The 15th Annual Henry T. Nomura Creative Essay Competition for ESL Writers Laney College

1. The 15th Annual Henry T. NomuraCreative Essay Competition for ESL Writers Laney College

2. 2009 THEME The things we leave behind.

3. Write an essay describing something that you left behind and how your life is now affected without it.

4. I left home and my lovely family courageously, but I had to leave the woman who owns my heart, desperately. Happiness then chose to stay home with her. Her shadow appears in my dreams every time I want to see her. Without her, I can survive, but I can’t live. RezakHadi My life is sadder too because my brother is not near me anymore. I will never forget him. Everything he did for me I will remember deep in my mind. My life has changed now, but my feelings……about my brother have not changed over time.DieuHien Nguyen

5. Class FinalistsBeginning Level

6. Class FinalistsBeginning Level

7. I love the breakfast that my aunt made. It was the best breakfast of my life. I never found in another part the same taste as the food of my aunt. I always remember this flavor, and sometimes I dream of this breakfast. Denis Gomez-Calderon I miss the food I usually ate, the places I often visited, the hospitality the Indonesian people have, the tropic weather all year around where I could feel my sweat being squeezed from my body in the dry season, and how I had to “declare a war” with mosquitoes every night in the wet season.Jeanne Mulgodi

8. Class FinalistsIntermediate Level

9. Class FinalistsIntermediate Level

10. I was touched by leaving my old house. Every feeling arising inside is bringing me there to live the wonderful moments of the morning when I woke up to the chirping of birds on the branches of the olive trees. From the high front of my window came a sweet sound as if it were saying, “Don’t miss the dawn’s coming! Open your eyes! Open the window and take a deep breath!” DiedjigaMedjoudj In front of us, the sun disappeared piece by piece slowly and left the sky light red with pale gold colors; even the mountains, the boats and fishermen were dyed in fringed gold by the sunset. Between the sky and the ocean, the miraculous mountains were covered with a little bit of haze, causing them to look as beautiful as a young girl wearing a veil.Shan Chang Xu

11. Class FinalistsAdvanced Level

12. On a windy evening, my heart is wandering like drifting clouds towards my hometown. As the hazy moon in the spring night becomes pale and the warm wind begins to blow, I recall the smell of my hometown’s ocean. I also recall the fragrance of spring flowers along the wooden fence of my old house. When this spring is over, the flowers will fall in the alley in front of my old house. I also recall the splendor of green hills on Dragonhead Mountain and see many layers of white foam on the long beach in my hometown. (Ke Kim) Now, I am happy that I left the feeling which made me feel uncomfortable and stressed. I can have a free selective right to live my own life. Here, no one will despise you even though you aren’t rich, or you don’t graduate from a famous university. I can choose what I need, what I like, and what I want. Here I can have the live I really want to have – a stress-free life. (Na Lin)

13. Second Place Winner Beginning Level Hataiporn Dawson

14. Second Place Winner Intermediate Level Linfang Li

15. Second Place Winner Advanced Level Kieu Lu

16. I missed the smell of the incense being shaken by a priest all around the church……..I miss the people who were devoted to their faith gathered there for three to four hours to pray…….I miss the way they dressed in white traditional handmade shawls to keep them warm in the morning……. I miss the holy water that we drank and was also sprinkled on our heads. (Biruk Retta) During the fall, I could collect chestnuts and acorns. During the winter, it was beautiful because of snowfall. After the snowfall, there was snow that looked like flowers on the branches. (Yaesol Yoon)

17. First Place Winner Beginning Level Kumi Xiao

18. First Place Winner Keys       I left my important mementos in my country, my old house keys.  They seemed to have magic.  In my opinion, those keys meant that my family always loved me.  I knew that I had to go home when I saw those keys after I finished classes.  I knew that I had arrived home when I took out my keys at the front door of the house.  I used to see my parents’ and my sister's smiles, and they would say, "Welcome home," when I used those keys to open the door. Kumi Xiao

19. First Place Winner Intermediate Level Seung Yeop Lee  

20. First Place Winner After a dull fouteeen hour flight, I finally arrived at the San Francisco International Airport. The sun was shining as the cool, refreshing breeze brushed against my face. I came to America with the thought that I would be able to start and lead a different life than the one I had before in Korea, my home country. Nevertheless, I was ultimately here in America, and anticipated the freedom of being a college student living in America, "the land of opportunity,” without anyone to tell me what to do, to pressure me on how I should live my life. On the other hand, prior to my arrival, I felt uneasy and unconfident that I would not be able to be responsible for myself without the help of anyone else. Most importantly, before I came here, I left many precious things behind: my family, my friends, and my life back home which brought anxiety and concern, because it finally hit me that living in America meant that no one was going to help me and I was going to have to be more self-reliant than ever before. Seung Yeop Lee

21. First Place Winner Advanced Level Xiali  Liang   

22. First Place Winner Escape from Pollution When I was in Guangzhou, the bad air meant endless cleaning, repeating illness and frequent depression. Whenever I came home from work, I was wrapped up with dust. My hair was oily with dirt, and I had to use shampoo twice to wash it since the first time usually was gray and had no bubbles. My face was even worse. If I used some paper towel to clean it, the paper towel would turn gray. Since the dirt was all over the environment, the sky was no longer blue. It became an unmovable cloud, which was huge enough to press down the whole city. In the morning, the sun just showed like a halo, and stars were embedded at night. Staying in this blurred dusky city, I always felt lazy, lethargic and blue. By comparison, without the air pollution, my life in California is totally different. Although California is also a thriving place which has a lot of cars and factories, the government places importance on how to protect our surroundings. Moreover, the sea breeze helps blow out tons of pollutants. My hair is not greasy any more, and it keeps delicate and graceful all day long. When I touch it, it gently slides down from my hand. In addition, the facial tissues remain white after I wipe my face, for there is not much dirt on them. Everybody is in a cheerful mood, and is full of energy, especially me, for I am able to see light and hope in front. Xiali  Liang

23. Special Thanks To… Dr. Frank Chong, President, Laney College Jim Cave, Theater Department Nancy Lee, Instructional Media

24. Special Thanks To… The Associated students of Laney College The Peralta Colleges Foundation The Family of Mr. Henry T. Nomura

25. Special Thanks To… You! Thank you for joining us today.