Every two weeks, on the third floor of a certain high school in Queens, a small group of people meet in the school’s cave (before becoming what it is today, it used to be a janitor’s closet), and they are simply known as the S.M.I.L.E. (Something More in Life’s Experiences) Monday group. Upon entering the dimly lit cave for the first time, I met Mr. Dougherty (Doc), and I found myself staring at Star Wars figurines of different sizes (Doc is a huge Star Wars fan and now has a considerable large Darth Vader statue at the corner of the cave) before finding a seat next to a fellow student, wondering if we really were just going to “talk about our feelings”. After spending several Mondays there, I realized that with the group’s mix of highly quirky students, such as the boy who wouldn’t stop talking, the girl who always said yes to people’s requests, and another boy who was a huge fan of Taylor Swift, we were all able to get along pretty well, and despite our differences in personality and age, we formed strong connections with one another.
Excerpt from Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See + Style Imitation
“Deep love — true-heart love — must grow. Back then I didn’t yet understand the burning kind of love, so instead I thought about the rice paddies I used to see on my daily walks down to the rive with my brother when I still had all my milk teeth. Maybe I could make our love grow like a farmer made his crop to grow — through hard work, unwavering will, and the blessings of nature. How funny that I can remember that even now! Waaa! I knew so little about life, but I know enough to think like a farmer.”
Thanks to watching numerous horror movies at quite a young age, I’ve always disliked the color red — the color of blood. Some people say that the color is lucky and wards off bad spirits, but I never believed them and often chose to avoid the color as much as possible. I stayed away from it for years, but my hatred for it dissipated after having an unusual occurrence. I was walking past the park on one chilly morning, and I couldn’t help but stop and stare at something magnificent. Amongst the small array of dreary trees within the park, there was one tree — a red tree — that stood out. I was captivated by its pure beauty, and I now have a slight admiration for the color.