Congratulations to Savannah Onessimo for winning 3rd place in the youth category of the The Auntie Way “Super Auntie” Writing Contest! Please enjoy reading Savannah’s interview responses and winning entry.
Name: Savannah Onessimo
Age: 16
Grade in school: 10
School you attend: Wapato High School
What is your advice for other writers? When writing, make sure to write down everything you want to say. Although the first draft may be rough, it’s always worth it at the end. Be confident in your writing.
What are some of your favorite hobbies? Some of my hobbies include baking, playing the flute, and painting.
What is something you enjoy about school? The opportunities.
Title of story: My Auntie Kayla
In a world with many aunties, only a few can be considered super. For me, my super auntie is my auntie Mckayla or Kayla for short. I consider her my super auntie because of a variety of reasons, one being the fact that she’s there for anything, and another being that she is one of the most caring people in my life that I know.
When my mom and I moved to Montana from Maryland, we lived with Auntie Kayla. Growing up there, she helped raise me as if I were one of her own and helped me become the person I am today. When I told her that I wanted to pursue a career in forensic sciences or linguistics, she told me how proud she was of me and she knows I can do it. She pushes me to join opportunities that will contribute to my future. I look up to her because after all the things that have happened in her life so far, she was able to go through the obstacles and become who she is today. Now my mom and I live in Washington, and she still lives 2 states away, but she never hesitates to check up on us and see how we’re doing. She inspires me to be my best self.
Another reason that Kayla is considered to be my super auntie, is that she is so fun to be around. Whenever we visit, we usually go to hang out by the river and mess around, or stay home and play games or watch TV. Whenever there is tension, she’s the one to relax and make everything go back to normal just by being her. I’ve never seen her be mad, she’s usually calm and happy and nobody has said a bad thing about her that I know of, she’s awesome, or in this case, super. Although I don’t see her often, I always am excited for the next time we visit because it’s always fun to be around her. She also is amazing at making fry bread, she’s very traditional and is well-known for how good she beads. For every person who has graduated so far in our family, she beads the graduation cap, and I’m planning on asking if she can bead my own in a few years too.
When my mom got sick and my sisters and I had to stay with our grandma, Auntie Kayla reached out every day to make sure that we were okay, because we were not used to not being around our mom at the time. She always made sure that we knew that everything would be okay and reassured us that it just needed some time. I will always admire the fact that throughout everything, she’s always handled things with dignity, respect, and perseverance. This makes her one of the many super aunties in the world, and the reasons listed above are what makes her my super auntie.
Thanks for reading! Are you inspired to engage more deeply with your own writing? Join The Auntie Way Writing Workshop (December 14-16).
Michelle M. Jacob 