Collin College: DigitalCommons@Collin

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Stepherson, Karen

Forces 
Volume 2024 Article 14 
4-15-2024 
Bubble Gum Wall 
Karen Stepherson 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/forces 
Recommended Citation 
Stepherson, Karen (2024) "Bubble Gum Wall," Forces: Vol. 2024, Article 14. 
Available at: https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/forces/vol2024/iss1/14 
This Photograph is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@Collin. It has been accepted for 
inclusion in Forces by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@Collin. For more information, please contact 
mtomlin@collin.edu. 
6
Bubble Gum Wall
Karen Stepherson
A Box of Crayons
River Cienfuegos
I don’t get birthday gifts or Christmas presents,
But I find solace when the sky blushes in pinks, purples, and yellows.
On candles. On dandelions. On eyelashes.
I wish I could color the world as freely as a toddler with a box of crayons.
One after the other, juvenile indulgence, confidently grabbing for the next.
Shrapnel crayon buds breadcrumb the floor.
Covering the walls in impressionist scribbles,
A return to our cavemen roots.I w
is
h 
I c
ou
ld
 c
ol
or
 th
e 
w
or
ld
 a
s 
fr
ee
ly
 a
s 
a 
to
dd
le
r 
w
it
h 
a 
bo
x 
of
 c
ra
yo
ns
.


English

Bubble Gum Wall

Chavers, Kaylee

Forces 
Volume 2024 Article 35 
4-15-2024 
Jinx Fatasma Azul 
Kaylee Chavers 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/forces 
Recommended Citation 
Chavers, Kaylee (2024) "Jinx Fatasma Azul," Forces: Vol. 2024, Article 35. 
Available at: https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/forces/vol2024/iss1/35 
This Painting is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@Collin. It has been accepted for 
inclusion in Forces by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@Collin. For more information, please contact 
mtomlin@collin.edu. 
2 1
F O R C E S
2 0
2 4
Jinx Fatasma Azul
Kaylee Chavers
Perceptions, Reality,
Illusions, the Optics
Dr. Cathy Donald-Whitney
I recognize and see what I see.
I know what I know. A large contingency
demands that I become acquiescent
and denounce the reality of my everyday
existence. The optics are not
good. Is it the lighting? How is it
that what is so blatantly visible
is somehow invisible? It must be
“the optics.” How else can we
justify the hypocrisy and condone
the injustices? I want to believe.
I want to understand. I want to
see what I cannot see. Can someone
at least admit the optics are not
good? We must enhance the lighting
and try to understand how we
arrived at this obscure,
foggy place we call reality.


Jinx Fatasma Azul

Lane, Caleb

Forces 
Volume 2024 Article 44 
4-15-2024 
Melted Dairy Treat 
Caleb Lane 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/forces 
Recommended Citation 
Lane, Caleb (2024) "Melted Dairy Treat," Forces: Vol. 2024, Article 44. 
Available at: https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/forces/vol2024/iss1/44 
This Poem is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@Collin. It has been accepted for 
inclusion in Forces by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@Collin. For more information, please contact 
mtomlin@collin.edu. 
F O R C E S
2 0
2 4
5 3
No Shoe Land
Sarah Wang
Melted Dairy Treat
Caleb Lane 
I scream, I wail, I weep
as you, a once frozen treat,
run down your cone
like the tears upon my face.
Your delicious soft serve
delicately placed on the waffle pedestal.
Handed to me as an edible art piece,
the sight and taste both simple and sweet.
Each lick with my tongue
a sculptor’s chisel on your dairy marble.
Taught to be careful and savor
the whole palate of your swirled delicacy.
But now you are gone,
a puddle of your former self.
Focused on the detail of each moment,
I lost my chance to enjoy all of you.
As I think to the future
to use a bowl for your cold nectar.
I see some ants have gathered
and walk past your melted form.


Melted Dairy Treat

Tran, Khanh Duy

Forces 
Volume 2024 Article 48 
4-15-2024 
My Junior High School: A Cozy Corner in the Highlands, Vietnam 
Khanh Duy Tran 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/forces 
Recommended Citation 
Tran, Khanh Duy (2024) "My Junior High School: A Cozy Corner in the Highlands, Vietnam," Forces: Vol. 
2024, Article 48. 
Available at: https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/forces/vol2024/iss1/48 
This Short Story is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@Collin. It has been accepted for 
inclusion in Forces by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@Collin. For more information, please contact 
mtomlin@collin.edu. 
4 9
F O R C E S
2 0
2 4
My Junior High School: 
A Cozy Corner in the Highlands, Vietnam
Khanh Duy Tran
I still clearly remember the freezing morning when I entered sixth 
grade and walked to my junior high school for the first time. As the 
earliest person who came to the classroom, my footsteps echoed softly 
in this quiet, unfamiliar environment. Except for my anxious feelings, 
I couldn’t fathom that this place would become my second home for 
the next three years and that I made a lot of new friends, along with 
bittersweet memories of my life there. My junior high school was far 
from the lively hub of Bao Loc, nested in a serene highland area in the 
south of Vietnam. The school was hidden away from the busy streets, 
concealed deep in a narrow alley that was lined with towering trees. 
It was like a secret land, a place full of peace and knowledge. Looking 
through the stately, weathered, gray metal gate that proudly announced the 
name “Phan Van Tri Junior High School,” I was saluted by three separate 
rectangular buildings. Each of them was carefully protected by a bright 
The school was hidden away from the busy streets, concealed 
deep in a narrow alley that was lined with towering trees. 
It was like a secret land, a place full of peace and knowledge. 
red sloping roof that added to their dignity and harmony. At a far distance, 
the school looked like it was wearing a wheat-yellow coat, creating a vivid 
contrast with the cerulean sky and the leafy green foliage. As I followed 
the hallway and stopped at a room with an A3 label located. My classroom 
had a bucolic beauty, the pastel blue walls provided a calming background 
to a dusty, black chalkboard where our dedicated teachers present valuable 
knowledge every single day. The air was imbued with a comforting scent 
of fresh wood constantly flowing from the old, handcrafted wooden 
desks, which always held a deep meaning to my learning memory. The 
classroom was shining and breezy since there was a large window on one 
side of my classroom. The window was like a gorgeous living artwork 
from Mother Nature, it was full of verdure and color. I could clearly 
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hear the crunch of leaves falling and the 
chorus of nightingales from the outside. 
Due to its simplicity, the classroom lacked 
essential equipment such as air conditioning 
or any technological devices. However, 
we, the students, were never hindered by 
unwavering determination and striving for 
our dreams. Unlike the United States and 
other countries, my hometown’s educational 
system is designed in a unique way where 
we share the same classmates in all the 
same subjects. In addition, each class 
usually consists of about 40 students, and 
we stay in the same classroom until we go 
to high school. Remaining in the same class 
gave us the opportunity to face challenges 
together and understand each other more. 
A really special thing is that in Vietnamese, 
we never have a concept called “classmate” 
because all class members became close 
friends since the first time we met. To 
me, those experiences are truly special; it 
transformed my classroom into more than 
just a place of learning. It became my second 
home! Time has flown by rapidly; it has 
now been four years since I left my town, 
the school days that filled me with joy and 
sorrow partly vanishing with time. Still, the 
school remains there, silent and solitary, 
always staying with me along the way.
Raindrop
Alexander Witt
Chipping Away
A.J. Sanchez
To me, those experiences are truly special; 
it transformed my classroom into more than just a place of learning. 
 It became my second home! 


My Junior High School: A Cozy Corner in the Highlands, Vietnam

Luster Photo Paper 28”x40”, 24”x36”, 18”x24”, 12”x14”,   2 - 11”x14”, 2 - 8”x10”, 3 - 16”x20” Instructor: Lisa Means Class: Portfolio Developmenthttps://digitalcommons.collin.edu/studentphoto2024/1017/thumbnail.jp

Bellin, Nicole

Vulnerable - 2024

Oil on Panel 18”x24”https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/paa2024/1010/thumbnail.jp

Melton, Karl

Blue - 2024

Mixed Media 18”x24”https://digitalcommons.collin.edu/paa2024/1022/thumbnail.jp

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