Skip to main content

"The Monkey Bar" by Ellen Jeon

By

I always thought that “monkey bar” is such a great name to describe the ladder-like bars in the playground; everyone dangles there like monkeys. Perhaps the name is the reason why the kids love the monkey bars so much. Elementary kids always love something silly, and a monkey is the representative of silliness.

My little sister, who is currently in grade one, loves the monkey bars to a degree that “love” cannot adequately describe her feelings. Every morning, until the minute before the bell rings, she will run to the monkey bars and hang there, despite her hatred of being late to class. She never got tired of it for a whole two years. What surprised me more was that she was not the only one who loved the monkey bars so much. The elementary kids, from preschool to grade 3, come to school early just to hang on a bar and torture their hands. Unlike their typical behavior of crying upon pain, they feel proud when their hand turns red, and pain starts to rise.

When I asked one of the top fans of the monkey bar, Lael Jeon, my little sister, for the reason of her love, she replied, “Monkey bar is fun, because it’s fun.” That was it. The elementary kids do not seem to know the reason why they are drawn to it so strongly.

To solve this mystery, I began to observe the kids in detail every morning. I figured that no one waits for their turn. Everyone hangs at the same time, making them look more like monkeys: chaos. They never move until one falls, just like a competition. Also, there doesn’t seem to be a specific direction that the kids stick to. One kid will move side to side while the other tries to go backward, with one kid always maintaining the original direction. The kids seem to find a new skill every morning.

Unfortunately, despite my efforts and observations, I was unable to find a good reason for their love. Maybe there is a special magic that only elementary kids could understand. Maybe there is a reason an old senior like me would never know. Nevertheless, despite my inability to understand, my sister’s love will continue, and I will have to clap for her every morning.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DINGBAT DALAT STUDENT SPENDS PRECIOUS TIME CONJURING UP SELF-REFERENTIAL SENIOR SCRIBBLE RATHER THAN GATHERING LEGITIMATE WORK

By Anonymous
Yusoof Monawvil PENANG, MA - As the deadline drew near and the stars aligned in the night sky above the majestic waters of the Strait of Malacca, one particular Dalat student—Yusoof Monawvil (12), despite a plethora of school events to select and report on—opted instead to spend a remarkably well-wasted 24 minutes staring at a blank Google Docs page, fruitlessly drawing up and shooting down brainstormed ideas.  In a moment of sheer and undeniable epiphany, Monawvil deemed it only fitting to self-referentially satirize his own ingrained incompetence and dingbattery. Commenting on the flash of insight, Monawvil quoted himself, saying: “It all just kinda made sense. I went on DISCourse to look at the little rubric thing Ms. Grad and Mr. Hieber posted, and I checked if I was following all of the guidelines... And I technically am/was; [N]ot like there’s any specific direktive [sic] prohibiting self-quoting.”  In a turn of events, Monawvil did come to find his self-quoting en...
6 comments
Read more

"Spikeball, Swimming, and Sickness: The Remnants of Senior Sneak" by Ee Rynn Ong

By
“Guys, I think we’re here,” said Jonathan Ooi (12) as he peeked out of the lorry to catch the first glimpse of our Senior Sneak location. This year’s Senior Sneak was held in Nomad Adventure, Gopeng, and the organizers planned many activities for the Class of 2026, ranging from traditional games like congkak and batu seremban to adrenaline-pumping ropes courses and whitewater rafting. These scheduled activities proved to be some of the best highlights of the trip, but top of that, the seniors were also given some daily free time to chat, explore, and relax. Josh Stevens (12) had come prepared for this with two spikeball nets, which immediately attracted attention from people eager to spend time in the outdoor sun. The next five days saw spikeball veterans and newcomers alike, spending their precious one and a half hours daily around the unassuming circular net, smashing the yellow ball in hopes of a victory.  Caleb Evans (12) was one of the newbies to spikeball, learning how the g...
Post a Comment
Read more

“I Miss Her” by Nikhil Pillay

By
While most people had a fun week for mid-semester break, whether it was spent with family, or with friends on impact trips, no one had a more emotionally confusing week than Judson Kenneth Robert Nosker (12).  In the light of recent events, Judson, despite all odds, had gotten in a relationship with one of his classmates, and as the break started, he had started to spend a lot of time with her. While with her, he started to experience a new level of joy and completeness that he had never felt before. In the words of Judson Nosker, “The first half of the break was good, but the rest of it was horrible.”  The reason for such a quote and the roller coaster of emotion was because half way through the break, disaster had struck. Judson’s girlfriend had gone on a trip with her family to Thailand, leaving Judson all alone. For the rest of the week, Judson was in a state of longing for her presence.  His friends have reported numerous occasions when Judson would be sitting with t...
Post a Comment
Read more