A BIG shout out to sophomore ANDY FAN!!  Sales of his Chinese New Year calligraphy raised $105 for the Community Club Food Pantry to feed local students at Seatack and Alanton Elementary each week!  Look how much food Ms. Cake was able to purchase with the money Andy raised (SEE PHOTO BELOW)!

When I talk about Chinese calligraphy. It goes back to the third grade of my primary school, because my handwriting was badly written and my teacher was criticized, my mother helped me find a place to practice calligraphy, because practicing calligraphy can makes my handwriting characters look good. So I started my calligraphy journey. At first, I thought it was interesting because I wrote with a brush, so it was very fresh and interesting to me. I remember that I was praised and inspired by my teacher every time. But gradually, I began to get tired of it. I remember about two years later, because in China, there were also standard tests in calligraphy field, so my mother and teachers asked me to take the tests, so I was forced by my mother to write calligraphy for two hours every day. I practiced the same word every day, and one word has to be practiced almost 50 times a day. I feel very bored, but also gradually feel that practicing calligraphy has always been a pressure, and I did not enjoy it. But as I grew up, I thought that calligraphy was a very profound thing, and it was also a magical art that could calm me down. Whenever I feel bored and have nothing to do, I will pick up my brush to practice calligraphy, because it will make me feel fulfilled and calm. Especially when I came to the United States, as homesickness becomes more and more serious, I sometimes pick up my brush and sometimes writing can vent all the negative energy.

This year because I went to Thailand as a volunteer, although it was an animal volunteer activity, I also saw that there are still many poor people in the world, and they live very hard. When I saw these people, I decided to help them by donating some money to local charity. This year in our school, our school just helped some poor children to collect food activities, which made me feel the same feeling that happened in Thailand. So I wanted to help these kid. Coincidentally, at that time, it was also the Chinese Spring Festival, so I want to eat for poor children, but also want to disseminate Chinese culture, let American students understand Chinese culture.