Learning to Fold Paper Cranes

I learned to fold paper cranes from my Japanese classmate, Yuki. She brought colorful origami paper to school one day and showed me the steps. My first crane had lopsided wings, but Yuki laughed and said, “Mine looked worse at first.” I practiced every night, using old flyers when I ran out of origami paper. After a week, I could fold a neat crane in two minutes. I started folding them for my friends—red ones for birthdays, blue ones when someone is sad. Last month, Yuki and I folded 100 cranes together and hung them in our classroom. It looked beautiful, and our teacher said it brought good luck. Folding cranes is simple, but it makes me feel calm and creative.

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