Home > Writing Competition 2009 > Third Prize Winner: Shuhua Lu (China)
When mentioning love, people always think about something romantic, such as love story of Cinderella and Prince Charming. However, I can barely believe in that kind of story, even if it exists. Life is changing. Maybe Cinderella is finally divorced from Prince Charming. No one knows the story after the happy ending. I think I am not the person who cannot believe Cinderella story; I am the person who does not believe in romance. On the other hand, family love is different, which is natural and constant. I am firmly convinced that parents love their kids from the moment they were born, and kids love their parents from their first memory. This kind of relationship never changes. Therefore, for me, the most important thing is love between my family members.
Many details will show the love in my family
The most direct thing, revealing the love in my family, is photographs. The first picture that I have chosen is the photo with my father and mother. This photo
shows the day before I left for America. We had dinner at a restaurant near our house. I am the only child in my family because of the government policy. Without
any siblings, my parents give me all their love. That is the reason why I can study abroad to pursue my dream though we are not very rich. My parents are always
busy with their work so that we have little time to go out. Also, I am not the person who likes taking photos. Therefore, the first picture is very precious for
our family. What this picture represents to me is that it is not only a vivid memory of family dinner but also the time with my parents.
The other obvious things are the letters
The second picture shows the letters my mother sent to me. In the 21st Century, many people think the most efficient way to communicate is using telephone,
e-mail or webcam, and letters are out of fashion. Despite of the fact that high technology makes our lives very convenient, and people all over the world
can communicate easily, we prefer the tradition way. My mother sends me a letter every two weeks, even though I phone her every day. In the letters, my
mother writes almost the same greetings, like "How are you doing?" "How are your classes" and many trifling things which she has already told me on the
telephone. Although the letters do not contain so many contents, I am always looking forward to the day I can receive the letter. When holding the letter
and reading the words, I can imagine the scene in which my mother wrote every single stroke. Those letters represent my mother's love.
When I prepared for the package that I took to American, the first thing I put into my bag was the family photo. I will look at it when I miss my parents
because I cannot make a phone call, crying, and say "mom, I really miss you." That will make my parents crazy and worried about my all day along. Then,
we tried to find something to do, which made us forget that we are 9000 miles away. Therefore, we began to write letters. That is the way that we communicate
with each other. Maybe we cannot know a lot of information through the letters but it is a means of expressing our love. These details are the love in my family.
My culture will make me know how much I love my family
The third picture was chosen to represent the traditional Chinese New Year. Spring Festival, Chinese New Year, is the longest and most important celebration
in the Chinese calendar. During the festival, people wear red clothes, decorate the house with poems on red paper, and give children "luck money" in red
envelopes. Everything is in red, the lucky color. Traditionally, the New Year is a time of family reunion. Family members gather at each other's home and
share meals, most significantly a feast on New Year's Eve. The tremendous amount of food prepared at this time was meant to symbolize abundance and wealth
for the household. During the dinner, we say some good wished to each other, such as, keep good health, have all your wished come true, make a lot of money,
have a good mood in this year.
After I came to America, I spent my first Spring Festival alone. It was the first time I celebrated the New Year by myself without my family. I did nothing
but think about my parents on New Year's Eve. When I was in china, the Spring Festival did not mean a lot for me. It was a festival in the winter holiday,
in which I can receive "lucky money," in which I will have big dinners. Actually, I did not even like it because I would gain weight from lots of sumptuous
meals with relatives. However, it changed. I missed the road in which everything is decorated by red. I missed noisy and familiar music. I missed high-calorie
traditional food. I even watched Spring Festival Entertainment Program on the Internet, which I despised and never watched in China. Listening to the
crosstalk which was not funny enough to make me laugh, I was under the delusion that I was in China with my parents, smiling with tears. The New Year is
an ordinary day for me, if I cannot enjoy it with my parents.
Lots of common things in my life will remind me my family
Firstly, when I set the alarm clock I will recall my mother. In the fourth picture, it is the alarm clock that is in my cell phone. In China, my mother woke me
up every day. "Honey, it is time to get up!" this is always the first word I listened to in every morning. "Give me five more minutes, please!" The words
slipped out before I opened eyes. After six "five more minutes", I got up because I have to; otherwise, the third World War would break out in my family.
I would never leave my bed without my mother. In the United States, I have to get out of bed by myself so I set the clock every day.
Secondly, when I eat eggs I will bring to mind my father. In the fifth picture, there are several boiled eggs, which is very normal. My father
cooked breakfast for the family. He boiled me an egg every morning. My father is not good at cooking. My mother told me that the only thing that he could
make in the kitchen is a mess and several little fires before I was born. However, he learned how to cook when I was 2years old. He prepared breakfast every day.
I was greatly touched although it was easy to make. In the school cafeteria Winnick, I can have fried eggs or omelet but I cannot have the eggs my father made,
which is simple, which I used to, which make me miss my father.
I came to Long Island University last semester; therefore, I got an opportunity to live and study with the student all over the world on one of the most beautiful campuses in the U.S. After last semester I became more independent. No one will give me a morning call even if I was about to miss the class. No one will remind me the time I need to have dinner. The reality compels me to become mature; furthermore, it gets me to know how much I love my family which I have never found when I was in China. Many normal things that I did not notice become significant. In China, I could do everything I want with my own self-assertion. My parents always prepared everything for me. Now I have to do everything by myself. It lets me know how many things my parents did and how hard they did them for me. Family love is very natural. In addition, it is too normal to realize. Many people do not know how important until it has gone. Fortunately, I notice it very early.
Family is a place full of love. Family members are people who always know our feelings and support us. My family love can be seen through many details, my own culture and lots of normal things. I love my family forever and ever.
1st Prize (1):
Jiran Qiu(China) "Tattoos"
2nd Prize (2):
Donghyuk Na (Korea) "Intergenerational Conflicts between Asian-American Children and their Parents"
Yoona Hahm (Korea) "Unconditional Love"
Honorable Mention (3):
Jungtzu Lin (Japan) "Race Gap and Criminal Justice: What do the Disparities in Criminal Legal Proceedings Mean"
Satomi Minegishi (Japan) "What Makes us Different --- Women's Social Status"