Where Am I? Sitka Story Lab Student Anthology
The Island Institute's Sitka Story Lab program released this new book of Southeast Alaskan student writing in May 2016. Called Where Am I?: Stories of Strange Landscapes, Wrong Turns, and New Worlds, the anthology features fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and zany creative experiments that convey the disorientation and the discovery that young people experience, from being in the wilderness to simply growing up. The young writers come from Sitka, Hoonah, Haines, Wrangell, and Skagway, and are as young as nine years old and as old as eighteen. "The writing ranges from fantastic and playful to emotionally moving and dark," said Story Lab Coordinator Sarah Swong. "I'm impressed at how creative and varied these writings are, and at how open students were to feedback and improving their work." The project offered students the chance to write a piece for publication and to hone their writing with an editor.
The Island Institute's Sitka Story Lab program released this new book of Southeast Alaskan student writing in May 2016.
Called Where Am I?: Stories of Strange Landscapes, Wrong Turns, and New Worlds, the anthology features fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and zany creative experiments that convey the disorientation and the discovery that young people experience, from being in the wilderness to simply growing up. The young writers come from Sitka, Hoonah, Haines, Wrangell, and Skagway, and are as young as nine years old and as old as eighteen.
"The writing ranges from fantastic and playful to emotionally moving and dark," said Story Lab Coordinator Sarah Swong. "I'm impressed at how creative and varied these writings are, and at how open students were to feedback and improving their work."
The project offered students the chance to write a piece for publication and to hone their writing with an editor.
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THIS I BELIEVE<br />
James<br />
I believe in taking risks. It was 2015 and I was at Water World<br />
with my family. My sister, my brother, and I had been walking all<br />
day, and wanted to do something fun.<br />
My parents took us to a big stadium-looking place. To me, it<br />
looked more like a pool than stadium. The water was bright blue<br />
and the sun was reflecting off it, which made it even brighter.<br />
The stadium was filled with people holding cameras and wearing<br />
ponchos. My sister told me to go to the Splash Zone with her. I<br />
was confused because I did not know what a Splash Zone was, but<br />
I went with her. We asked my brother if he wanted to go, but he<br />
wussed out.<br />
A bunch of kids were gathered around the Splash Zone around the<br />
pool and some adults. Most of the kids looked like 5th graders. My<br />
parents told me we were going to see whales, but throughout this<br />
whole trip I had not seen one whale.<br />
We waited around the Splash Zone until my legs hurt. Then, a lady<br />
walked onto the stage and everyone cheered. The lady said some<br />
things I can’t remember. And then a killer whale came out of the<br />
water and the lady made it do tricks. It splashed me at least five<br />
times. That’s when I figured out why they called it the Splash Zone.<br />
When the show was over, everyone cheered and started filing out. I<br />
was wet when we left, but I was having so much fun. We got myself<br />
some dry things to wear and then we got something to eat.<br />
That day taught me a lesson: take risks. Sometimes taking risks can<br />
make you feel good inside afterwards. Now I take risks more. I rode<br />
a bike down a steep hill in the rain. Once, I went down a really<br />
stepped water coaster. Both of those moments were fun. This is why<br />
I believe in taking risks.<br />
82 <strong>Where</strong> <strong>Am</strong> I?
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