8th Grade, 2nd Place - Anne Frank

I love, love, LOVE IT when winners and finalists come out of small towns...probably 'cause I'm from a small town myself. This touching essay about Anne Frank is well researched and beautifully written. Great Job Casey! Keep writing, you have a real talent. Kylie


Casey M
Vernal Junior High
8th

If I could meet anyone in the world, from any country, during any time period, it would be Anne Frank, author of A Diary of a Young Girl. I want to meet her because she was an incredibly brave, smart, deep and funny person. She went through such unimaginable experiences and dealt with them with such wonderful grace and maturity. She was forced to grow up quickly, growing from a girl to a woman in just two years, all the while writing down her witty observations and interesting insights in her diary to her imaginary friend named Kitty. I feel like I am Kitty, that Anne’s writing to me, that she knows another girl, somewhere, is listening. I like many of the same things she does; movies, art, music, nature, writing, learning. I feel the same way she does about a lot of things too, from understanding myself and discerning my strengths to knowing optimism is the best way to go. Although I don’t live in a moldy attic behind a Dutch store and I don’t know anything about the atrocities of war and prejudice firsthand, I do know what it’s like to grow and learn and think and dream and hope. That is why I would like to meet Anne Frank.

I would want Anne to feel comfortable so I would insist that we meet at a park in Amsterdam called Vondelpark in high summer. We could go to Hollywood or the Louvre but I think she would like to be in Vondelpark best because it’s located in her favorite place in the whole world: the city of Amsterdam. It’s is the closest park to the Secret Annex, and it’s creators wanted it to look like a big beautiful English garden. It’s great for walking, jogging, roller skating or just lying in the sun. There’s also a film museum, an open-air theater for free concerts and live performances, and within walking distance of museums housing famous Dutch masterpieces. Whatever Anne wanted to do, we could do. She loved being outside and experiencing nature, but most of all she purely loved the city of Amsterdam, and I think just being there in the sunshine and grass would make her happy. We could go anywhere and everywhere in Amsterdam, or just stay and enjoy the park, getting to know each other and having fun.

The first question I would ask Anne is “What do you think your life would have been like if you hadn’t been forced into hiding? Would you have been the same person?” I would ask that specific question because if she hadn’t gone through that extreme ordeal, would she have still grown up the same way or learned the same things? I don’t think she would have, but I would have liked to hear how she thought she may have changed. In the beginning of her adolescence she wanted to be a glamorous movie star in Hollywood, enjoying the good life with loads of boyfriends and money. By the end of her diary her plans had changed: she wanted to be a writer, to tell the world about her experiences and hopefully changing it for good. I would like to hear her thoughts about making important choices such as deciding what to do in life and how she came to those conclusions. Mostly I feel after reading the things she writes in her diary that she’s an extremely wise person that could help me appreciate what I have and help me to learn more to make the future better.

I would like Anne to know how her life and her decision to keep a diary during her confinement changed history. She has affected the world in the way she describes the harshness of prejudice and intolerance, painting a picture of truth and unfairness that she and millions of others experienced. I want her to know that Anne Frank, a thirteen year old girl, was speaking the words of masses of people explaining in clear, understandable language the unjustness of it all. But the message she wrote was not of revenge or anger against her oppressors, but of optimism and peace. She hoped people would see that, no matter what, there can still be good in the world, still be love, peace and happiness. She showed the world an attitude we should all live by.

She said in her diary that she wanted to live after she died and she has, through the publishing of her diary, but also in the hearts and minds of people who read it and understand where she’s coming from. She taught me that it’s okay to not to feel understood, that being young is part of the process to becoming a person. She’s inspired me to be happy and to count my blessings every day. She also has stirred me to dream and make goals without any limits to the impossible because she hoped and dreamed, even if she wasn’t sure if there was a tomorrow to fulfill those dreams.
I feel like we are very similar, Anne and I, and Anne has helped me to see things in a new light. Her words ring true to me, almost as if she knew people would read her story and understand what she went through. Anne has inspired me to write more and to start a journal; both for posterity and to show myself how I’ve grown. I’m thankful she wrote a diary and I’m grateful for the miracles that came about so it could be published. Anne Frank is truly one of my heroes and if I could meet her, I would thank her for everything she’s done for me and others like me. I want her to know that what she worked and hoped for do live on, long beyond her death.