Year 9 student Hannah Zhang’s brilliant piece of creative writing “Flower Buds” has been awarded a Highly Commended in the Smart Alex Competition, run by The Friends of the Turnbull Library.
There were two categories – Years 9-10 and Years 11-13. Almost 120 entries were received from 50 schools throughout New Zealand. Hannah was one of only 7 entrants in her category to win a Highly Commended, receiving a $50 book token.
“I wrote the piece in early May, and the competition was something I happened to come across online so I decided to participate privately,” says Hannah. “The reason why I decided to enter the competition was because the prompts for the competition were personally intriguing and appealing, and it was generally a fun challenge for me to have a go at. I really didn’t expect anything from it either, so I’m pleasantly surprised that I managed to place!”
Flower Buds is about a child who marvelled at flowers that sprouted in snow. As the seasons passed, the child grew but the flower buds were always there to greet the child once the snow settled. However, returning to the childhood spot, the once-child is now devastated by the absence of the flowers due to absence of the snow; which can be assumed to be caused by climate change.