Los Hijos De Las Mariposas
Los Hijos De Las Mariposas: Stories of Transformation, Gratitude, Struggle and Hope was written by the students of the Academic Leadership Community in 2024
Introduction
Every year since 2012, Mr. Molnar’s English classes do The ALC Book Project. It challenges students to write freely about almost anything––their lives, opinions, interests, and stories, real or imagined.
At the start of this year, Mr. Molnar informed us that we were each invited to write something for this edition of The ALC Book Project. He shared with us the various books that his past classes had written. With every page of every book, we learned about the people who wrote them, and we felt inspired. We wrote from the heart, and after several revisions, with the assistance of the team at 826LA, we were able to craft pieces that we were satisfied with publishing.
After submitting our work, the next step of the process was to form a Student Editorial Board. This group dedicated numerous hours to reading and discussing the heartwarming, heartbreaking, and courageous stories penned by each student. We examined the prevalent themes in the essays, brainstormed titles for the book, organized chapters, and wrote this introduction. Though we had to ask for several extensions, we managed to create a book that we feel best represents its authors.
In developing a title for this book, we came up with many ideas, some of which didn’t quite fit our vision. After careful iterations, one title resonated with us: “Los Hijos de Las Mariposas,” which translates to “The Children of the Butterflies.” In life, we are all like caterpillars, shedding our past selves to become something else, something better. Like generations before them, our parents and guardians experienced difficult times, but through resilience and perseverance they underwent a metamorphosis: emerging from the chrysalis as beautiful butterflies, stretching their wings for a brighter future. We are that future. We are Los Hijos De Las Mariposas.
Christian G-M., Editorial Board