Gazda .................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Hannah Kunjumon ................................................................................................................................................................ 16 Alexancra Kuznetsov ............................................................................................................................................................ 19 Janely Munguia ...................................................................................................................................................................... 21 Edward Zuniga ...................................................................................................................................................................... 24 BERNARDSVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL Teachers: Danielle McGovern Cyrus Mehrrostami ............................................................................................................................................................... 25 BOUND BROOK HIGH SCHOOL Teachers: Courtney Nemerofsky Zujeidi Lopez .......................................................................................................................................................................... 28 BRANCHBURG CENTRAL MIDDLE SCHOOL Teachers: Suzanna Updegrove Christopher Dugan ................................................................................................................................................................ 29 Shloka Moosthiala ................................................................................................................................................................. 30 Cassara Nguyen...................................................................................................................................................................... 31 Tiana Nguyen ......................................................................................................................................................................... 32 Maia Vidal ............................................................................................................................................................................... 34 BRIDGEWATER RARITAN HIGH SCHOOL Teachers: Stacey Fleissner Ameya Nerella ........................................................................................................................................................................ 35 4 HILLSBOROUGH HIGH SCHOOL Teachers: Lynn Mound, Rebecca McManus, Anthony Smith Meghna Bharath .................................................................................................................................................................... 38 Caitlyn Chui............................................................................................................................................................................ 39 Alex Cline ............................................................................................................................................................................... 40 Morgan Hodorowski ............................................................................................................................................................ 41 Riti Krishna ............................................................................................................................................................................ 44 HILLSBOROUGH MIDDLE SCHOOL Teachers: Dawn Cervellino, Bill Dixon, Heather Pozsonyi, Nina Presuto Maya Barajas .......................................................................................................................................................................... 47 Colleen Bull ............................................................................................................................................................................ 48 Joseph Campana .................................................................................................................................................................... 49 Isabella DiStasio .................................................................................................................................................................... 52 Ryan Gear ............................................................................................................................................................................... 55 Nicola Johnson ....................................................................................................................................................................... 56 Alaap Joshi .............................................................................................................................................................................. 57 Shreya Malhorta .................................................................................................................................................................... 58 Karolina Matejcsyk ............................................................................................................................................................... 62 Isabella Nunziata ................................................................................................................................................................... 63 Noah Offiah ............................................................................................................................................................................. 66 Srija Patel ................................................................................................................................................................................ 68 Emma Payne .......................................................................................................................................................................... 74 Marisol Perez ......................................................................................................................................................................... 75 Kunal Shah .............................................................................................................................................................................. 76 Xienna Still ............................................................................................................................................................................. 77 Emily Stuart ........................................................................................................................................................................... 78 Ethan Tang............................................................................................................................................................................. 80 Alexa Tietjan .......................................................................................................................................................................... 82 Blair Yusko ............................................................................................................................................................................. 83 MANVILLE HIGH SCHOOL Teachers: Rachel Lopa, Jennifer Kohl Williams Emily Cano ............................................................................................................................................................................. 84 Xiomara Castro ...................................................................................................................................................................... 87 5 WATCHUNG HILLS REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL Teachers: Christina Dwyer Rachel Elevathingal .............................................................................................................................................................