Q - Millard North High School

May 10. 2011 features 9Stranger than fictionMN Student turns fantasy into realityA summer hobby to get hooked onGrab Some GearCatch some rays, fish•Look out for rod and reel combopacks to save some money.•Most will come with some starter tackle.•Buy some live bait and gradually build upyour plastics, spinners and crank baits.•Watch for sales and seasonend deals before & afterthe fishing season.Need toKnow InfoInformation compiled by Brent GriffithsIllustration by Kelly BastSenior Shelly Li poses before IB English HL II class. Li is the authorof the science fiction book “The Royal Hunter” which willbe in book stores late 2012. photo by Erin Politonataliewheelerstaff writerWhen first scrutinizing herwork, publishers were unawareof senior Shelly Li’s age. Thestory before them seemed to bethe work of a seasoned writer,not that of a student who regularlypushes her way through thecrowded halls of a high school.In fact, the idea that a MN attendingteenager has storiestranslated into ten languages isdifficult to fathom.Li realized her aptitude forliterature as a result of childhoodangst. She differed academicallyfrom her peers, and beganto curse in class to gain respect.Her fourth grade teacher washorrified with the behavior untilLi learned to express these pentup feelings creatively.“I actually enjoyed writing,”Li said, “and not just forthe shock value. I loved foldingin scenes and dialogue to makea character seem real.”Li quickly expanded onher newfound gift. She beganattending conventions and submittedher science fiction basedshort stories to various publications.In 2008, she finally soldher narrative “Replacement” toNature magazine, which publishedit three months later.“I smiled for so long that Inow have permanent smile linesfrom the joy of seeing my bylinein an international journal,”Li said.However this was just thebeginning. Li has since had herstories published in Daily ScienceFiction, Nature, CosmosOnline, and numerous otherjournals. She has even madeappearances at fantasy writingconventions.Yet while publishers are a-buzz with news of the brilliantnew author, Li herself has told•Practice “setting the hook.”•To fish everyone of age 16 andup must have a fishing license.•Know the limits and rules that applywhen you want to keep your catch.These vary by fish and lake so doublecheck beforehand.Tips and Tricks ofthe TradeDon’t over-do it- you might lose fish.•Use live-baits to start out with, for exampleminnows or worms. For extra ease,put a bobber on your line to indicatewhen the fish bites.•Most fishermen areeager to help.Information from NE Game & Parksfew people her remarkable successstory.“Shelly is very modestabout her gift,” English teacherRhonda Betzold said, “She’scompelled not because of fameor glory, but because she lovesit so much.”Betzold taught Li for twoyears, and was impressed whenLi presented her with a manuscriptfreshman year. The sci-fistyle she excels in was intriguingto her teacher.“Her ability to bring meaningand importance and to createthese worlds where everythingmakes sense is just phenomenal,”Betzold said.Friend Madelaine Hocklearned of Li’s love for writingas a freshman, yet didn’t approachher until two years later.While surprising to Li, the realizationthat her work was appreciatedallowed her to becomeless bashful.“I am blown away by hercreativity,” senior MadelaineHock said, “My admiration onlygrew when I learned how longshe had worked (about a year)to get her first story published.”Currently Li has about 25science fiction young adult storieswritten, one of which, “TheRoyal Hunter”, is going to appearin bookstores in late 2012.The credit of Li’s successpartially goes to her perseverance.She writes thousands ofwords every day to keep thecreative juices flowing and mustimmediately jot down the ideasrunning through her head. Howeverwhat deserves much of theglory is the astounding imaginationand creativity that is pouredinto every word of her work.“Writing a story is likeplaying God,” Li said, “It comeswith a lot of responsibility, butoverall, is very rewarding.”Local Locales:Bennington Lake—Public access is only permittedon the jetty locationa half a mile westof 168th street at theintersection of NE Hwy36 and Newport LandingLawrence YoungmanLake— In ElkhornWalnutInCreek—PapillionTwo Rivers— Bullhead,Bluegill, Carp, ChannelCatfish, Crappie,Grass Pickerel, LargemouthBass, RainbowTrout, Small Mouth Bass.Seven Pits. Trout fishingat Lake #5, youmust buy a daily tag.Lost in the lingo?Fishing GlossaryPlastics— plastic wormswhich can be put on thehook in various ways.Spinner bait— a type offishing lure designed tospin through the water.Crank bait— a commonhard-bodied lure whichusually imitates baitfishor other types of prey.In myownwordselisha-kimdesmanglesMiles ofmemoriesI walked from the airplane terminal to theairport, carry-on and passport in hand. Excitementand anxiety rushed over me as I noticed theplethora of skyscrapers and high rise apartmentbuildings illuminated at nighttime. Being almost100 square meters larger and having 18 timesmore people than in Omaha, the modern societyof Hong Kong was quickly becoming one of myfavorite places I had travelled to. Five minutesafter landing on Hong Kong soil, I already knewthat I was supposed to be there.Not only was I in Hong Kong to become immersedin the culture and tradition of the SoutheastAsian region, but to attend school as a studentfor one week at Ma Cha Duen Hey MemorialCollege. I was going to wear the uniform, takeclasses, make friends, and learn basic Chinese. Iwas now a high school student in Hong Kong.Two days after arriving, it was my first day ofschool at MCDH. The other participants from mychurch and I decided to greet the students as theyarrived at school. Eyes were glued on us whilewhispering and chuckles filled the air. Surelythey were making fun of the oversized uniformsthe school had given us, or the severe jet lag thatclaimed our exhaustion-ridden faces.I am going to admit that despite my optimisticand all-smiles attitude, I was very nervousabout the journey I had just embarked on. Hearingthe kids snickering while walking past us, Ithought twice about whether I would be able tosurvive a week in school with them.The first few days of school, we were able toshare a little about ourselves in the classes. I hadprepared a photo album that I showed to the students.They laughed as I showed them a picture ofme bowling, and the gutter ball that followed. Wehad a lot of the same interests. A passion for Paramoremusic and the Saw movie series brought theability to create bonds of friendship.As I paged through my photos, I found myselfexplaining concepts such as “prom” and“snow blowers,” words as foreign to them asHong Kong was to me.The week went on and they grew more andmore comfortable with me as I did with them. Ibecame used to the never ending comments aboutmy “big, curly hair,” or obnoxiously difficultname. It was almost as if they were as intriguedby me as I was intrigued by them.My newfound friends took me out to authenticChinese meals, where I learned how to usechopsticks and eat memorable delicacies, suchas duck feet and jellyfish. They taught me wordsin Chinese and showed me the best places to goshopping. They invited me to their houses to playNintendo Wii games and Monopoly—just likeOmaha.They wanted to visit the US; I wanted to stayin Hong Kong a little while longer. We chattedabout normal teenage things like college woesand favorite actors. We were on different continents,but there were commonalities between us.As I packed my suitcase on my last day, Icouldn’t stop thinking about how much I didn’twant to leave. There was still so much to see anddo. I thought about the fun times I had with thestudents, explaining what school dances werelike, or describing Omaha’s crazy weather in thewinter. This was the best week of my life, and Ididn’t want it to end.We’re worlds apart, but I still can’t stopthinking about my friends in Hong Kong. Theywere just like me. It took a 7000 mile 16 hourflight for me to realize it. Thank God for the inventionsof Facebook and Skype. After another16 hours, I walked into Eppley Airfield. My journeyhad terminated, but hopefully it will one daybegin again.