EE: Why did you choose your title?
AC: “It’s a Chinese saying of being in the oven for too long, and it refers to a child who doesn’t want to grow up.”
EE: What is your piece about?
AC: “I wanted to capture how I felt about not wanting to go to college — or less about not wanting to go to college and more about not wanting to leave the familiar environment that is whatever this currently is.”
EE: How does your piece connect to the theme “In Transition?”
AC: “I used to raise silkworms before [Regnart Elementary School] closed down and they cut down all the mulberry trees, but they have this thing where first they eat, they grow really fat and then they make themselves a cocoon. And then after a while, they come out looking entirely different as a moth. So when I saw the topic of the contest was in transition I wanted to do something that’s related to moths and silkworms.”
