The Scholastic Writing Awards for the Richmond region were recently announced, and our students showed up in a big way. Even though the competition is open to students ages 13–19 — and our writers are among the youngest — they made a strong impression.
Honorable Mention awards were given to five middle school students, while 8th grader Zy’Quis W. won the Promising Artist Award for his poem “A Squid Dresses Up for Halloween,” and 7th grader Caiden L. earned a Silver Award for his poem “Never Knowing.”
A huge congratulations to 9th grader Aniylah C. (AJC ’25), who received a GOLD Award for her poem “The First Night,” written at AJC last year. Even more exciting — Aniylah was selected as one of just five students across all writing categories for an American Voices nomination. Aniylah will be honored at a ceremony at Dogwood Middle School next month, and her poem will move on to the national competition.
We are incredibly proud of all of these talented poets and the powerful voices they are developing. Below is Aniylah’s winning poem from last year.
The First Night
Aniylah, AJC Class of 2025
The first night we got there
No one could sleep.
We weren’t used to having
silence at night.
In our old neighborhood,
we could hear girlfriends yelling at
Their boyfriends, moms yelling
At their kids, people getting killed and
The ambulance to their rescue.
For most people you would think that it’s
Nice to have peace and quiet.
And it is, but it’s something we weren’t
Rewarded back then.
In those project apartments the
Walls were so thin that it seemed like
We were in the same room as
Our neighbors.
Plus they didn’t bother to respect us.
I could hear the loud music and
Feel the hardcore bass, filling and shaking
The house. Outside, their big dogs barking,
with a thin leash tied to a pole and no supervision.
Gunshots sounded so loud and near us
That it became a routine to
Lay on the floor, away from the windows.
As I laid on the floor, I could feel
My scalp, partings, and twists
Touching the cold tile floor.
After a couple of years
of tears, panic attacks,
hugs, sunsets and frowns, we finally
Moved away from the place we couldn’t stand,
To a house where we couldn’t sleep.
