AWARD OF EXCELLENCE IN LITERATURE

By Nikihita Luthra

Wow, and So I Weep

6:47 AM

I look around me. Here I am, in my room. My tall mirror sits in front of me, surrounded by photo's of my friends.

My iPod is playing the eternally fresh and soothing voice of Bob Marley. His, "Is this love" rings with such passion that my insides are rising up my throat. A vertigo feeling overwhelms me. I have a seat on my white carpet, letting my bare legs stretch out as I place my naked back up against my bed. bob is singing to me, and I feel his voice echoing through my heart. I allow my tears to fall into the palm of my hands, as I whisper along, "is this love, is this love, is this love that I am feeling..." Wow, what passion he grants his listeners - what passion he grants me. My whole face is stained with tears, and my hands are cupped and wet.

As the song is ending, I cry harder. I don't want Bob to go. Come back Bob! I take my think arm, and press a button that makes my iPod replay Bob.

The shiny black finish of my iPod suddenly catches my attention. How sleek the design is. My hands feel a sudden urge to pry the thing apart. I want to see the engineering behind this tiny little machine that Bob sings to me from.

I don't, however, dissect the iPod. My amazement at the mechanism only grows. I am simply staring into the black square, and how brilliant it is. How much brainpower it must have taken to put together such a miracle object.

Holding it, my eyes follow my fingers. I flex them. How unique they look. Every muscle and every line signifies so much - long hours of writing in school, typing emails to loved ones, and making sound with a piano that most people call music. I place my iPod back on the speakers, and Bob is back.

Now, however, my focus isn't on his wowing voice. It's on me - my hands. My eyes trace up my arms, and I look down my bare chest, chin tucked. How beautiful and perfect the human body is. Everything works so dynamically.

Suddenly perplexed, I stand up swiftly and stare into my full-length mirror. What a miracle I am! To be alive in such perfect condition, oh my! My skin suddenly looks gorgeous. Wow, what force of nature could have created such a piece of engineering like my body? Nothing else could ever dream of matching up to my body-no science could even ponder about creating something so delicate yet strong, I think as I look down at my bulging veins, popping out from my arms. Wow! Why have I never taken the time to look at the way my body functions before?

I raise both my arms, and stretch my legs, into Da Vinci's famous pose. I flex my legs, and suddenly can feel all my energy, sending nerves up and down my naked body. Why have I never felt this way before? In the mirror, my blue windows-to-the-soul follows the curvature of my arms and shoulders. Looking at the mirror, I also see my friends' photos, taped to the edges of it.

I am in the middle, surrounded by other teenagers, laughing, hugging, and holding each other. My eyesight is getting fuzzy, and I need to sit down. An emotion so powerful is striking me, as I look at the love captured on the glossy paper. Affection. Pleasure. Gratification. My eyes are shedding tears. Let them fall, I tell myself.

Wow, how lucky I am to have such friendships. The bonds with those people - I can't even explain how much I love them. I love them so much. I am really crying now, but smiling too. And so I weep.

I am hugging my knees in a fetal position. Fetal - my thoughts stray to my aunt. She just found out she is pregnant. Wow, what a miracle the female body is. To be able to support another life on its own, and still have enough compassion left to love it, even though it eats up all your energy, nutrients, and time. Wow, how amazing women are. The love between a mother and her baby is unlike no other. Indescribable, right?

This makes me think of my mother. We had a fight last night. I try to remember what it was about, but my minor worries have vanished from my mind. Now, I am just crying, again, because of how much I love my mother. And my father, I cry for everyone. My family, my friends, my dog, my clothes, all the hungry people in the world, all the lucky people in the world, my beautiful self, healthy body, lovely confidence, and all the things in between. Good, bad or ugly, I am shedding tears almost as fast as my mind is racing from thought to thought. And so I weep, for all the happiness and beautiful things in the world.

When my mom taps on my locked door and tells me though the wood that I only have 10 minutes to finish getting dressed, I break my tears. I look up and respond with new found confidence, "Yes, mom, I am coming." I guess I have to get dressed now. I am in no rush. In fact, I go very slow, admiring every texture of every fabric I wrap myself in. I take in a whiff of my clothes and self, which smell naturally sweet - my distinct lovely fragrance has marked these clothes. No perfume - just a smell like me. I can't describe it, except, it felt good to take it in.

I get dressed so slow, because I am taking so much time admiring everything and how beautiful the world is. Why had I never noticed how deep the purple was of my curtains? Since when had my hair had strands of blond and red on my black looking head? Why was my eyesight so sharp today, noticing every fine detail of color and texture?

With this new outlook on the world, I walk downstairs continue my life. Everything is the same; I just see things for what they really are. The world is very in sync, and I take the time to notice how balanced and perfect everything is. Wow, wish I had seen this before, I think, following every observation of that day.