Student Spotlight: Jaden Sivananthan
In this 2020 interview with River of Words, Jaden talks about what inspired his poem "Erosion" and how comparison writing is an exploration of things that you either see or have to find. He speaks on the importance of being true to yourself as a writer, and the commitment it takes to be a Watershed Explorer.
Scroll to the bottom of this page to read Jaden's full poem, the 2020 River of Words Category II Winner!
Meet Jaden:
Q: What is your current age?
I am 11 right now.
Q: Tell me a little bit about how you got into writing.
My kindergarten teacher liked writing a lot and she inspired me to do writing.
Q: What鈥檚 your process like? How do you go about writing?
I like comparison writing. It鈥檚 something that my kindergarten teacher taught me. I like to see how things are similar, find what things have in common when they seem like they don鈥檛 have a lot in common. It鈥檚 kind of an exploration.
Q: What do you enjoy the most about writing?
That you can write about anything you want to.
Q: Let鈥檚 talk about your piece 鈥淓rosion.鈥 What inspired you to write this poem? Was it also a comparison?
What inspired me to write it is that around that time my great grandfather Bapugi died, and this poem is for him.
Q: The poem compares the erosion of a mountain to a human鈥檚 old age. How did you think of comparing the two?
Erosion means that the mountains are crumbling away. Everything must fade at some point, and there鈥檚 nothing you can do about it. It鈥檚 just a part of nature. It鈥檚 just going to happen eventually.
Q: How did you find out about River of Words?
My teacher told me about the contest, and I thought it was a cool opportunity, so I signed up.
Q: What role has River of Words played in your life?
River of Words has shown me that I am actually a really good writer. When I received the award, I felt extremely happy.
Q: Here at River of Words we talk a lot about Watersheds 1 : about getting to know them, about observing them and conserving them. What does the word watershed mean to you?
An endless cycle. The flow of water keeps on moving from place to place and never really stops at one place, it鈥檚 always moving.
Q: We call someone who explores their watershed and the environment they live in a Watershed Explorer. Do you consider yourself a watershed explorer? Why?
I would not consider myself a watershed explorer because I haven鈥檛 really seen many watersheds, I鈥檝e only seen one. I forget what it鈥檚 called but all I remember is my class went on a field trip and it was about the Potomac. We learned how it begins from something little and turns into something huge.
Q: So you think a watershed explorer is not about visiting a place once. You think it鈥檚 about more commitment. Do you want to be a watershed explorer?
I feel like more of an explorer of stars and astronomy.
Q: What is some advice you鈥檇 give another young person about writing?
If you want to be a good writer, you have to understand your emotions and put them on the page. If you鈥檙e not true about yourself, you will end up writing not such good stuff. If you鈥檙e not true to yourself, you鈥檙e basically lying. And if you lie about writing then it doesn鈥檛 really mean anything.
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?
I would just tell them to try not to use a lot of electricity and to not waste. Not everyone can go all out on this kind of stuff. Some families don鈥檛 have a lot of money. Just don鈥檛 waste. If you don鈥檛 waste, you are only using what you need, not what you want. That鈥檚 keeping things balanced.
"Erosion" by Jaden Sivananthan
Erosion
is like how people age.
A mountain
completely falling apart like
someone dying
bits of the mountain brake down
like how people become less stable as
they age until there is
nothing left
And nothing to do about it.
Jaden Sivananthan, age 11
Washington, DC. United States
Lafayette Elementary School
Teacher: Jared Catapano