MySouthlakeNews.com
Haoai Li took home the gold earlier this month after winning in the Chinese Language Association of Secondary Elementary School’s essay writing contest.
A Carroll High School sophomore, Haoai was prompted to write an essay about the three items she would include in a time capsule from 2020. According to MySouthlakeNews.com, the first item Haoai included in her essay was a pot of plants.
“This plant that I took care of is now thriving,” Haoai says in MySouthlakeNews.com. "He is my return to nature. During is period, I learned that everything in the world is mutually reinforcing. If people protect nature, nature will protect us.”
Another object she wrote about was a piece of clothing. The final object was strings of dialogue she shared with family and friends to help her through the unprecedented times she was living through.
“From worry to encouragement, we fought side by side,” Haoai says in MySouthlakeNews.com. “A simple sentence of ‘pay attention to safety’ warmed my heart at all times.”
Haoai won the gold award in the third division, which is the highest level of the essay writing contest. Her teacher Yushin Lee says she was proud of how Haoai described life as a young adult living through a pandemic.
“The essay expresses the author’s feelings and strategies in overcoming her anxiety about the pandemic,” Yushin says in MySouthlakeNews.com. “The writing reflects the author’s kindness and longing for harmony with nature, as well as among mankind.”
To learn more about CLASS and its essay writing contest, visit ClassK12.org.