Somehow this applies. (image via opednews.com)
The holidays are a reminder of what it’s like to be seven years old again. You dream big dreams, get buzzed on too much sugar, and nap at least twice a day. While the holidays aren’t here yet, Elementary School Journals: A Kenyon Story has returned. This is a recurrent series on the Thrill, devoted to embracing those sugar-high, nap-filled years and finding out how far we’ve come since then. Kenyon students are known for being strong in writing, but what did we write about when we couldn’t really spell? Find out after the jump!
Becca Hafter ’14, Sociology (concentration in Women’s and Gender Studies): pre-K
Check out this really poignant work of art by Thrill editor Becca Hafter ’14:
“I Like Cats and Girls”
“CAT CAT CAT MY CAT MY CAT IS A CAT. Love, Rebecca”
Will Quam ’14, Drama Major: 1999 (Second Grade)
“By age 9 I was already a paranoid cat lady with a heart of gold and plans to change the world.” comments Quam ’14 about his second grade hopes and dreams of living in a house with a cat bath tub.
“My house is me and I am it and it looks like all my dreams.”
“Hello my name is Will. I want to accomplish my home wrak and go to the moon because I whnt to know abot the moon and I whnt to play erleyer (sic).”
“I have no idea what that last word is. ‘Earleyer’. It might be ‘earlier’, but I don’t know how going to the moon would help me accomplish that. I regret nothing.”
Karina Cruz ’15, American Studies Major: Nov. 13, 2000 (Second Grade)
Like Quam, Karina Cruz ’15 has dreams of traveling great distances, except that she wouldn’t need a rocket:
Karina Cruz ’15 flies through the air in an 80’s power suit.
Emily Hurd ’15, Psychology Major: pre-K
Pre-K Emily Hurd ’15 tells a Halloween tale of creativity and perseverance:
I said, “Let’s make a mad face.” My dad said, “O.K.”
Alex Piper ’16, Political Science Major: Second Grade
Alex did some creative writing of his own as a second grader and submitted his writing notebook to the Thrill. On the pages after a story entitled, “Dogulla II” I found this profound nugget of wisdom:
“Why, because and what if?
Why is the question.
Why air, why life, why people, why plants, why places, why technology, why toys? Why is the question, and because is the aswer, because atmosphere, because lucky, because God, because water and sun, because land, because people, because objects! because is the answer what if it is the beyond. What if people were snales, what if there was nothing but yourself, what if everything were different? Why write about this, because no one really stops to think about it and what if people did think about it’s kind of a scary thought! THE END”
Why toys?! What if people were snails?!
Did you ever contemplate things like this as a second grader? Does your fourth grade self have some answers to these questions? Send us your elementary school journals at thekenyonthrill@gmail.com!
The Kenyon Thrill 
“My house is me and I am it and it looks like all my dreams.”
T H E A M E R I C A N D R E A M
Pingback: My Elementary School Journal: A Kenyon Story | The Thrill
Pingback: We Want Your Elementary School Journals Again | The Thrill