Students chose one or two words to write on a card to give to a loved one. They were also given the opportunity to chose a calligraphic style in which to write their card. On the back of the card, students wrote a short explanation on the pronunciation, meaning, and etymology of their word of choice. Scroll down to read some of their explanations and see their cards.
Emma chose 壽, meaning “longevity”. She will be giving the card to her grandparents.
Theresa’s word is 心, meaning “heart”. Her Chinese name is 骆唐心, so this character is a part of her name. She plans on giving the card to her parents since they are “always in her heart”.
Gabriel chose 信, meaning “trust”. 信 is also one of Confucius’ Five Constant Values. He plans on giving the card to one of his close friends.
Jared chose a rather unusual word–鴿, meaning “pigeon”. He loves pigeons and also thought the character was aesthetic. He plans to send the card to his mom.
Sara chose 幸，meaning “luck”. In her words, “everyone could use a little luck”. She also finds the word very visually pretty.
Songela chose 康，meaning “happy” or “wealthy”. Her grandfather’s birthday is coming up as well as Chinese New Year, so she plans to give her card to him.
Ganatra chose 尊, meaning “respect” or “honor”. He plans on giving the card to his parents.
Kelly chose 勝, meaning “victory”. Her brother is on the varsity tennis team at UPenn, so she will give the card to him as a good luck message for the tennis season.
Travis chose 禧, meaning “happiness”. He is going to send the card to his sister who is attending another college and doesn’t have an IAP–therefore is taking lots of hard classes. He wants to wish her happiness and joy for the semester.
Varkey chose 樂, also meaning “happiness”. He plans to give the card to his parents.
