THE THANKFUL LIST by Branden Wang

     Time for the feast! Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November. Thanksgiving, a time where families come together and are thankful. Hey, what am I thankful for?

     I am not thankful of video games, (something many kids will say) but books! To me, books are “imagination activators”. For example, the book Scat by Carl Hiaasen was a real activator. Nick’s (the main character) dad was in Afghanistan fighting, a grenade blew off his arm and now all there is where his arm was supposed to be is a stump. Because of that, Nick straps his arm to back of his back. That makes me think of a boy with their arm strapped onto their back. There is also The Sea Around Us by Rachel L. Carson. On the first page it said “realm so vast”. That made me think of a room that is so large, took you a year to get to the other side. Books are actually imagination activators.

     Pencil and paper? Something I am thankful for. With a pencil and paper, the possibilities are endless. With a pencil and paper, you can write amazing silly stories. I wrote a story about three boys, Spant, Johnly, and Benjy. Because Benjy has the hiccups, Johnly has to guide Spant through Benjy’s body in a submarine. Pretty amazing don’t you think?

     If you thought all you can do with paper is write, then you were wrong. I am pretty sure many other kids are thankful for drawing. When you draw you open a door... to the drawing convention dimension. I once drew a dragon, a three headed one with three people riding it, along with a pair of jugunda wings; I can’t forget the claws, and they were a literal inch long! I was able to draw this because of the drawing convention. I think you agree with me, don’t you?

     I would like to award trains for being one of the things I am thankful for. The IRT started the trains, and then comes the BRT or also known as the BMT. I am fond of trains because of how it services New York and because of the map. Yes I am serious, the map. The map inspired me to draw the awesomeness transit (it is a little like the transit of the future based on the trains of today). There in Awesomeness City, there is the new eight, nine, and ten trains as well as the reopened H, V, and W trains. With reopens, there is always shut downs. I shut down the G train because it is useless. It is only a Queens, Brooklyn crosstown. This inspired me to be a train driver until I am J. K. Rowling famous; you know not all writers become THAT famous. The power of the trains really, really took me in ... deep!

     It is seven o’clock; everyone is all done with the feast and are watching football. I am really, Really, REALLY, sure you have hundreds of billions of questions. But first, I have a question for you. What are you thankful for?