Junior's Writing Earns NY Times Recognition
![Junior's Writing Earns NY Times Recognition]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1771519756/lakewoodcityschoolsorg/podezgxx1ry5evamqddl/ben.jpg","width":175}])
Junior's Writing Earns NY Times Recognition
Congratulations to junior Benjamin Charkosky on having his work honored by The New York Times in its Tiny Memoirs contest for high school students. Benjamin's work, titled "The Word I Didn't Know," earned him an Honorable Mention, which means he was in the top 20% of the more than 14,000 submissions. Impressive, Benjamin! Click on Read More at the link below to read Benjamin's memoir.
The Word I Didn’t Know
I was seven years old when I heard the doctor say “mutation." I pictured superheroes, not something hiding in my blood. My mother squeezed my hand as he explained that people in our family carried a mistake—one that could grow into cancer if it wanted to. I didn’t understand the words, but I understood the tears. At home, she told me it was called Lynch Syndrome. I repeated it like a spelling word, hoping saying it out loud would shrink it. I didn’t feel sick. It just felt different—like my future had a shadow nobody else could see.