'Home felt like prison': 9-year-old shares how covid19 inspired prize-winning story

It’s been over a year since children in TT have been kept at home, safe from the risk of contracting the covid19 virus. For nine-year-old David Ryan it has felt like a jail sentence. It what's he wrote about in his story A Familiar Prison.

David submitted the story in the NGC Children’s Bocas Lit Fest Dragonzilla Short Story Writing Challenge and placed first in the five-to-eight age category.

“I am nine years old, but when I went into the competition I was eight,” David told Newsday Kids.

“My story was about how my home felt like a prison because of the pandemic. I can’t go anywhere and have to stay home unless it’s completely necessary to go out. I can’t go by my great grandmother. I love going to visit her very much…I also love to play outside and to go swimming.”

David is a standard three student at Diego Martin Government Primary School. He said he read about the competition in an advertisement and his mother, Daniella DeSilva, asked him if he would be interested in entering.

“I took time to think about it and then decided to enter. I love writing and I was hopeful that I would have won, and I did… I like writing narratives because many ideas fill my mind. I write very good stories. Sometimes, depending on my mood, I will write a story about it.”

In the first phase of the competition, more than 100 children shared their stories on the theme My Covid Experience in TT. In the second phase, David and the other finalists submitted creative and dramatic videos of themselves reading their original stories. The top six in each category won smart devices.

He attended an in-person prize-giving ceremony for all the finalists on September 2 and he was very happy to get out after being at home for such a long time.

But although he loves writing, he said it is a hobby and that he has other plans.

“I plan to be a writer when I grow up, but it won’t be my main job. I want to be a zoologist because I love animals.”

He has had eight pets – two rabbits, five parrots and one agouti that was injured when he found it. He is nursing it back to health.

“When the agouti gets older I will release it, if it doesn’t run away before.”

He is also a budding musician and plays the guitar and violin.

“I’d like to play the keyboard too, but I don’t have one right now.”

And, like most boys his age, he is a gamer and especially likes playing Roblox.

David said he enjoys his online classes, but really misses physical interactions with his friends and teachers.

“I see my friends on Zoom now but I miss going to school and seeing them in person.”

He is hoping that he can go back to physical school soon.