WRiting Contest #5

Junior Category Winning SUbmissions

How to Escape BASA                           
By William Ma
First Place, Junior Category

August 23,1952

Are you bored of the BASA teachers? Have you been punished with mounds of writing homework? It’s your turn to perform in front of a crowd? Well you're in luck because I am going to tell you how you can escape these horribly horrid horrors. 

The first thing you want to do is exit your classroom when your teacher isn’t looking. Unless you are tied down or bound with chains this is the easiest step. In the case that you are in fact tied down or bound with chains, I can’t help you there. 

The second step is to pick the right time to escape. If you leave right as class starts then you’ll get caught. Now if you do get seen trying to escape, you will be sent to BASA local dungeon. The BASA dungeon is 6,371 kilometers (3,959 miles) underground and there is no escape. The minimum time you can spend in the dungeon is about 50 lifetimes. 

The third step is to plan your escape route. I suggest the roof but a window will work fine. If you plan on using the door, everyone will see you leave. In fact, before you try to escape, you should use your writer’s room time to write your will and escape plan. 

Now this next step is the most important. Be discreet. If you look so nervous and wear a black hood, sunglasses, and a mask people will think: “he must be going to leave BASA which has happened before so I will now promptly intercept him.” Once you have left the building, make sure no one is following you. Then you’re a free bird. Just make sure to watch out for the hounds that BASA has trained.     

How to have better social skills
By Lucas Sun
Second Place, Junior Category

Those were the most awkward 5 minutes of my life. I just stood there….. How to have better social skills. I decided to write this because most people struggle with it.(including me) in my opinion, I think that there are a few reasons why.

People tend to get nervous in front of celebrities or popular kids at school. It's probably because people want to impress them so badly and you can't be yourself.Think of other celebrities as normal people. People will act like: “here lemme help you with that.” Those types of people want a good first impression on themselves in front of a famous person. People might have trouble speaking because they are filled with adrenaline and will usually stumble over words. Just be yourself and don’t try too hard to look cool.

Also, don’t lie about yourself just to fit in with the crowd. Most people appreciate honesty more than you think. Trying to create a cool but fake image of yourself can lead to awkward situations and confusion to others. When you lie, you risk being caught, and that can lead to a loss of trust,

Sometimes people misread social cues. When people are tired and they don't want to talk, a friend can come over and start chatting, not realizing that the other person needs time to chill. This can lead to one person feeling ignored while the other simply doesn’t recognize the signals. Being aware of body language can help avoid these situations.

I hope you can socialize better with other people now! Just remember, be yourself at all times. Now, I'll show you some tips.

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TIPS

1. Try not to over/under share, this can make people uncomfortable and it can make the conversation seem one-sided.

2. Try not to worry about how the other person is viewing you, instead focus more on the conversation.

3. Ask open-ended questions to keep the conversation flowing and show genuine interest in the other person.

How To Make Tong Yuan (Chinese Rice Dumplings)
By Danica Lo
Third Place, Junior Category

“This Chinese dessert has been passed on for generations and generations…” Those were the words of my wonderful and amazing mom. But have you ever wondered how it was made?

Before we talk about how it was made first, let’s talk about what exactly it is. Tong Yuan is a traditional Chinese dessert that looks like small white Mochi in ginger soup. Usually the most common filling is sesame. Tong Yuan is usually eaten on Chinese New Year’s Eve and on the Winter Solstice. Now let’s get into how Tong Yuan was made.

Tong Yuan is a fun dessert to make with your family! First, I think someone from the family should be in charge of getting the ingredients. By ingredients, I mean ginger, the actual Tong Yuan and the block sugar. When you get all these things, you can actually start to make the dessert! First, you add the water into the pot and set the oven to the boiling temperature. Then once it’s boiling, put in about a quarter of a medium size ginger, and a teaspoon size of block sugar. Lastly, put in the Tong Yuan and wait until they grow about the size of a big mochi. Now, put the Tong Yuan into bowls and enjoy!

But Tong Yuan isn’t just about the taste of the dessert. It’s about the memories you make with your family! The feeling of making the Tong Yuan with your family and all sitting down and enjoying it all together makes everything much better. That’s why Tong Yuan is such a wonderful dessert.

How to Cook Eggs
By Vivyanna Jiang
Honourable Mention, Junior Category

I have almost zero kitchen skills, but I know how to cook eggs. That’s not because eggs are my favourite food, but because they’re the only food my mom has taught me to make. According to her, eggs are the easiest food to prepare. She is good at cooking eggs, from omelets, steamed eggs, soft-boiled eggs to poached eggs. 

Do you want to learn to cook eggs? I can teach you how to make fried and scrambled eggs, the only two I’ve learned from my mom.

To cook fried eggs, first pour a little bit of oil in a pan. Just a little. You don’t want the fried egg to be too greasy. Make sure the pan is dry before adding the oil, “otherwise oil might splatter onto your face or hand and cause a burn”, my mom always warns me. When the pan and oil get hot, crack an egg into the pan. Remember to turn the heat down to medium or low. “High heat will cause the egg to burn and destroy the nutrients. Medium-low is the best”, according to my mom. 

Once the egg white has set, use a spatula to flip the egg over. I like over-easy eggs. If you prefer sunny-side-up ones, then don’t flip them. Wait a little bit, then remove the egg and serve it on a nice plate. I like to add a drizzle of soy sauce to make it have more flavour.

To make scrambled eggs, once there is no liquid left. 

My mom likes to crack the eggs into a bowl, add a little bit of water and beat the mixture with a pair of chopsticks before pouring it into the pan. She said the little bit of water is the secret to soft and fluffy scrambled eggs. One more last tip,  again put a bit of oil in the pan, and crack an egg into the pan when it gets hot. The difference is that you need to use a spatula to gently stir the yolk and whites before they set and keep stirring until scrambled eggs taste better when topped with some black pepper. My sister is very picky, and only eats it with black pepper on top.