The Chosen One

By Justin Xia

Two young boys meet 

Not by a friendly exchange 

But by a baseball to the face 

Rueven, a practical scholar 

Danny, the overachiever 

A true genius 

polar opposites, 

then great friends 

A combination never 

thought possible 

Danny lives in silence 

His father a ghost of the past 

An unbearable weight 

Never able to be counteracted 

Or ever satiated 

Danny’s burning desire for psychology 

His father‘s for the Talmud 

Rueven a talent in his right 

Curious, selfless for his friends 

Determined to learn, eager to compete 

Though his eye ruined by Danny 

and ideology under fire

Their passion is insatiable

Never able to be compromised 

Fighting through wishes, ultimatums, demands 

But eventually 

They choose what is best 

Not for their parents, 

But for themselves, 

Doing what they want 

But never doing what they hate

---

Biography

My name is a Justin Xia, and I’m a sophomore. When I’m at school, you can find me in the debate room preparing for my next competition, or at the track putting in some reps. Outside of school, I love to play violin and chess, as well as catch up on the latest episodes of my favorite K-dramas!

What is your ideal writing environment?

Honestly, it’s at 2 a.m with deadlines due for the literary fair at 8 a.m the next day, with two cups of coffee and running on 4 hours of sleep the night before; I think the stress and anxiety brings out my best writing and I definitely encourage other people to do the same.

What is your main source of inspiration?

My main source of inspiration is definitely my family. They’re always super supportive of whatever dreams I want to pursue, whether that be trying to be a nationally-ranked debater, a violin specialist, or a one-off poet writing this for the purpose of extra credit with no idea that it would win a prize. My close friends are also super important and I wouldn’t be in this situation to be able to write this piece of poetry in a great environment at American Heritage if it wasn’t for them.