By Nadia Elbgal
Teacher: Olivia Sanders, John Muir School
Award: Third Place, Fourth Grade Essay
When I was younger, I lived in a house next to a girl named Mckenna. We walked our dogs with our parents. One day a boy next door started to talk to us. When we all became friends, we started hanging out everyday. One time Mckenna didn’t come to play, and neither did my friend A.J.! I went to my sandbox and suddenly A.J. made a perfect jump and landed in my sandbox!
“I knew you would come!” I said. We played until I asked, “Where’s Mckenna?” I asked A.J.
“Doesn’t like me anymore. She thinks I took you away from her,” he answered.
“I’ll go talk to her.”
I went to Mckenna’s house. I talked to her about how she should come play and if she’s jealous, she shouldn’t be, because no one could replace her. I reminded her that we were friends longer than A.J. and I were friends, so she has nothing to worry about. We hugged and everyday after that we played together, with A.J. there.
Soon after I moved away and went to John Muir School. I made so many new friends, I almost forgot about Mckenna! I told my mom. She made me feel better. I knew that the memory of Mckenna was still inside of me, somewhere in my heart. My mom said that, “Even though friends may come and go, family is forever. And Mckenna counts as family.”
I miss Mckenna, but I have many great friends as well. Should I be doing this? Should I replace the old with new? Mckenna may have been my best friend, but if it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t know what true friendship was. My new friends have kept Mckenna’s memory strong, but gave me some new memories too.