AN Essay Contest HOSTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
SCHOLASTIC & CHOICES MAGAZINE
5 Girls Write Now mentees share the seldom-talked about parts of their lives in these revelatory essays.
What’s something that defines you as a person, yet few people know about? Girls Write Now mentees and alumni bravely answered that question in the My Life With… Essay Contest.
Each week, we published one of the essays that received an honorable mention from the Scholastic panel of judges, culminating in the announcement of the winning essay, “Side Effects Include” by Maria Ruiz, at the 2022 Girls Write Now Agents of Change Awards.
GRAND PRIZE Winner
Side Effects Include
MARIA RUIZ
Maria’s powerful essay about her diagnosis with a brain tumor was published online and in print in Choices magazine this fall. She also received a $500 cash prize in recognition of her brave and moving work.
Maria Ruiz
Maria Ruiz is a Colombian high school student living in New York who has a passion for medicine and loves music and writing. Most of her writing comes straight from her phone’s notes and encapsulates her random thoughts and opinions throughout the day or her overwhelming emotions during nerve-racking events. Although she has never considered it as her personal career, she enjoys writing in her free time or when she needs an escape. Not to mention, she is an extreme romantic.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
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Fake Mom
Most days, I act like a fake mom. And I’m good at it, too.
Ziying Jian
Ziying Jian is a junior who immigrated to the U.S. from China when she was five. She loves playing golf, tennis, working as the light technician in her school’s theater production and writing for her school newspaper, where she covers topics like school affairs to guest speakers. She was formerly on the debate team, where she placed 2nd speaker and was the 2021 State Championship winner. She is currently a Girls Write Now mentee, where she is working on speculative fiction. When she’s not furiously typing out short rants, you can find her coding Java or Python.
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The Secret Letter
When asked to write my full name, I am always tempted to include the “ę” in Siębor.
Victoria Siebor
Victoria Siębor was born and raised in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Though she loves the city’s glass and concrete buildings, she’s constantly drawn to the hum of the leaves and anything related to trees, mountains and lakes. Victoria has an avid love of learning Latin, doing social science research and reading literature. She enjoys all forms of dancing, especially jazz and contemporary. She hopes to publish short stories exploring her upbringing as a child of Polish immigrants.
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Tangles and Knots: My Life as a Highly Sensitive Person
“Are you okay?” The Hispanic woman wearing a disposable medical apron asks me as she comes back into the x-ray check-up room after scanning my braces. No.
Megumi Jindo
Megumi Jindo is a senior in high school. She loves writing, reading, listening to music, photography, art, and playing sports. She also loves songwriting and collecting new vocab to expand her writing style. She aims to become a best-selling author one day and wants to use her writing as a way to educate and help America be a better version of itself. Also, she loves sunrises, sunsets, astrology, psychology, and eating junk food!
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My Hands
As a kid, I always covered my hands under layers of oversized and long-sleeved shirts, making sure that they were hidden from the gaze of the world.
Adelle Xiao
Born and raised in New York City, Adelle Xiao is currently a sophomore in high school in Manhattan. She most often writes personal essays, memoirs and poetry about experiences that are important to her. When she is not writing, Adelle spends most of her time making art, playing the violin and doing various forms of volunteer work.
More About Girls Write Now’s Collaboration with Scholastic
Girls Write Now’s relationship with Scholastic dates back over two decades. Through genre-based workshops, partnerships with writers from Scholastic’s author pool, Girls Write Now mentees’ annual participation in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, essay contests, and more, we are proud to continue to grow together.
An Essay Contest & Story Collection
What’s something that defines you as a person, yet few people know about? Girls Write Now mentees and alumni bravely answered that question in the My Life With… Essay Contest. This contest was produced in partnership with Scholastic and Choices Magazine.
As a kid, I always covered my hands under layers of oversized and long-sleeved shirts, making sure that they were hidden from the gaze of the world.
Tangles and Knots: My Life as a Highly Sensitive Person
by Megumi Jindo“Are you okay?” The Hispanic woman wearing a disposable medical apron asks me as she comes back into the x-ray check-up room after scanning my braces. No.
When asked to write my full name, I am always tempted to include the “ę” in Siębor.
