THE WARREN-WATCHUNG CONNECTION PAGE 28 NOV 2026-JAN 2027 t h etchoenc no encnt ei oc nt i son j s. cnoj .mc o m PAGE 28 KIDZ CONNECTION erriam-Webster defines a memoir as “a narrative composed from personal experience.” As the year comes to an end, it is important to read books that help us reflect. 1. The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life’s Final Moments by Hadley Vlahos READ IF YOU LOVE: learning new and deeply moving lessons, plots that unlock cathartic experiences, and seeing the end of life through a peaceful lens. Hadley Vlahos, a hospice nurse, narrates about balancing a complicated home life while also taking care of various terminally ill patients. When Vlahos unexpectedly became a mother at age nineteen, she was considered an outsider in her own town. Wanting to fully support her baby boy’s life, Vlahos enrolls in nursing school and ends up going down the hospice care path. Through caring for patients, Vlahos observes some truly unbelievable incidents and moments occurring when one is on the border between life and death. 2. Open by Andre Agassi READ IF YOU LOVE: emotional depth, fastpaced storytelling, and beautifully crafted prose. Andre Agassi is widely regarded as one of the best tennis players of all time, but what does it take to earn that title? Open is a beautifully written memoir that encapsulates Agassi’s struggles and determination to succeed. In his autobiography, he reveals his difficult childhood (or lack thereof) that contributed to his hatred of tennis and holds the reader close to his heart as he traverses failures and the journey to winning eight Grand Slams. Even if you are not a tennis or sports fan, this memoir is truly a must-read for its strong narration and emotional pull. 3. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner READ IF YOU LOVE: family relationships, exploration of cultural identity, and raw, unfiltered emotion. Two things I’m left with: hunger and a heavy heart. Michelle Zauner beautifully uses food and her relationship with her family to explore themes of cultural identity and belonging. Her writing is vivid and honest, exploring every angle of grief without restraint. One of the memoir’s standout features is Zauner’s relationship with her mother. She pulls you into her life unapologetically, showing both the ugly and beautiful sides of family. The perfect book to read under a warm blanket with a cup of tea. 4. Educated by Tara Westover READ IF YOU LOVE: captivating narration, heavy action, and discussion of religion. One of the most popular memoirs, and rightfully so. Westover is an extraordinarily gifted writer. Spanning her life from childhood to college, detailing the hardships of growing up in isolation. Her family was abusive and did not believe in medicine or education, forcing Westover to educate herself and make the most of her resources. Through work in the junkyard, singing, and various odd jobs, Westover pulls you deeply into her childhood and holds you near her heart. A truly remarkable and inspiring read. 5. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls READ IF YOU LOVE: insightful reads, fascinating symbolism, and complex character relationships. Jeannette Walls composes a beautifully crafted retelling of her childhood. With an alcoholic father and a free-spirited mother, Jeannette and her siblings, Lori, Brian, and Maureen, are brought together through shared hardship. Rex, their father, promises to build her and her siblings a glass castle someday as a distraction from their obstacles like hunger and poverty. Constantly moving towns present various challenges to the family that force the children to fend for themselves at such young ages. As Jeannette embeds meaningful symbolism, she captivates readers and can fully tell her story. Charlotte Mitchell has been an enthusiastic reader since elementary school with her favorite genre being thriller/mystery. Besides reading, her hobbies consist of running, theater, writing, and baking. Ameya Ram is also an eager reader whose favorites span genres; from memoirs to thrillers to literary fiction, she’s there for the ride. She also loves writing, tennis, and music. Both girls are sophomores attending Bernards High School. M Reflect on These Memoirs By Charlotte Mitchell & Ameya Ram SHELF AWARENESS ’ve noticed that most teenagers only let other people see one version of themselves. For example, there’s a friend of mine who, up until recently, I thought was only interested in track and golf. As I got to know him more, I learned that he spent his weekends baking pastries with his grandmother and filling sketchbooks with his own comic illustrations. He only ever really let people see what he wanted them to see because he was worried about what others would think about his true self. Another classmate I know to be on my school’s ski team also surprised me. One day when I was talking to them during lunch, I learned that they were really into reading romcoms, watching anime, and thrifting clothes at Goodwill or Plato’s Closet – something I never would have guessed. But what surprised me the most wasn’t their hobbies but realizing that they probably weren’t the only ones. There are likely plenty of teenagers who are known for one thing while quietly enjoying something completely different. At the beginning of the school year, when someone asked me, “What do you do in your free time?” I mostly said something along the lines of, “Oh well, I read and like to run in the mornings.” I rarely mentioned that I crochet, volunteer, or spend most of my afternoons at the barn with my horse. None of those interests were embarrassing. I was just unsure of how people would react to them. The point is not that these hobbies or interests are weird, but that they are part of what makes us special. So why do we hide them? Why do we keep them to ourselves? I think the answer to those questions is a mix of us being afraid of people seeing us as weird, grouping ourselves into a label that we think sums us up, and assuming that others won’t care about our interests. Whichever one of those it is, somewhere along the way many of us start deciding which hobbies are “shareable” and which ones are better left unsaid. Sports like basketball or lacrosse seem easy to bring up because lots of people understand them. But others like crocheting, baking, birdwatching, coding, or even spending hours at a horse barn can feel harder to explain, even if those are the interests that fulfill us. The more people I get to know, the more I realize that everyone has a side of themselves most people never see. Maybe instead of trying so hard to fit into one label, we should be more comfortable in sharing hobbies and interests that set us apart from one another. Personally, after all of my time marveling at how different people’s “secret” hobbies are from their known interests, I think the best part of getting to know someone is learning about all of the little things that they’re passionate about because those are the things that make them unique. Colette is a 10th-grade student local to Somerset County with a passion for writing, horseback riding, and community service. In her free time, she enjoys reading and volunteering for different nonprofit organizations. I TEEN VOICE The Hobbies We Don’t Talk About By Colette Shovlin
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzA2NDY0