For the Love of Stickers
By Susan Galpin-Tyree
The rocket cut from construction paper with my name on it was the “first rocket to the moon” on the spelling contest poster in second grade. I was quite proud of that accomplishment, and I felt somewhat smug when the teacher plopped a gold star on my lapel.
I had only missed two words the whole school year – they were the bonus words “rhyme” and “through.” I confess, those bonus words were missed the one time I didn’t study for the weekly spelling test. I must have become a little too self-assured when I saw that my rocket was surpassing everyone else’s rockets about halfway through the year.
I am just as proud when receiving my “I Voted” sticker after casting my ballot in an election. In fact, I am so “sticker happy” that one year when I mailed in my ballot, I felt deprived when I didn’t get a sticker. Funny how the significance of a sticker can follow one well into later years.
Check out this “I Voted” sticker designed by Hudson Rowan, 14, from Ulster County, N.Y. “I feel like the creature that I drew kind of resembles the craziness of politics and the world right now,” he said.
Now, that’s a sticker!
References:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/12/nyregion/new-york-i-voted-sticker-ulster-county.html
