For 15 years, our Summer Reading Contest has been inviting teenagers around the world to tell us what New York Times pieces get their attention and why. This year, for the first time, students can submit either written comments or 90-second video responses.
In the third week of our 10-week challenge, we received 732 entries, and we list the finalists below. Scroll down to read the work of our winner, Miki Schnitzer, to watch a video response we enjoyed, and to take a look at the variety of topics that caught these students’ eyes, including airplane safety, “rodent men,” Nvidia, and Louisiana’s requirement that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every classroom.
You can read the work of all of our winners since 2017 in this column, and you can participate in the contest any or every week this summer until Aug. 16. Just check the top of this page, where we post updates, to find the right place to submit your response.
Winner
Miki Schnitzer, 16, from Plainsboro, N.J., responded to an Opinion essay headlined “What Joan Nathan Taught Me About the Power of Showing Up.” She wrote:
A trio of uniquely spiced nuts, an ocean of smoked fish floating on bagels, platters of corned beef decorated with pickled tomatoes — first someone dies, then everyone expects us to eat.
Looking back on when my grandfather died this November, what sticks out among the throngs of people that shuffled in and out of my house was the food they left. As they say, actions speak louder than words, and as Sarah Wildman writes, “in mourning and in crisis food is often an action, an act.” Food is familiar. Food is nourishing and a vital part of human life. Food is also the perfect way to deliver comfort when words fail to do so.
Being a Jew living in a predominantly Indian and Asian community, I wasn’t sure what to expect of my neighbors as my family began sitting shiva. How would they reconcile their culture with our tradition? They did it the best way they could: by showing up, and showing up with food. In the days following the funeral, my fridge became chock-full of dosas, samosas, chutneys, and Indian sweets. They asked thoughtful questions about shiva, respectfully listened, and connected it to their own mourning traditions.
It is easy to point out differences between communities. It takes patience, respect, and curiosity to understand what bridges those gaps. Amidst a year of heightened division and hate, I find solace in the fact that sharing food and one’s time are actions that never get lost in translation.
Runners-Up
In alphabetical order by the writer’s first name.
Andy Qi on “Are Planes Safe Right Now? Here’s What the Experts Say.”
Caroline on “Mary Cassatt’s Women Didn’t Sit Pretty”
Diane Tang on “Old and Young, Talking Again”
Jennifer Ma on “260 McNuggets? McDonald’s Ends A.I. Drive-Through Tests Amid Errors“
Semi Jung on “Lets Chill Out About Apostrophes”
Shenyao (Sean) Xu on “Where Did Our Strange Use of ‘Like’ Come From?”
Vanessa on “The Joys and Perils of Return Travel”
