As a kid, I never really got a hold of the concept that stairs should move outward while descending. Consequently, the stairs I drew had more the effect of ladders and it was amazing the number of details I had to consider to make them work. It was further complicated by the fact that all my people seemed to want to traverse my stairs facing outward. Not only was the basic anatomy of the average human being radically remodified – most of which tended toward hands with eight fingers, a few extra joints in the shins, and inverted knees – but basic laws of physics were given a run for their money as well. For one, gravity didn’t have to be a major contributing factor when everyone could just float a few inches above the ground anyway. It was probably about the time I reached this conclusion when I decided, quelling all opposition, that when people can fly, to hell with stairs. And, yes, ladders too.

Jessie Helfrich (Grade 11)

It’s the fumes.
The fumes from the cars damage our brain cells; that’s what’s killing us all.

It’s the ozone layer breaking apart, rising the risks of cancer.

It’s the guns sold in Wal-Mart, available to any hot-tempered man.

It’s the car crashes.

It’s the super bugs.

The bombs.

The nuclear testing.

Drug overdose.

Teenagers.

Humans. That’s what’s really killing us all. We hypothesize and theorize, discover and invent, master and manipulate. It is all leading to our deaths.

Sky scrapers are human creations. They don’t grow with sunlight and weekly watering. Fumes are human products. They don’t drift in from the sea as the sun rises. Car crashes are a derivative of convenience; super bugs are the consequences of immunity; angry teenagers are the result of overwhelming love; bombs and guns are guarantees of safety; drugs are the window to bliss.

Had we not been created, would predators such as tigers and elephants have bits of themselves hanging shamefully on walls? Had we not been created, would the trees that have survived for a thousand years fall with every “Timber” uttered?

What it comes down to, really, is when will we deplete Earth of all that it has to offer? When will we, the true pests of the universe, have to infest another planet?

Oh Mars, please run while you can.

Emma Hsu (Grade 11)