Welcome to our Mini Beats collection for January! 

For the Mini Beats January prompt we asked our readers: 

What is your favorite word and why?

We received lovely submissions that were thoughtful and generous in their responses, crafting wonderful stories in such a tiny word limit. 

So, here are the responses we, the editors of The Beacon Beat, chose that we felt best exemplified in December’s prompt. 

Echo

Echo. Both a noun and a verb, echo hails from Greek Mythology. After helping Zeus cheat on Hera, Echo was a nymph cursed to only repeat the last words she heard. Echo fell in love with Narcissus, though her unrequited affection reduced her to nothing except her voice. Even though you cannot see an echo, I imagine it has a physical representation of sorts, wisps of sound waves reverberating and reflecting. Short and sweet, the word echo trips off the tongue, traversing through tunnels, its sound faltering and fading into stillness, much like the undoing of the nymph. — Kaya Bruno, 12th grade

Special Kind of Strange

Peculiar. The origins of the word come from Latin -peculiaris- meaning private property. This word as we know was in use by the 17th century as odd’s fancier counterpart, with its distinct individualism that drove me to choose to write about it in the first place. This is not a coincidence. The phrase “peculiar to” has lingered in its original meaning of “belonging to”, which I think makes peculiar’s designation as a synonym to strange even more perfect. To be peculiar is to be distinctly one’s own person, a strangeness that feels somehow even more wonderfully strange and special. — Cali Carss, 12th grade

Poppins!

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, is my favorite word. And yes, to answer the one question in your head as you read the first line, it is a word. If you don’t know already the word Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious comes from the 1964 film: Mary Poppins. My mother took me to see the show as it came to NYC as a musical. Musicals, in my opinion, are one of the best forms of entertainment invented. From Hamilton, to The Sound of Music. Musicals bring up my favorite childhood memories. The feeling of Deja Vu is created by the quite “simple” term: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. — Olivia Barker Dell, 11th grade

Mellifluous

My favorite word is mellifluous, an adjective used to describe a harmonious, pleasant sound. Although not technically an onomatopoeia, I have always thought that the word sounds as smooth and melodic as the honeyed sound it is describing. An owl cooing on a summer morning, a stream babbling gently, gauzy curtains in a balmy breeze, the leap of a ballerina, the silence of snow, the first few seconds of Silver Soul by Beach House; all sweet and rich, almost like liquid. — Luchia Ceriello, 11th grade

Atelophobia

Atelophobia. The fear of imperfection. The fear of not being good enough. The habit of seeking constant validation. I might seem extremely confident and give off this Bella Hadid type of persona. But it’s all a lie. That will never be me. I care way too much. I’m constantly overthinking every interaction I´ve had,¨My joke wasn’t funny¨ or ¨Was she actually interested in what I’m saying?¨ Behind all this confidence, she’s just a shy girl who wants to make a good impression on society. I know who I am but everyone else doesn’t. Atelophobia is what controls me. — Elisa Quezada, 10th grade

Unnecessary, especially through being more than enough

Although I couldn’t tell you what it means, my favorite word by far is superfluous. Say it out loud. Actually, say it. Doesn’t it roll right off your tongue? The letters are perfectly positioned to create the most satisfying feeling in your mouth. Even without knowing the definition, the word feels like a big deal. Any word with eleven letters does, but having “super” be half the word makes it even more so. Now say it again, don’t stop, just keep repeating it, let one superfluous flow into the next. It sounds like a poetic, monumental statement: superfluous, superfluous, superfluous… — Sadie Howard, 12th grade

The “Ripples” Down Memory Lane

At four years old, I sat on the hard, wood floor with utmost concentration tracing my sight words, knowing none would ever win me a spelling bee. From “was” to “how” these words had never piqued my interest, but of course, as a toddler, I did not have the most insightful opinions. One morning when my mom was on the phone, I heard it. Befuddled. Why couldn’t that have been in my writing book? The word remained dormant in my brain until fourth grade when we learned about onomatopoeia. Since then, it has reminded me of a stone being tossed into the water. I hope that whenever I can say “befuddled,” I feel the ripples of nostalgia once more. — Keira Krisburg, 10th grade

Thank you for these submissions!

Now for Febraury’s Mini Beats prompt the question is:

What is one piece of advice you would like to give to Beacon teachers?

You can submit your story through this Google Form and include a picture that matches your experience. Submissions close on February 28th.