About the Authors
Eliza Farley, grade 12, St. Paul Academy and Summit School. Eliza Farley is a senior at St. Paul Academy and Summit School and will be attending Carleton College in the fall. She enjoys biking, watching movies, spending time with her family and playing the oboe. Entries: The Starlings
Adelyn Fox, grade 10, Big Lake High School. As of writing this I’m 15, and hope to be going to med school. I like to crochet and cross-stitch but find comfort in song and in the words of voices that came before my own. Entries: My bleeding heart, oh my bleeding heart
Duck Hens, grade 12, Morris Area School. I really enjoy drawing and writing stories about my own characters. Entries: Jean-Honore Fragonard’s “The Swing”
Elspeth G. Johnson, grade 12, Big Lake High School. I’m a high school senior who loves to read and write. I’m excited to see where graduating this year will take me. My life motto is eat pray slay! Entries: death by a thousand bullets, desolation
Amalia Laguna, grade 12, St. Paul Academy and Summit School. Amalia is a high school senior in the Twin Cities. In her free time she loves to swim, play frisbee with her friends, read sci-fi novels, and sing. Entries: chaos theory
Jeslyn Olson, grade 12, Morris Area High School. I am planning to pursue a career in psychology. I enjoy reading, baking, listening to music and learning new things. I am interested in many different topics and hobbies and have a habit of bouncing around in between them. My ultimate goal in life is to help people and I believe the first step in doing so is to be empathetic. Entries: An Offering, Burning Envy
Sofia Skuza Rivera, grade 9, St. Paul Academy and Summit School. It has always been Sofia, her mom and her dad. Growing up without siblings meant drawing many traits from her parents was an inevitable gift. Her dad is an artistic person with an aptitude for science, and her mom has always found a love for leading. Along with embodying the characteristics of her parents, she also forged her own path. She is a storyteller through creative writing, dance and painting. But part of being a storyteller means that it is crucial to find a place to draw from; for her, these places can be found within travel, her family and the people she connects with at school. Entries: All I want is The Truth, To Forget, The Performance
Linda Stokes, grade 9, Big Lake High School. Linda Stokes is a freshman in Big Lake High School who loves sports, psychology, traveling, public speaking and anything animal. She dreams of letting others feel heard through her voice. As someone who struggles with mental health, she strives to make a positive impact in her community, hoping to spread the message of love to those who need it. Entries: Who am I?
Caleigh VanKempen, grade 11, Morris Area Highschool. I have always loved helping people. In the future I decided I want to become a military psychologist. Mental health has always been a struggle for me and my family and I’ve taught myself to express my emotions via poetry. Entries: Sweet Spring, The Girl With Auburn Hair
Oliver Barber Wahl, grade 12, Morris Area High School. Born in Michigan, moved to Minnesota. Hoping to pursue creative writing in college. Entries: Cupid’s Camaro Strikes
Adrianna Ziegelmann, grade 9, Big Lake High School. Hi, I’m Adrianna Ziegelmann and I’m 15 years old and I’m from Big Lake, Minnesota. Some of my favorite hobbies include drawing, shopping, hanging out with friends, working out and writing poetry. I was born and raised in Sarasota, Florida until I was 4 years old. Then I came up here to Minnesota to live with my mom and stepdad. For my future plans, I want to work towards becoming a marine biologist. I’ve had that dream ever since I was a little girl. I’m a big animal lover when it comes to taking care of them or interacting them. Sure enough, I have a mini golden cocker doodle of my own named Archie. He’s the cutest little teddy bear who loves to snuggle. For the past year, I’ve fought with my dad nonstop and it’s been draining my mental health. Until a couple of months ago, I found that writing poetry helps me with that situation and helps me truly express how I’m feeling and all the thoughts that are on my mind. Now that I’ve started to write poetry, I want adults and kids around the world to know and see how the topics of my poems can relate to those who struggle these days, and how we can change the world to make it a better place. Entries: Enough, The Friendship That Melted My Heart, Trying