Friendship Forever

Essay Writing Competition 2021
Category: 8 - 11 years
- Runner-up -

Runner-up is "Friendship Forever" written by Elsa Yitong Wang

Friendship Forever

My heart stopped beating when Maggie, my best friend told me she had to move back to her hometown, Shenyang, and couldn’t study at our school in Beijing anymore because her dad’s business had been ruined by the pandemic.

The curse fell on me again.

Sooner or later, all of my best friends dropped me and I was left alone like Robinson Crusoe, being shipwrecked during a dreadful storm and cast upon "The Island of Despair". I have only a piece of hope left inside me, which, unfortunately is being eaten slowly. What is my hope?

For an eight year old girl, I hope the pandemic will end; I hope more children can have education; I hope I will win the Grand Slam someday… I have dozens of dreams, but now, the biggest one, is a friendship that lasts.

Before I met Maggie, I had two best friends, one emigrated to Canada, the other went back to her hometown, Hong Kong. Then, life brought me and Maggie together! I can still hear her crying when she first entered my classroom. She was too shy to look up and curled up into the corner at break time. So, I came up to give her a sweet hug as if I were embracing my beloved, Frozen Anna! "Maggie, do you wanna…… play tag?"

We became close friends like inseparable twins (and as the shortest girls in the class, we even looked alike). Once, when someone tried to kick me out of a game, Maggie said, "If you don’t let Elsa in, I will quit too." Wow, she was as brave as Supergirl, and definitely not shy any more.

We spent lots of time together. We went camping, living in a huge, stunning, transparent bubble tent, hearing the birds chirping at 4 o’clock in the morning, observing the hundreds of centipedes crawling here and there. We climbed up the Great Wall in the evening, giggling into the starry night. We were hand in hand, touching the coolest seawater, the warmest sand in Sanya...

These were the ecstatic moments of our lives, making my heart pound with happiness. Therefore, when the tide of memories flood me, I believe more than ever that parting is such sweet sorrow. We set up a virtual room to meet on the internet. We kept on creating stories. Yes, we are a pair of book writers like George and Harrold in Captain Underpants.

We promised we would never forget each other. The world is big, the world is small. When the dark days finish, Maggie, I believe I will see you again!!!

In the Age category 8 - 11 years, Elsa's essay was chosen as one of the runners-up. Her essay 'Friendship Forever' shows us that friendship can make us feel stronger. And that common goals and interests as well as supporting each other can save us.

Well done, Elsa! Thank you for sharing your brave story! We could relate to your feelings of loneliness and sorrow, as well as to those of happiness and strength that we gain with every friendship we open up to. Congratulations!

Elsa attends Harrow International School in Beijing/ China. English is second language.