Student Spotlight: Ada Heller
In this 2020 interview with River of Words, Ada talks about losing track of time when writing and how her love for science helped inspire her poem "Connections." The theme of connecting comes across again as she describes a watershed, a place where humans are connected and create a community.
Scroll to the bottom of this page to watch a video of Ada reading her poem, the 2020 River of Words Category IV Winner!
Meet Ada:
Q: What is your current age?
I鈥檓 17.
Q: Tell me a little bit about how you got into writing.
I鈥檝e kinda always written. Ever since I was really little I鈥檝e been writing poetry. But I really started writing a lot when I was in middle school and I took a creative writing class. It was an elective. That was the best class I鈥檝e ever been in. I had so much fun. Our teacher would give us a prompt and we would free write in class and then every Friday we would share our work. I almost always wrote poetry.
Q: What鈥檚 your process like? How do you go about writing a poem?
I guess when I do get an idea, I have to drop everything and write about it or else it鈥檚 gone. After I鈥檝e written a poem I leave it alone for a while before I do any editing.
Q: What do you enjoy the most about writing?
I like how you can lose track of time when you鈥檙e writing. You sit down with your paper and you start going and you look up and an hour鈥檚 passed. That鈥檚 the best feeling in the world for me. It鈥檚 about the time with myself and the time with words and being able to lay them all out.
Q: Let鈥檚 talk about your piece 鈥淐onnections.鈥 It鈥檚 a little bit about the natural world and a little bit about being human. What inspired you to write it?
I love science as well as writing. It鈥檚 always been so interesting to me how science can break things down into little pieces. But when you look at something as big as the sunset, something that evokes emotion, it鈥檚 hard to remember that they are light waves.
Q. You say:
鈥淚 look into the sky / and wonder / how the sun manages / to hit everything / just right鈥
I remember sitting in my car looking at the sunset from my rear view mirror. I feel like all the way it all comes together is magical almost.
Q: One of my favorite lines is
鈥淲hen I die / I鈥檒l sink into the soil / Be eaten by all the things I鈥檝e eaten / Become the dirt for all to walk upon鈥
I feel like this line is so unafraid.
It鈥檚 humbling to remember, as we go about our lives, not that none of this matters, but that we are going to give back to those we鈥檝e trot on. We鈥檒l be eaten by the things we鈥檝e eaten.
Q: What is your favorite line?
My favorite line is about the collection of molecules that happen to be your heart. It鈥檚 interesting to think that something so important, that runs us, it鈥檚 just sort of an accident.
Q: How did you find out about River of Words?
My English teacher shared you with me.
Q: What role has River of Words played in your life?
It鈥檚 really cool that someone is listening and reading the words that I wrote.
Q: Here at River of Words we talk a lot about Watersheds: about getting to know them, about observing them and conserving them. What does the word watershed mean to you?
It鈥檚 kind of a meeting place between two sources. Maybe it鈥檚 just a cool way to talk about how we鈥檙e all connected. Like a community.
Q: What is some advice you鈥檇 give another young person about writing/creating art?
I鈥檇 tell them to keep writing even if it鈥檚 terrible. If you have a really good idea, just keep going. You鈥檒l probably write something in there that won鈥檛 be terrible and you can compile those.
Q: What is your advice for a young person who wants to be more involved in taking care of their environment or get to know their local watershed?
Even small steps count. They matter. Maybe picking up trash on your daily walk can make a big impact for someone else.
"Connections" by Ada Heller
Connections
I know
that when I die
I鈥檒l sink into the soil
Be eaten by all the things I鈥檝e eaten
Become the dirt for all to walk upon
I know that my thoughts are just neurons firing
That my heart is a collection of molecules that happen to beat
but sometimes
I look into the sky
and wonder
how the sun manages
to hit everything
just right
There鈥檚 no way
A universe without heaven
can paint pictures like that
with just light
Ada Heller, age 17
Lenexa, KS. United States
2020 Category IV Winner