2020-08-30

【Aiden in English】

        Uniqueness. Teachers preach to young children that everyone is unique in their own way. Diversity, they call it.

        In truth, every person is slightly unique. Genetics and environmental factors say so. In today’s world, it’s never more important to be unique. That’s what my teachers tell me anyways.

        It’s hilarious that being uni

2020-08-23

【Aiden in English】

        Staring out into the clear pool of the American conscience, 1920s America indulges in the idealistic belief of personal success and self-made wealth. In The Great Gatsby, the author Francis Scott Fitzgerald explores the pollution of the American dream, investigating the darkness residing in the depths of fantasy. Through the descriptions of the green light, the Valley of Ashes, and the eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleburg, Fitzger

2020-08-15

【Aiden in English】

        I saw a dead dog in the street. This happened a few weeks ago while practicing for an upcoming license exam. The small, frail body was mutilated, sitting on the yellow stripe between the lanes. Luckily for me, I was going forty miles per hour and whizzed by its small frame without a detailed image. It more or less resembled a smear of black and dull pink in my peripheral vision, though my imagination filled in most of

2020-08-08

【Aiden in English】

        Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse is a relatively recent big-screen animated Marvel film, that introduces a multitude of new characters originating from numerous dimensions derived from multiple comic book series. From the classic Peter Parker to a slightly more vaccinated Peter Porker, the wide range of loosely-based spider (and another animal) heroes band together with the main protagonist and freshly-bitten Miles Mor

2020-08-01

【Aiden in English】

        I have yet to see a movie about aliens where I felt fully immersed in their world. What I mean by that statement is that with every fictional alien society, I find myself picking holes in logic or viewing the overwhelming laziness in the details.

        For example, Krypton, in the latest Man of Steel film starring Henry Cavill sporting the newest rendition of an ironically patri

2020-07-25

【Aiden in English】

        I recently wrote a small paragraph as an example for my 2020 summer writing class. It went like this.

        I’ve always had this heavy question weighing down my conscious: Where do our boogers go? As children, we constantly took care to excavate the tunnels, cleansing them of gold and other nuggets of inhaled particles; however, as teenagers, such meticulous cleaning occurs at

2020-07-17

【Aiden in English】

        A dandelion sways in the sighing spring breeze— its petals glistening under the pale white moonlight. Among a field of dying weeds, the sunflower sparkles in defiance, glaring at its adjacent life forms. Please, the flower whispers to itself. Leave me alone and let me shine.

        The world is cruel, but the dandelion doesn’t understand that. Yet. It doesn’t know that it too will one da

2020-06-28

【Aiden in English】

        Hello everyone! I hope your summer has treated you well. 

        My name is Aiden, the English Writing teacher at Guanghua Chinese School, PA. I’ve been teaching for three years now, and, in light of the current Covid-19 pandemic situation, I have decided to open an online and free-of-charge summer writing program for up to Ten Students in this summer break of 2020.

2020-03-13

【Aiden in English】

        What’s in the closet?

        Clothes? Shoes? My favorite leather jacket?

        Or a portal to Jumanji, the jungle and beyond

        A bright verdant forest of elephants and magic.

&n

2020-01-21

【Aiden in English】

        At the start of my freshman year, I launched a new English writing class at Guanghua Chinese School (GHCS), a local Sunday school. Focused on the fundamentals of English, my class consists of early middle school students who seek help with rudimentary writing skills. As an instructor of young students, I have grasped over the years the basics of handling responsibility as well as taking control of a situation. Furtherm

2020-01-13

【Aiden in English】

        A person strolls past a plastic bag fluttering down the street. In one scenario he ignores the bag—in another, he recycles the trash. Later that day, the local news shows a report of a car crash apparently caused by a plastic bag.

        In a general scope, the individual’s actions did not affect the flow of events in any meaningful way; however, based on his decision, the person may expe

2019-12-25

【Aiden in English】

        Snow drifted in flurries down the dark December morning. Large flakes of ice rolled across the landscape like a scene from a Christmas commercial. The sun extended its bright holiday lights over the horizon, marking the beginning of gifts and cheer. However, my focus was directed toward the growing emptiness inside me.

        “Mama, I thought you said I would get a Christmas pre

2019-12-11

【Aiden in English】

        “Alright class, settle down. Everyone pretzels legs. Zip those lips and hands-on-hips!” Mrs. Cowler breathed an exasperated sigh. I could almost see gray hairs sprouting from her head like weeds in the school garden.

         “Alright class, today we will be reading The Three Little Piggies…” She paused, waiting for a reaction. The class was silent. “...or we can read The

2019-11-30 

【Count Your Blessings】

Johnson Oatman, Jr. (1856—1922)

             When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,

             When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,

             Count your many blessings, name them one by one,

             And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

       &nbs

2019-11-09

【Aiden in English】

        Men are driven to a Light. It glistens.

        A man cannot hold the Light. He who does hold the Light will be consumed by it. It burns, from the inside out. 

        A stranger claims to have held the Light. He is a stranger, in a strange land. His claims are even stranger. Strangeness scares people. But not having the Light scares peo

2019-09-03

【Aiden in English】

        Last Sunday morning, I awoke to the loud buzzer of my alarm. I hit the snooze button. Twice.

        I got dressed and washed and went downstairs. Inhaling a plate of scrambled eggs and some toast, I watched a quick recap of last night’s sporting events. 

        Opening my computer, I wasted hours browsing the depths of the internet, watching mildly humorous or entertaining clips. 

  &n