Kalyssa Tuz, daughter of Cherilyn and Michael of Preeceville recently became a published author for her poem Outside the Box and won second place honours in the poetry category, Mensa Canada 2018 literary contest.
After becoming a member of Mensa Canada, Kalyssa decided to submit a poem for its annual Literary Contest, said Cherilyn Tuz, mom.
"She then attended the Mensa Canada Annual Gathering in Calgary at the beginning of August where she found out she had won second place," said Tuz. 鈥淪he has always enjoyed writing and this is definitely a prestigious award to receive given that the contest included Mensans of all ages across the country. She will be back at it again next year, I鈥檓 sure.鈥�
Kalyssa is 17 and entering Grade 12 with the Sun West Distance Learning Centre out of Kenaston, stated Tuz.
Kalyssa is the granddaughter of Brian and Laural Okrainetz and great-granddaughter of Gladys Nazar, all of Preeceville.
鈥淪he's always loved writing. We were planning to attend the conference anyhow, so she submitted a poem. It took her 15 minutes to write it. There were guidelines that she had to follow. She finished second but first in English, as the winning poem was written in French,鈥� stated Tuz' mother.
Outside the Box
They told me who I should be
Without asking my opinion.
The eyes of society stare down at me
An ever-present, condescending judge
Of morals and ethics.
They aren鈥檛 wrong in their belief
But they aren鈥檛 necessarily right either
These grey areas leave room for speculation 鈥�
To be justified and forever changing
Because the mind does wander.
What are my options?
Where do I stand now?
Who do I want to become?
Why does this matter to me?
Is this how I want to be remembered?
Within reasonable bounds
There are perks of being different
And having unique perspectives 鈥�
To be that sliver of chaos
In a world that tends to favour order.
So, yes, they told me who I should be
Without asking my opinion
And I thank them for that.
Instead of numbly following their instructions
I have the opportunity to create something new
By Kalyssa Tuz.
Mensa, Canada is known as the International High-IQ Society and is an organization for people who score in the top two per cent in intelligence tests, said the website.
Mensa was founded in England in 1946 by Roland Berrill, a barrister, and by Dr. Lance Ware, a scientist and lawyer. They had the idea of forming a society for bright people, the only qualification for membership being a high IQ. The original aims were to create a society that is non-political and free from all racial or religious distinctions. The word "Mensa" is Latin for "table", the idea being society is a round table where all members regardless of age, sex, race, beliefs or income are considered equals.
The Mensa Canada Society welcomes people from every walk of life whose IQ is in the top two per cent of the population. The objective of membership is to enjoy each other's company and to participate in a wide range of social and cultural activities.
