WAB Students Share Their Stories Through Inkblot

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This summer the beijingkids editorial team had the privilege of working with an incredible group of young interns from various international schools around Beijing. One of our interns was TianTian Xu, a 16-year-old junior at Western Academy of Beijing (WAB). We absolutely adored working with Xu, and call us biased, but our team was more than impressed when we found out about WAB’s Inkblot – a student-run magazine that’s currently publishing content through their own WeChat account. “As a middle schooler, I used to see it around the high school campus and wish I could someday be part of it. I did join when I got to high school, but before I could see anything I wrote in print, the pandemic hit, school moved online, and no one knew what would become of the publication,“ says Xu. While she never expected to take on the title of Editor-in-Chief of Inkblot, Xu was the only person left from last year’s club so it was up to her to find a way to make the magazine work again for their student community. “Since COVID has changed everything for everyone, I realized we are literally sitting on a gold mine of stories. Our writers are scattered all over the world in various stages of returning to China — from students quarantined alone in Xi’an to teachers still stranded in Thailand to those stuck in the same house in Beijing for months. We’re living through history and we’re all looking for great stories to read and to connect. Inkblot is a perfect place to do that.” Xu tells us. “Look around you, will things ever be the same again? By writing, I believe we’re preserving a tiny piece of ourselves to forever remember these truly special times.”

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Inkblot’s content is diverse and intriguing. The writers are made up of both current and past WAB students and cover a wide range of topics including transitioning into high school, to culture, heartwarming friendship stories that blossomed despite COVID-19, and WAB alums who’ve gone through it all and are now shedding some wisdom on what they wish they could have done differently.

Like with most companies during COVID-19, the Inkblot team worked from all sorts of places. Some wrote from their hotel rooms while in quarantine while others just before boarding a twelve-hour plane ride. This group of teens experienced exactly what all adults did during this pandemic and they’ve handled the difficulties that life threw at them with impressive organizational skills and grace. “Our plans have been completely disrupted and many of us don’t know what we’re doing anymore. But all these experiences make for great stories that need to be told.” Xu shares with beijingkids.

Ever since Inkblot moved from being a print to an online publication, their schedule has become more flexible. “We hope to publish at least one special edition each semester and more in between if needed. So many things about our return to school are still so unpredictable. We want to capture some of these ups and downs.” says Xu.

Inkblot is currently recruiting more students as well as parent guest writers. If you’re inspired by the work of the Inkblot team, scan the QR code below to follow and contact them through their official WeChat account to get in touch.

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Photos: Courtesy of Inkblot, Pexels 

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