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The Marble Mountains

by Tram H., grade 10

from I Remember... Spring 2021

Summer of 2018… a very memorable summer. A very happy and peaceful summer. My dad and I had taken the motorcycle to the countryside to visit my great-grandpa. On the way there, I remember the cool air hitting my hot skin. It was a hot and humid day in Vietnam. It hadn’t rained in a while so, going on that motorcycle was a temporary relief. I remember my dad looking over his shoulder and asking if I wanted to climb The Marble Mountains. I had contemplated this for a while because I was wearing flip flops and that wasn’t really the ideal mountain climbing shoes. I thought why not? When will I ever get the chance again so I said yes.

When we arrived at the bottom of the mountain, my dad had bought us tickets. I stood there waiting patiently for my dad. I looked over to my right and I felt instant regret. Stairs. I saw very steep stairs that we were about to climb. The stairs were made of marble so it was very slippery. When we were climbing up, I remembered holding onto my dad. I kept asking my dad about the plants on the mountain and asking if the stairs were hand-carved. I don’t exactly remember his answers. We were both exhausted, but we were determined to reach the top. Luckily, we reached the top without slipping or tripping. It took us around 20 minutes to reach the top.

When we had reached the top, I was very proud of myself. I climbed all 156 slippery and steep steps. After I caught my breath, I looked around and I remembered being in awe of the place. In front of me was a beautiful Buddha statue surrounded by water. To the left of the Buddha was this breathtaking temple. I had seen places like these online, but seeing it in person was a different experience. We were surrounded by nature. We were surrounded by these lovely trees that were giving everyone shade from the beaming sun. Birds were chirping and it was just so nice. I felt my body calm down instantly. The air was crisp and cool contrasting the humid city of Da Nang, Vietnam. I began to walk around exploring the place. The closer I looked, I saw these intricate designs of dragons and Chinese writings on the stones. I walked to the stone railing and I let out a gasp. It was still early afternoon and I saw this beautiful view of the city. The different colored roofs of each building, the shimmering ocean behind, the mountains on the horizon, and the beautiful sun shining above. I quickly took some pictures of the place. My dad called me over and we continued deeper into the mountain.

I had noticed that the higher we went, the cooler it got. It was so refreshing being able to take a deep breath up there. We found a cave that was there but decided against going in. I hadn’t worn proper clothing to be climbing around. We instead sat down at this little vendor for a little break. I got a bottle of water while my dad got a coconut. It was quiet and peaceful, a small break for my head.  

That day was one of the most memorable days in my life. I remembered feeling so happy. I was happy that I was able to explore my home country more, but I was also content because I got to bond with my dad. I wish that one day I will be able to go back with my mom and my little sister. And maybe in the future, I would be able to go back with my own family.  

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My Grandpa

by Solfabiola G., grade 10

from I Remember... Spring 2021

I remember the first day I had seen my grandpa again, after he was in the hospital for an entire summer. Although, it felt like a million years. It starts off being the last day of school in 6th grade. Obviously being a kid, summer is basically paradise. You get to go to the beach, eat ice cream practically every day, and best of all: no homework. After school had finally ended, I was at my grandparents’ house, watching TV. About a few hours later, my grandpa stated he was not feeling well. We immediately called the ambulance. I wasn’t so worried about it at first because my grandpa had often needed to go to the hospital before, and he usually came back better; it was never anything serious. I was hoping this would also be the case, but sadly it wasn’t. After a week or two, I knew something was definitely wrong. He never spent more than three nights at a hospital. It turns out he had a heart attack. This was dreadful for our family, dreadful for him. I couldn’t believe that a man who takes proper care of himself as well as my grandpa does had health problems.

It was possible I stepped foot in that hospital about 40 times, in a single summer. It was difficult seeing him like that on the bed, hiding away his emotions. Every time I called him on the phone, I was filled with sorrow. Around the beginning of August, he was finally ready to go home. I couldn’t wait to get to my grandparents’ house and he would already be there. You know when you see a loved one again and that feeling can never compare to winning the lottery because it's just so much better? This was the case. My grandma ended up calling with tragic news; my grandpa had to go back to the hospital. As he was walking up the stairs, (my grandparents live in a 3rd floor apartment, which I hate because they’re older and it kills me they have to deal with that) he couldn’t take it anymore. He went back to the hospital, and tragically, it turns out he had a stroke. This was the worst summer of my life. Over a month later of all my family’s and my emotional distress, it was the day I’ll never forget.  

He came home for the first time in about 3 months. Now it wasn’t easy for him to be happy at first and I understand him. It must be hard going through a rough patch in your life but still trying to act like everything is fine, just to not worry your family. It took a while for him to adapt to his new life, not being able to perform the same tasks he was used to doing. He loved going outside, it didn’t matter if it was cold or humid, going out was his happiness. So the day he returned I felt bad seeing someone I love not getting to do their favorite thing. On a more positive note, it was amazing he wasn’t in that hospital anymore. He was home and was going to stay here for good. Over three years later to this day, he may not be as strong as he used to be. Fortunately, he’s improved so much over the past three years. I will always view my grandpa as the man who managed to survive a heart attack, not to mention a stroke. The man who pawned his TV for cab money when my sister needed to be rushed to the hospital. The man who always took my siblings and I to the park like crazy. Seriously, all the time. When I look back at those memories of him pushing my sister on the swings, my brother on the monkey bars trying to prove he was strong, and I was in my own world drawing with chalk; I’m able to see how he always has been putting us first since day one. Once, he and I were walking outside and he told me “Wow, I remember when I had to hold you by your hands, now look at you having to hold onto mine.” I wanted to bawl my eyes out but instead looked at it like this: if he thinks he’s no longer going to live a happy life, it’s up to me to fix that. If he’s able to be here with us in the future, I will consider myself the luckiest person in the world.  

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My Leg

by Natasha M., grade 10

from I Remember... Spring 2021

On March, 26, 2019, my life changed in a blink of an eye. I lost myself, and it was so hard to find myself back. I fractured a bone in my leg, and it changed my life around. I was playing basketball, a 1-on-1 with somebody who was bigger than me. I was going for a layup and as I was going up, he ran into my leg and it twisted the other way. I couldn't walk when it happened, but I was able to move it around. Eventually I was able to walk because I thought nothing was wrong. That night I ran to the bus stop because I didn't want to miss my bus, and I didn’t feel anything. It just felt normal. As soon as I got home, I felt the pain. It hit me within a blink of an eye.  

I didn't think it was too serious at the time, so I just put a leg wrap to just keep my leg from hurting, but the next day it was so hard to walk. I was walking with a limp around everywhere. At the time I still didn't think anything too serious about it until I was in school, and the pain started hitting me. I called my mom, and she came and picked me up and took me to the hospital.  

Usually they take a really long time, but this time it was quick. They ran x-rays on my leg, but really didn't find anything but a small fracture. They weren't a 100% sure though, so they referred me to an MRI doctor. Just because I wasn't able to walk they gave me a whole leg brace to wrap around my leg and I was on crutches. That was my ever first time using them.  

When all this happened I couldn't play basketball anymore, and I was so hurt about it. I was waiting to get an MRI. So I couldn't play until I was 100% sure that nothing was wrong. When I got the MRI, they found a fracture in my bone. They told me that I kept my leg straight in a cast for two long so that the plaster stuck. I didn't know how to bend it, the fracture was also making it hard to bend. I have had physical therapy for a couple months straight and I went through so much pain during those months.  

Everything got better eventually and I was able to play again. Even now I still have problems with my leg. It makes me so frustrated that I'm never going to be the same again. My leg has a big impact on me because it changes the way I play now. It changed everything for me.  

[iremember826chi]

Lose, Learn, and Continue

by Mariana D., grade 10

from I Remember... Spring 2021

I woke up in the middle of the night. I had heard crying. I was so confused. I didn't know what was happening. I thought I was dreaming. I’ve never heard this cry before but I just knew it was my mom.

I started thinking of the worst case scenarios. I thought something bad had happened to my dad, since he works at night and comes back in the morning around eight. I stayed inside my room because I knew it was a school night, and all of my siblings were asleep. I fought the urge to go out and fell asleep again.  When I woke up my mom was acting as usual. The only different thing that day was that my dad was home early.  

When we came back from school my dad had told me and my siblings what had happened. My mom’s brother had been shot, and they didn't have enough money to cover the medical bills. My dad helped with the money, but after a week my grandma had called from Mexico that my uncle had passed away. Me and my siblings never got to know him. He left his three kids behind; they were around 4 and 2. The youngest was like months, or a year old at the time.

My mom and her brother were really close. She used to take care of him when they were younger. He even sometimes called her mom when he was little because my grandma used to work a lot to get money and food. When she heard he had passed away, she was really sad. The day of his funeral she didn't want to go to Mexico because she thought that it would be a waste of money, because she was not going to be able to see him again.  

The day of his funeral was also a school day. It was the beginning of the school year. I was in seventh grade. She got to see the funeral by FaceTime. My mom had been crying and I remember feeling bad for not being able to do anything. My dad was comforting her. This was my first time losing a family member that was close to my parents. I got to see how she coped with her brother's death, she always thought about happy memories she had about him. She is really strong and no matter how rough times can get she always continues to get past them and learn from them.  

My mom always tells us memories of her brother when they were younger. She also told me that my uncle and I had the same birthday. I always think how it would've been if I knew him. But everything happens for a reason, God knew that it would be less painful if we didn't know him. Even though I didn't get to know him I feel like we would have had a good bond.  

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Bella

by Lucila R., grade 10

from I Remember... Spring 2021

I remember when I first got Bella my dog. It was about 4 years ago when I was about 12 years old. My aunt's dog had lots of puppies, and she couldn’t take care of them all, and she was also aware that I always wanted to have a dog, so she convinced my mom to let her give me one. Since it was summer, it was really hot and my cousin's mom was having a party in the backyard and invited lots of family over. I was inside watching TV when my aunt knocked on the door and brought the puppy. I still remember the excitement I felt when I saw her. I immediately went to pet her. She was extremely small which obviously was because she was a puppy, but still she was just so tiny. I was exclaiming to my parents how happy I was that I now had a companion and someone to play with. Honestly I see her as a cute little sister that I never expected to have. That day is a day I will never forget because it was really special and Bella really changed my life, I just can’t imagine how my life would be without her. The first few weeks of taking care of her weren’t as hard as I was expecting them to be, but it wasn’t extremely easy either. She would cry a lot at night because she wanted to sleep with us and not on the floor. Eventually we felt bad and let her sleep with us, because she wouldn’t stop crying until we put her on the bed to sleep with us. I think the most difficult part was having to potty train her because it took her a while to learn how to use the bathroom outside and not inside. Thankfully she did end up getting the hang of it but she never learned how to go down the stairs; she can go up them but not down them. I currently have 3 dogs, and I love them all dearly, I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world. Animals for the most part are 10x better than humans. Bella, Luna, and Sharky all love going out a lot and they get grumpy when we don’t take them out. Bella, and Luna hate the snow but Sharky loves going out in the snow to play in it. All three of them get scared very easily especially when they have to go to the vet or hear fireworks. They also really like chicken and get jealous easily. One thing I find adorable about them is that they like to sleep next to each other sometimes. Bella, and Sharky snore, but Luna doesn’t. Since Luna is technically still a puppy and gets very energetic she tends to bother Bella a lot and Bella tends to get annoyed when Luna jumps on her. Sharky just lets Luna jump and bark at him but Bella ends up barking back at her instead which is kind of funny. 

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Soccer With the Boys

by Alexis A., grade 10

from I Remember... Spring 2021

Throughout this whole quarantine, my favorite memory to think about is probably the time when we used to play soccer every day with my friends in middle school. It all started when one of my friends asked me if I wanted to play in a team his cousin just made and so I said, “Sure.” At first I was really nervous because I didn't know anyone beside my friend, and he knew everyone because they were his cousins. We lost that game sadly, but I got comfortable during the game and right after everyone one came up to me and started cracking jokes, and we were all laughing. We were all around the same age, but I think I was the oldest and the coach was about 18, so he would also make us laugh and motivate us. I had some good times playing there. I remember one time our goalie caught the ball before the opponent was about to shoot it and he blasted the ball and managed to hit the girl's face that was going to shoot it and the ball went in the goal. Funniest thing ever, she started crying and everyone started laughing but a goal is a goal. This was back in 6th grade and a few years later we are still playing together. In 8th grade we used to play soccer during recess and it was a mixture of football and soccer because If you have the ball then you’re probably getting tackled or bodied hard. That's when we all learned to lose fear in the ball because we just got used to getting bodied. We practiced our moves there and on the weekends we would put all our moves into the game, but we would always lose because we were not experienced enough so we practiced even harder and that's how it all started really.  

We were all competitive, so we hated losing so the games would get so intense that we would get mad when time ran out because we had to go to lunch then to our classes. We motivated each other by putting each other down for example I would play goalie because I wanted to train and everyone would tell me that I sucked so that motivated me to be better and so I did and now they get mad that I keep blocking their shots. I like playing center defence because I would have the advantage of having to trap the opponent to the corner and waiting for my teammates to come and assist. Also another thing I realized is that being about to play with both feet is really useful because I'm a righty so I only workout my right leg but then I started working out my left leg and I am now able to pass and shoot with both feet but my right leg is still stronger so I can pass and shoot harder and faster.  

Recently I stopped playing because of work, but when I do go play we go to our neighborhood school called Chicago Academy, and they have a really big field were we would play 2v2, 4v4, 8v8, or sometimes even 10v10 and 12v12 but those are rare. It all depends on how many of our friends show up. It's not as fun as a real game because we don't really take things seriously, but we do goof around which is pretty fun. The best part of playing together is when we would go get food, come back, sit down , and start talking about random things. We probably only got in trouble one time and that was when the ball went over a fence that no one could cross, but we jumped it anyways and the lights turned on and we heard sirens so we jumped the fence back and started running. Those are probably the best times because you never forget those moments.

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Polka Dot Boots

by Crystalicia T., grade 10

from I Remember... Spring 2021

The sun slipped through the curtain onto me like a warm blanket of honey, and I woke up at my usual time, 6:30 am, but today felt different. Today I felt rested, today I woke up without tears, today I woke up happy. I sat up on my bed and walked to the kitchen. My whole house was asleep except for one, my mom. I smiled and walked over to her, and she pulled me into a squeeze hug and kissed both sides of my face.  

I have never rejected a hug or a kiss because I know one day when I wake up again she’s gonna be gone. I try not to think about the possibility of losing my Mommy, but it’s really a sad reality we live in, losing one another. In the blink of an eye, a soul that you knew since the second you opened your eyes for the first time is gone. I’ve always thought of all the terrible children there are in this world, like how could they say that, or why would they do that to their parents? but sometimes I just figure I don’t know both sides. I figure they’ll miss their mom when she’s gone too just like the rest of us.

After she kissed my cheeks and I sat beside her on her bed as she worked from home. I looked at her with her dark black hair and soft skin and I just couldn’t imagine a world without her. Today we were going to Walmart so I put on my polka dot boots with glee; the boots that were once hers. They fit my feet so perfectly like they once did hers. It made me happy to know that we had yet another connection, the polka dot boots. On the drive there, we laughed at the same jokes and smiled the same smile and seen through the same brown eyes. When we walked through the store we looked at the same things and walked the same walk.  

“Hi Maria!!” My kind mother said to the person serving us food at McDonald’s, she’s always so outgoing.

As I said, “Mommm stopppp” I stopped myself because I’m the same outgoing that she is and that’s what makes us, us.  

Every day I love her more and more and the more I love her, I find that I love myself. I’m realizing that everything I love about her, I have in me. She’s teaching me to love others and myself the way I love her. She once told me

“Crys you never need to change yourself for anyone because they can’t accept you the way you come then they aren’t meant to be your life baby.”

And that still has made me into who I am to this day because I’ve never changed myself for anyone and I’ve found how much happier I am when I stick to this motto. Self-confidence is so important, self-ACCEPTANCE is so important. If you don’t first believe that you’re perfect the way you are then no one else truly can.

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If I'm Being Honest

by Karla C., grade 10

from I Remember... Spring 2021

If I'm being honest, I had no clue about what I was going to write about. The subject of this “story” about me was supposed to be a “happy” and “fun” memory I can remember. But if I'm being honest, and I'm going to write something, it'll be about a memory I want to talk about. So here it goes. This year has been hard for me, and for many other kids out there. I go from babysitting all day, to making sure I join my classes on time. Join? Can you believe it? In 2020, we now say join, instead of getting there! From waking up at 7:45 am, to going to sleep around 12 am.  

Besides having to worry about school, I have family problems. I hate talking about them because I know many kids have it worse than me. So I don’t complain. But you do know what bothers me? That people pretend to be there for me and aren't. People come and go, as well as your own family. I'm the only girl of 5 brothers, so I've always been very independent. I don't rely on my parents because they can be a bit difficult, but I can't blame them, they had a tough childhood. They came to the United States at a young age, for a better future. Alone, and scared. I can only imagine the things they went through. I love them. I love my family. As I grew up, my parents argued more by the day. The older I got the more I got used to it. You may be asking now, used to what? Used to the yelling, the toxicity and traumatizing moments I had to witness. I had to mature at a young age, where my mother left early in the mornings to go to work, and I had to learn to do my hair at the age of 8. Get myself and brothers ready for school.  

From very cold nights, when our house had no heat. I hated those nights. I was numb from the coldness. I always cried myself to sleep, and told myself, I wouldn't give up, not on myself or my family. I've always been an A honor roll student until middle school. I started hanging out with the wrong crowd, and losing myself. My grades started dropping, and I stopped caring. My parents were no longer together, and I didn't take it well. I loved them, I hated seeing them argue all the time, and knew it was the correct choice. But I hated it. Was I selfish for wanting them together again? I hate when people pity me. I don't need anyone's sympathy. It makes me mad.  

Last weekend my brother went to a smoke shop, I was so surprised. My mother always compares me to him. But I didn't care, well I did because instead of boosting my self-esteem she made it worse. I didn't know whether to cry or tell my mom. I was full of questions. Is this his first time? Do I really not know my own brother? As I am writing this, I am just letting my thoughts down. And, wow, I am one broken person, and I know I’m not the only one out there. I always have faith in God.  

As this story gets personal, it’s something I chose to talk about, not for attention or anything, but to tell many kids who are out there that they aren't alone. My oldest sibling, who is 21, left the house at the age of 17. As I saw him leave, I realized he was the first boy to break my heart. He left me. I don't care if he is or isn't my blood brother. To me he is my brother and always will be. He and my mom never talked for three years. Recently we have gotten in touch again, and I realized my family is so stubborn, and toxic. My brother and mother got into an argument and I can’t talk to him, because she pays for my phone bills and decides who I call or text. Seriously? I was mad, I was so close to throwing my phone. I cried that night. How could my own mother tell me that? My little brother, he doesn't pay attention in school. It’s sad because a 10-year-old should be motivated to study, to go to school. But how could he, if it's behind a screen? I understand his frustration and wish he doesn't have to be going through all of this.  

I'm not sorry for changing the subject of the assignment, I just can’t seem to hold things in lately. Tomorrow isn't promised, and I'd like to know I spoke up and said what I had to say.

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I Remember

by Arturo G., grade 10

from I Remember... Spring 2021

I remember when I was little and my family and I went to Mexico; it was a long road trip, but it did not feel long to me since I slept most of the time there. The only thing I can recall on our way over there was seeing mountains, and passing through Texas. When we got there, it was like a totally different place, it was like a village. My dad told me that when he was little he lived here. I was confused on why there were cows and horses in their “backyard.” I entered the house of my grandma, who I did not know, but she welcomed me with open arms. I remember hugging her. “Who is she,” I asked. “Es tu abuela,” (she is your grandmother) my dad said. When I went to explore the house, I saw that it was way different than the houses in the city. This place looked old, but it was a nice place where you can feel safe. My dad told me if I wanted to go explore the village, so we did. He took me to the little store down the road. It was small, but it had a lot of things. My dad told me that this store has been here ever since he was little. I found that crazy, and we continued walking. On our way to this thing called arroyo which is creek or stream in Spanish, people will compliment or say that I looked a lot like my dad, (I would always get this compliment where they would always say that I look like my dad; it would happen almost every time when I would go out) When we got to el arroyo, my dad told me that is where they use to wash their clothes or just to swim around in. I asked my dad when can we get in there and swim he told me, “Later, not now, we need to go say hi to your aunts.” So we did, they already had food ready. It smelled good; it smelled so good that it felt like I can already taste it. I am pretty sure that the food we ate or that they made was tacos de carne asada, which is steak In Spanish. The meat there tasted different like better than the meat here; that was when my dad told me that they have fresh meat here like as in it's not processed so no chemicals or any sort of thing that they put meat here, but let me just say I prefer the meat over there that here; it's just a better taste. But this memoir is just a memory I had when I was little and my family and I went to Mexico for the first time as a family. 

[iremember826chi]

In We Have a Dream, 8th grade students at Chicago Jesuit Academy articulate the fears, joys, and frustrations of growing up in the city. They offer intelligent solutions to Chicago’s problems and ask simply for their voices to be heard. What a privilege it is to listen.

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Love at First Sight

by Guadalupe, grade 9 from I Remember... (Fall 2018)

I never thought I would have gotten hurt this much until I fell in love for the first time. I was ten years old when I had my first crush. He was so cute that when I saw him for the first time, I could not believe I met someone this attractive. When I talked to him for the first time, I was so nervous because I thought that maybe he would think I talk weird or something. “Hi,” was all I could say at that moment. I had a nervous face on, and I was almost sweating because of how red I got. “Hi,” he said and smiled. I felt a little bit better after that.

As time passed by, we started talking a lot more. My feelings towards him grew each time I was close to him and each time I talked to him. At first, I didn’t want to talk about my feelings for him, but as the years passed by, it got harder to hide what I felt. More and more people found out about my feelings towards him because of how I would act every time he was around. As more people found out, I started to think that maybe I should talk to him about it.

When I finally decided to talk to him, I didn’t do it in person because I thought that would be totally weird. Instead of making things awkward for myself, I started a conversation with him through Facebook Messenger. When I thought it was finally time to start talking to him about my feelings, I just said, “Hey, I know this might be weird and all, but since the moment I saw you, I knew you would mean a lot to me, and I wanted you to know this because I just find it impossible to be hiding my feelings for you at this point. Now that I told you this, what do you think?” After I sent him the message, I logged out of Facebook for like a good three to four hours because I was scared to find out what his response would be.

After the three to four hours passed by, I logged back into Facebook and saw his response, “Well, I don’t know what to say. I was never expecting this, but I want you to know that all the times I treated you like you were someone special, it was because you remind me of my sister whose name is also Guadalupe, and because I also see you as a sister, but that’s it.” I didn’t know how to feel when I saw his message. I was so hurt and I talked to my best friend about it. “Well that is how some relationships start!” Danna said. She made me feel better after that and I decided to message him back.

“Aww really?! I thought you would think I was weird or something!” I said. After that, we got much closer until one day, his sister found out that I had feelings towards him. She kind of stopped talking to me after she found out because we were also kind of friends even though she was more like my sister’s best friend at the time. I think she also made him stop talking to me because from that moment, he stopped replying to my messages. This made me sad, and I started crying every day.

A year passed by, and he transferred to another school without telling me about it. I felt as if it was my fault that he wasn’t able to go to that school anymore. I was sad every day for many years because of it. My best friend did not know what to do to make me feel better.

I was so sad that nothing could make me feel better. I loved that boy so much that every single thing he ever did affected me in some way. He might not have been my boyfriend, but I loved him as if he was. I cared about him so much.

Since the moment he stopped answering, I knew it was not worth it. He was not worth crying for. I decided to leave him alone and move on, even though I knew it was going to be hard because of everything he did to show me that he actually cared about me.

Towards the end, I started to think that if he actually cared about me and saw me as a sister like he said he did, then he would show it and he would do anything it took to be by my side, making sure I am always good and happy like anyone who would care about me would, and he would not care about what others say or think about what he does for me.

I learned that people who want to be with me will actually do whatever it takes to be with me no matter how hard things get. Also, I learned not to rush anything because everything will come at the right time. Most of the time when things are rushed, they could end up being the worst. They could destroy you, your decisions, and your future. Most importantly, I learned that love at such a young age is not really a thing even though they always say “love has no age.” You should always put yourself first because others might be so happy while you might be dying on the inside.

#iremember #memoir #chicago #826CHI #catalyst #love

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Delve into the voices of nostalgia, pride, grief, and justice that the eighth graders of Dixon Elementary School put to the page in Voices of Unity. You won’t be disappointed!

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Explore our latest memoir, I Remember…My Brother Shouted ‘Fire’! It’s full of, intelligent, heartwarming, and thrilling writing from students at Haines Elementary School in Chicago. Happy reading!

#iremember #mybrothershoutedfire #memoir #chicago #826CHI #haineselementary

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Capture the Flag

by Carson, grade 8 (from I Remember...My Brother Shouted 'Fire', Spring 2018)

It was a cool breezy day during the spring of 2017. I was playing “Capture the Flag” with some of my friends on the playground during recess. If you are wondering what Capture the Flag is, it is a game where everyone gets split into teams. Each team has their own base. The goal of the game is to run to another team’s base, get a “flag”, or rather just touch their pole or object they’re protecting as their flag, and then run back to your base without getting caught.

So here’s what happened: I was playing with my friends. I knew that if I could get a flag, I would have a chance at getting it back to my base without getting caught, because no one in the game can run as fast as I can, save for Jeffrey. I was running around looking for a base to attack. I knew that Jeffrey was on the other team so it would be a little difficult for me if I did manage to get a “flag”, but Jeffrey was more of an offensive player than a defensive one.

I waited for the right time to charge at his base. I was able to snatch a flag (an imaginary one). I knew my team would win if I could safely get the flag back to my base since no one else had a flag. I was so excited at that moment, but then, Jeffrey saw me. He changed directions and started running towards me. As I was approaching my base, I turned back briefly to check if Jeffrey was still behind me and when I turned around, I was greeted in the face by the fence. Now mind you, the fence the was made of metal, my face (just my lips actually) stood no chance against it.

I felt no pain when I collided with the fence, instead, I felt confused, then shocked when the blood started dripping. My friends crowded around with horrified expressions on their faces. “Are you okay?” they asked. I didn’t respond, I just got up and walked into the school’s main office. At this point my lips were bleeding all over the place, I had blood inside and outside my mouth, my hands were bloody and some of the blood even got onto my clothes. The moment the principal saw me looking like a bloody mess, she immediately called an ambulance. I remember hearing the school nurse saying “How is a cut like that ever going to heal?” Well it did...eventually, although it did leave a small scar (two actually, one on my upper lip and one below my bottom lip).

I was transported to the emergency room of Comer Children's Hospital and given a few stitches from my upper lip to my lower lip. I was able to leave the hospital on that same day and the doctor’s report showed that I had suffered several injuries including, “chest wall trauma, initial encounter”, “closed head injury with brief loss of consciousness”, “contusion of chest wall, unspecified laterality, initial encounter”, and “forearm abrasion, right, initial encounter.” The doctor said that I received a minor concussion and I couldn’t play sports or anything that required to me to physically or mentally exert myself in any way, shape, or form for six weeks. This didn’t sit too well with me but I knew it was for my own good. The next six weeks dragged by at an excruciating pace.

I tried to go back to school the day after I got out of the hospital to get my backpack and homework. My teacher told me not to worry about it and sent me back home. I could only imagine how I looked to other people, my lips must have looked pretty freaky with the stitches and swelling. I got to stay home for the next fews days, but I would much rather go to school than sit at home and do nothing. Once I was able to go back to school, I had some catching up to do and I couldn’t really eat anything except for porridge. If there’s one thing you can take away from my story, it’s watch where you’re going. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

#iremember #mybrothershoutedfire #memoir #chicago #826CHI #haineselementary

[iremember826chi]

Knots in My Stomach

by Amanda, grade 8 (from I Remember...My Brother Shouted 'Fire', Spring 2018)

I woke up at 8 a.m. on a Thursday morning. I wasn’t going to school that day because I had to get surgery. I couldn’t sleep the night before because I was too nervous that something bad was going to happen. My heart was racing and my hands were shaking. I knew that the chances of something going wrong were very slim but I’ve never really had the best luck in the world. I kept tossing and turning in my bed trying to get a few more minutes of rest, but it was useless. I ended up watching YouTube videos to try to get my mind off of things. About thirty minutes later, my mom knocked on my door and told me to get up and get ready. I got dressed and fed my rabbit, Harley. I couldn’t eat anything twelve hours prior to surgery so I was starving. I was waiting in the living room while my uncle heated up the car. My parents were waiting downstairs along with my uncle.

I got in the car and plugged my ears with earbuds while we rode the car to downtown Chicago. It was a beautiful and sunny, but cold day, so it lightened up my mood a little bit. I listened to music and hoped that the car ride would never end. I started to recognize the buildings around me, which meant we were close to the medical building. We kept going in circles because my uncle didn’t know where our building was. A lot of the structures looked the same, so I didn’t blame him. Eventually, we got to the Northwestern medical building. My parents walked me out of the car and my uncle headed off to work. The building was about thirty stories but my doom was on the 22nd floor. My parents and I walked into the building and then the elevator and took off.

There were many little small facilities on each floor, so we had to walk down a short hallway in order to get to my doctor’s office. It was a small office with a waiting room and a couple of operating rooms. There were about three nurses walking around and a small row of accountants that discussed the treatment and payment plan with the patients. I had been here before for many check ups so everything was set. I sat in the waiting room while my mom signed me in. No one else was in the room. My dad and I were waiting in the waiting room in the meantime. My mom got back and brought me a stack of papers that had a list of things that I could eat and things I should avoid. I needed to get oral surgery so I was worried about how I would be able to chew and eat. I was feeling nervous, lightheaded, dizzy, and nauseous, but that was probably because I didn’t eat anything. I could feel my stomach twisting and turning. My palms were sweaty and my heart was racing. While I was waiting, I watched funny videos on YouTube to try to get my nerves out, but nothing was working.

A nurse walked in the waiting room and called my name. I got up and followed the nurse to the operating room. My dad stayed behind but my mom followed me in. It was small dentist office. There was a patient chair and a little table that was covered with blue paper. There was a small countertop in the corner and a white cabinet behind. I sat in the patient chair and waited. A male nurse from the Illinois Anesthesia Group came in and asked how I was doing. I said I was nervous and he laughed. He told me there was nothing to be worried about, so that settled my nerves. He gave me an oxygen mask and told me to breath in over and over again. It was difficult to breath and the air was thick. He started to prepare his materials and I just watched him in fear. He prepared little pieces of tape by tearing them off of the roll and sticking the end of them on the chair. He then prepared the inch long needle that was going to go into my bloodstream through my hand. He told me that the needle should knock me out and I would wake up in a couple of hours.

I remember sitting in the dentist chair and biting my lip while he put the needle in. It was a slow sharp pain. I was looking at my mom who was sitting in the back corner, and I gave her a look that said “I can’t believe you made me do this.” He taped it in place and then inserted a syringe that attached to the needle that was still in my hand. My last thought was “Is that another needle? I did not sign up for this.”  I was completely knocked out after that. I didn’t gradually fall asleep or become more tired, I just blacked out in a second. Before I knew it, I was awake. I heard my mom talking to the doctor and I slowly opened my eyes. My first emotion was joy because I wasn’t dead. I expected to say random things because of the anesthesia influence, but I felt fine. The room spun a little and I was lightheaded, but I didn’t say anything crazy like the videos of people on YouTube. It felt like I just woke up from a long nap. I was groggy and tired but my thoughts were clear as day. My whole mouth and lip area was numb so nothing hurt. The doctor told me that he put a retainer on the roof of my mouth and upper so my tongue wouldn’t play with the stitches. That explained why the roof of my mouth was smooth and why I couldn’t fully bite down.

I got up after a couple of minutes and tried to walk out of the room. I needed support, but I was stable on my own two legs. My mom gave me a seat in front of a desk, which was the accountant’s cubicle. While they arranged the next appointment, my nose started to bleed. The nurse said that they did something to my nose while I was unconscious, but the doctor gave me an ice pack which immediately stopped the bleeding. After the appointment was arranged, I was ready to leave the office. My parents guided me to the elevator and down twenty-two floors. When we got to the front of the building, my parents called a taxi to take us home, and the journey to recovery began. Nothing bad had happened to me that day and everything went according to plan, so I had nothing to worry about. I just wish I knew that beforehand to save myself a lot stress.

#iremember #mybrothershoutedfire #memoir #chicago #826CHI #haineselementary

[iremember826chi]

Sounds of Falling Water

by William, grade 8 (from I Remember...My Brother Shouted 'Fire', Spring 2018)

“Why am I here?”, “Why do we have to be here?”, “Can we go home now?” I groaned. These were all questions I asked to my parents when we arrived at Starved Rock State Park. It was in the autumn of my sixth grade year. I was ten at this time and school was reopening in a week. My face wasn’t as bright and shining and they knew for what reason. My family, my sister, mom and dad, and I took a day trip to Starved Rock together for us to have fun. This place didn’t seem too fun to my sister and me. The place had too many trees, blocking the view of places and the paths were long and had dirt all over them. The paths looked dirty and the benches that I saw so far had dirt on them. “Why are we here?” I asked once again. “We are here to look around,” my mom said. There was nothing to look at except for the trees. All I could hear was a slight sound of the river nearby and the trees whistling around with the distant chirping of birds. With my head down and arms by my side I wanted to leave. Starved Rock had nothing exciting to look at, or so I thought.

We continued to head down one of the paths that headed to see the river. We hiked up the path and the sounds of the water flowing grew louder. We soon came to a place at the top where the river was fully visible and a telescope was placed. “Finally, something worth using,” I thought to myself. My sister and I went to the telescope and surveyed the river. The river wasn’t too special or anything, but the telescope was fun. While surveying the river, we noticed a boat or something in the water that was moving. “Look over there,” I told my sister. We both saw the boat in the water and we used the telescope to look. The boat was a small and black row boat with someone in it. We noticed the person in the boat had a rod on the side. “Looks like they are fishing or something,” I said. “Where else are we going now?” I questioned. “There is a waterfall nearby here that we are heading to at the end of the trip,” my dad replied. My head raised, my face brightened up, and I started to feel rejuvenated as if some miracle occurred and took away my fatigue. “Really?” my sister and I exclaimed. Her face was just like mine, bright and ready to start moving. As my parents hiked and my sister and I raced back down, the sounds of the river slowly faded away and the smell of the plants and trees came back. The smell was like a combination of rotten eggs and rotten meat. I started to pinch my nose and my sister did the same. “Can we not stay here?” I whined. While my sister was nodding her head, my family agreed and decided to leave the place.

“We’ll start to head to the waterfall now,” my dad sighed, “It is starting to get cold now.” My family and I started looking for the waterfall. We went down the path that was labeled “Waterfall Viewing” and started hiking up the path. “Is there actually a waterfall?” my sister asked. “Of course there is why would we go here otherwise,” my dad said. As we started to head onto the path, we heard the slight sound of water falling. “I hear the waterfall!” I yelled. The sound was coming from the right and when I eagerly looked to the right I saw a family climbing up the enormous mountain where the sound of the waterfall was coming from. The way up looked really steep and dangerous. “How about we try that?” my mom asked. My dad didn’t enjoy climbing so he stayed at the bottom and watched our stuff as we ascended up the mountain. While going up, he recorded us on his phone shouting, “Look this way!” I remember climbing up the mountain clearly, it was like skating on thin ice. The dirt was wet due to the water and difficult to get a grip on and the way up had few trees to hold onto to climb up. As we slowly moved up one step at a time, one foot at a time, I heard the gushy sound of the dirt below us. The three of us stuck together like peas in a pod and we eventually made it to the part where we could see the waterfall over the mountain.

As we reached the top, the sun was set right above the waterfall like it was waiting for us to get here at this time. “Wow!” my sister and I gasped. It was like nothing compared to the cartoons I watched with waterfalls in them. This waterfall was enormous and my feet started to shake. There were many families down there playing in the water. I noticed some climbing up trees that fell and some skipping rocks in the water. “Can we go down there?” I asked my mom. “Only if your dad allows it,” she replied. There was something I hadn’t noticed, however, when climbing. As I looked down, my feet started to tremble. I went to my mom and saw my sister shaking as well. “That looks pretty far down,” I said. “We will have to hold on to each other in case,” my mom said. I remember, one foot at a time, we went down the mountain like someone who wanted to sneak past someone sleeping. Going down was difficult for us as the ground was wet. I always had a feeling that I would slip. If we weren’t careful one of us could fall and hurt ourselves. Like the way up, the three of us stuck together like peas in a pod. However, one of our peas fell. I remember my sister tripping over a tree root and starting to fall. Luckily there was another tree in front of her that she grabbed and stopped herself from falling. When we reached the bottom of the mountain the sun was almost down and my parents were talking to my sister. I couldn’t hear them but I could tell what they are talking about. “Can we go home now?” “You saw the waterfall already?” my parents asked. “No!” my sister and I yelled. “We need to head to that place,” I exclaimed.

While skipping, my sister and I in the front, we headed down the other path that read “Waterfall Bottom” and went to the bottom where the families were at. As we headed down the path where the waterfall fell, the sound of water was thunderous. Once I turned the final corner of the path I saw the place where all the families were. “Wow,” I gasped. From below, the waterfall was even greater. The waterfall looked like the Eiffel Tower but out of water. It felt way bigger than the time we looked at it from above and I heard way more people splashing and playing around in the water. The gushing of water and the sight of families playing in the water all made me jump up and down. My face was now all bright and smiling and I forgot what I said when we first arrived at Starved Rock. It felt like the best day ever. I saw my very first waterfall and I never expected it to be this magnificent. I looked over to see my sister having the same face, smiling and bright.  “I am glad we came here,” I said joyfully. We took a picture of all of us at the end of the waterfall. Of course, my sister and I smiled the biggest and greatest smiles. Like the phrase, don’t judge a book by its cover, this trip told me that just because a place doesn’t seem interesting at first, I shouldn’t try to leave and whine about it until I’ve explored every part of it.

#iremember #mybrothershoutedfire #memoir #chicago #826CHI #haineselementary

[iremember826chi]

The Day I Remembered So Vividly

by Vita, grade 8 (from I Remember...My Brother Shouted 'Fire', Spring 2018)

When I was five years old, I was no longer the only child. On December 28th, just three days after Christmas, my dad came home early from work. There was snow still stuck on his boots, dripping onto the cardboard that covered the yellow tile floor. 10:38 p.m. “Why are you home so early?” my mom tiredly questioned my dad. “It’s cold outside, so little customers,” replied my dad. I was sitting in front of the TV watching cartoons on a Monday night, cuddled up in a big heavy wool blanket like a cat cuddled up near the fireplace. “What are you doing?” asked my dad. I gave him the cold shoulder, disappointed that he didn’t bring any sushi back home. He’d always bring back sushi back home, why not today? “Did you finish your book log?” Oh, how I hated those book logs. “No,” I replied with confidence. I knew my dad would be disappointed, but it was winter break, a time to relax. My dad spoke under his breath, but I heard, “Lazy.”  His face became as red as a tomato after I said, “No.”

After my dad came out the shower, relaxed, he slouched beside me on the couch and watched my cartoons with me. He switched to a Chinese drama and it just started, my favorite show. I never understood what the people were saying because they were speaking Cantonese and I speak Taishanese. A few minutes later, my mom ran straight to the bathroom from the bedroom. Her eyes were shut so tightly and her hands were on her big stomach.

Almost twenty minutes later, my dad went into the bathroom to see what was happening with mom. Both of my parents changed their clothes and told me to change mine too. I waited at the door for them to put their shoes on. My dad had a heavy sack of who-knows-what strapped around his body. Soon we were at a big building that had labels in big, red, bolded letters that said, "Exit, Emergency Room, Mercy."

As we entered the big doors under the sign that said, "Emergency Room," a heavy weight rested on my chest as if someone had just laid a huge rock on my chest. I sat down on a black chair too big for my little body. A woman dressed in a blue uniform set my mom in a wheelchair, wheeling her into another part of the building. I ran to my mom, "Mommy, where are you going?"  "Nothing, nothing, go sit back down." Stubbornly, I followed my mom and stopped in front of a wooden door. The woman told us to wait here. Big balls of tears began to rush down my face. I didn’t know why my mom was here, I just knew that hospitals are where people die. "Daughter, you have to sleep at your cousin's tonight," said my mom. I cried even more. I remembered my dad giving me a stamp as a “toy” to calm me down. At the end of the long hall, a tall man with a mask on his face came towards us and brought my mom into the little room in front of us, along with about three nurses. The tall yellow door shut in front of me as I saw my mom enter the dimly lit room with sharp tools and a bed.  More heavy rocks were placed on my chest. I wondered what were the sharp tools were for. I knew that the sharp tools would hurt my mom so much. I sat next to my dad on the bench and saw a grin on his face. He told me that I was going to be a big sister. I didn't really understand it at first. Big sister? What's that?  

I lurked at the end of the hall, two people were running towards me. They looked familiar. It was my aunt and uncle. I knew they just got off work because I sensed the peanut oil that was on their clothing. “Hey what’s happening right now?” asked my aunt. “The doctors just took her in,” replied my dad, pointing to the yellow door. My aunt went inside the room. Curiously, I peeked through the little crack between the door and the wall as the door was closing. The lights in the room were very dim and the nurses were surrounding my mom.

My aunt came out of the room and said, “Everything is going normally.” She didn’t say anything much. My dad told me it was time for me to go. My face turned red and became wet again. My aunt held my hand and we waved goodbye to my dad. I hopped into a big golden van and the scent hit me again. The oil, now mixed with the smell of smoke, gave me a headache. The engine started and my aunt went home. It was just me and my uncle. “Hey, you tired?” asked my uncle through the rear mirror. I looked into the rear mirror, smiled, and shook my head. I laid back and enjoyed the car ride thinking about how one day can change your whole life. Like yesterday was a normal day and today- I’m a “big sister.” The street was the dark chestnut color I disliked so much. Staring out of the window, I closed eyes and dreamt about tomorrow.

#iremember #mybrothershoutedfire #memoir #chicago #826CHI #haineselementary