Formative Experience Memoir: Dig In

There was always a grin in my Godmother Jane's eyes, but it glowed especially bright on this Thanksgiving as my brothers, parents and I rushed into her home. The trees were bare. The grass had long ago kicked the bucket, and the sky looked like a vat of gruel. Yet inside my godparents' house the walls burst in colors like lemon, mango and tangerine [none of which you could buy in a Montana grocery store], and the air was thick with spices.

Great food was a staple of Bill and Jane Larson's house, and I knew that today, the biggest feast day of the year, would be no different. As my godfather Bill and my dad rumbled about football, I picked a book from the shelf and sat on the dusky brown sofa, sneaking occasional peeks towards the kitchen. I could see Jane's fluffy white hair and hear her bubbling laugh that told me all my favorite foods were on their way.

In no time at all, we were being called to the table. But there was no Turkey, no mound of mashed potatoes, no candied yams or crispy biscuits. Instead there were noodles, thick and flecked with green. There were orange-ish discs with oil glistening on crushed insect-esque legs, and in the center a dark, chocolate brown duck, it's head cocked at a curious angle, just like the loyal hunting dog, Sophie who sat by the table.

My little brother Simon, scrunched his pudgy almost-three-year-old face and squinted his eyes as my mom strapped him into his high chair. My older brother Matt, approached his chair as warily as a soldier would approach a mine field. And no matter how excited my mom claimed to be, or how grateful my dad said he was, I agreed with my brothers: this looked gross.

Still, my Godmother Jane's eyes sparkled and she held out a spoonful of noodles for my plate. The moment had come, refuse and demand tradition, or dig in and hope for the best.

I decided, with the deep-breath of a first time high diver, to dig in.

I twirled the noodles up like spaghetti and slurped it down to find that this "Pad Thai" had a delicious, warm, savory flavor. Then came the crispy orange fish-cake which popped and fizzed with peppery spices, sending me back for seconds and thirds. By the time my Godfather Bill had started sliding the sweet, delicate duck onto our plates, my brothers had followed my lead and were happily munching, laughing and thanking Jane.

It was my first taste of Thai food, and probably the only Thai Thanksgiving in our corner of Meat-and-Potatoes Montana. In the 25 years since, I have filled my plates with unfamiliar animals, strange smells and all kinds of adventurous cuisine while I travelled the world. The lesson I learend with Jane that day served me well: dig in, you'll be glad you did.

What are your hopes and dreams? Do you have a story you've been wanting to share? Mpls@night, an artist run photo project is looking for story submissions for a documentary. It is an anonymous thing, just call them up and tell your story to an answering machine. Help make local art and be heard!

#Motto Nominees

After a great week of challenging conversations we've got a number of great nominees to be the 9th Grade Motto for the 2015-2016 School Year. (Nominees had two paragraph arguments turned in on Friday)

# KeepYaHeadUp&YourNegativityDown

#Ambition

#BeCuriousBeSmartTakeCareofEachOtherChangeTheWorld

#MakeKnowledgeReal

#MakeTheBestofYourHighSchoolYear

#FreeCollege

#BeCurious

#Confidence

#IfYouDon'tTryYouWon'tFly

#StayTrueToYourself

#ImAGetAnAJustWatch

#BeYourFuture

#StayTrueToWhoYouAre

Do you miss writing? Maybe you want to write more, or are just plain bored? Try this Weekly Writing Challenge. Deadline Monday, August 17th! You can get your work featured on HitRecord on TV, a pretty cool collaborative art project started by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. (Season 1 on Netflix, if you want to check it out!) There are tons of other opportunities to collaborate right now! There are collaborations for six-word stories, poems every day, sky photography, coloring books, music composition, and way more. Try some out, maybe be on TV.

Greetings and Welcome to English 9!

Throughout the school year we will be posting book reviews, interesting links related to course content, and other useful information for you to check out. Best of all, you will have the opportunity to showcase your own work online! For now enjoy the rest of your summer, and check back here for sneak peeks into student work from last year.