Mysterious Green Stick: My First Celery Experience

“Today was weird. Like, super weird. I’m Declan, and I just turned five, and nobody told me about this crazy thing called celery before. It looks like a green stick that someone forgot to color with something fun. Why would anyone want to eat something that looks like it belongs in the garden and not on a plate?

When my father first put this strange green thing on my plate, I stared at it like it was an alien. It was long, pale green, and looked nothing like the yummy things I usually eat. I mean, where was the cheese? Where were the dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets? This was just… a stick. A crunchy, weird-looking stick.

But then my big brother - he’s eleven and knows everything (or so he says) - sat down next to me and started talking. At first, I thought he was going to make fun of me for not wanting to eat my celery. But instead, he did something totally unexpected.

“Declan,” he said, “this isn’t just a boring vegetable. This is like a superhero food.” He went on and on about how celery is packed with something called “nutrients” - which sounds like a magic word to me. He told me it helps your body stay strong, helps you drink more water (because it’s mostly water), and can even help you fight off bad germs.

I looked at the celery stick. It still looked boring. But then my brother did something cool. He showed me how to put some peanut butter on it. Suddenly, this green stick wasn’t just a green stick anymore. It was like a peanut butter delivery system! Crunchy, with something yummy spread on top.

“This is awesome!” my brother explained. “You put peanut butter on celery and add some raisins on top. It’s like a tiny adventure on your plate.”

I’m not sure I understand everything about celery. It’s still kind of weird. But now it’s a weird thing I’m willing to try. Maybe being five means trying new things, even if they look like garden sticks at first.

Who knows? Maybe celery and I are going to be friends. Or at least friendly acquaintances.”