Saranya, a sixth grade student at Shanti Bhavan
Here is a great story, beautifully written by Saranya, a sixth grade student at Shanti Bhavan about the first time that Art Rocked her life.
The first time I sat in the art room, I knew that art would turn me into someone great. Our first art teacher came into the art room and told us to sit down. She gave each of us a paintbrush, some paint, and a piece of paper. She shifted our desks into a circular shape. In the middle, she kept one desk, and on top of it, she kept a flower vase. She told us to try and paint a picture of the vase. It looked really complicated. As I started to paint bit by bit, I could see her staring at me with the corner of my eye. As I looked up and turned to her, she smiled at me. When I told her that it was difficult, she just kept smiling and then said, “Try, try, try, until you succeed.” As I kept those words in my mind, I started to paint. When I finished, I went and showed it to her. She said that my painting was the best. I was so happy! Then at dinnertime she came up to me and said, “Saranya, I cut a piece of your painting.” I was shocked. Then she said, “Please don’t be sad. The piece of your painting is going to be stuck on Dr. George’s birthday card! “ I felt that art could do a lot for me in my life.
During the course of ASTEP’s 2011 Summer Camp with the Incarnation Children Center, many students participated in creative writing sessions. It seems that a few have found the writer within! We are pleased to share one of their poems with you.
“I AM”
by Anonymous
I AM… HIV positive, but strong.
I wonder, does anybody care?
I hear pressure,
see people staring.
I want a cure.
I AM HIV positive, but strong.
I pretend I can’t see.
I feel sad and frustrated.
I touch my heart, within my soul.
I worry, “Will the pain go away?”
I cry myself to sleep to let it go.
I AM HIV positive, but strong.
I understand that it’s in me,
but won’t go away.
I say I don’t believe in anything.
I dream to become a counselor.
I try to understand who I am.
I hope to understand who I am.
I AM… HIV positive, but strong.
