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Articles: Philosophy | Forever You
- Mr. Siri Siri
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' What goes around comes around '
Living on a street full of boys has made Daniella a tomboyish girl. She was always hanging out with them playing sports, while us girls were shopping for makeup, & the latest fashion.
It was a new school year at Rockywood Middle School, & it was the last year as well. We had seen Daniella with her group of male friends, & we had confronted her. We hissed, & mocked her appearance of how different she was from us. She saw our approach of her, & she ignored us by talking to her male friends about the hockey game that was on last night.
The leader of us females, Chrissy had mentioned how Daniella had been tomboyish all her life. She had brought in school pictures of Daniella, to show how long it's been for her to be this way. We had remembered how she had told teachers to call her ' Dan '.
The recess bell rang, & we all headed to our lines. When the doors open to enter the school, our new teacher had greeted us. We had all gotten settled & once we entered our classroom, everyone chosen a desk to sit at. The teacher took attendance, & my friends & I were waiting to see if Daniella had changed her ways. When he said ' Daniella Bailey ', all girls had laughed. The guys were suspicious of all this, including Daniella. She looked at our cocky faces, & looked straightly at the teacher.
' Dan ' she said. ' My name is Dan '.
The teacher looked at her with his beady eyes directly at us girls, to tell us to stop the mocking. He said to her, ' Well…OK than, I'll change it '. He than used his pen to change the name of the paper. Once class had finished we went outside for recess & talked about Daniella ofcourse. Nobody in the school liked Daniella, except her male friends. She had continued to be our joke of the day, & it never stopped all year….
Exactly two months from now, we had a class assignment, which was a big part of our marks. The teacher has warned us to complete a two-page essay on anything you wish. This essay had become the new chatter for the class.
Meanwhile, Dan was a mess. She was sick for awhile, & when she was here, she couldn't function properly…especially in Gym class. She used to be the main scorer in Basketball. Now, she was the least.
The girls & I suspected that the assignment has been the reason why she feeling this way. We also thought that she wouldn't be present for the biggest assignment ever. But, in surprise she was here for the main assignment…which had changed everything…
I'll never forget that day, it was a typical Monday, & everyone was a mess that day, for the assignment has made the class full of stress. We sat down & waited for our turn, so we could get everything off our chest. Our teacher, called names in alphabetical order, & he called the first on the list…Dan Bailey…she looked a mess as well as the rest of us. She stood up, & brushed her hair with her fingers as she spoke. My friends started smirking at her, but I didn't…. Especially as she spoke… ' My essay is called 'Forever You '. '
One of my friends mimicked, ' Forever You '. And the rest of my friends had laughed. The teacher gave them a dirty look, & Dan had looked even worse than before…tears formed in her eyes. But she than continued with her essay.
' School means a lot to me, & when I thought about this essay I wanted to do well, well enough to make a satisfied grade. So I thought about writing about my life. Being in grade 8 is horrible. I am a practical joke to others, & people think I am a guy. Listen to me please all of yous, I will explain my sad past, &hopefully you'll begin to understand what it's like to be in my shoes, & why I act like this.
Chrissy, one of my friends sighed out loud. And my other friends laughed. Dan looked at there expressions, & gasped for air, she seemed to be rushing all of this…she continued
' A long time ago my mother passed away & she was a tomboy. She died when I was only 7, & I never had a chance to get to know her. So, being a tomboy gives me a feeling of my mother. A feeling that she is in me, & I am too, a girl like you Chrissy, & that I too like shopping, & makeup, etc. So, I hope you understand just how I feel, & you change how you treat me…'
Just as she finished the bell rung. My friends had left the class in laughter, & Dan's friends left quietly. The teacher looked down on his paper, in which he was marking her essay. I couldn't stop my emotions, I had felt very sorry for Daniella. I hugged her. Daniella cried, & placed her arms around me, I pulled her close. I felt sorry for her than ever before.
After a minute or two of our emotional embraces, Dan had pulled away & smiled. Than headed for the bathroom to clean up. There was something I wanted to do for my essay, & I planned it during recess.
I felt like God told me to stop the mocking, & made me realize just how your actions can affect others…just how her mothers actions effected her.
The bell rung, & I was placing finishing touches on my new essay, & the rest of the class was coming in from their recess, & than came Dan. My friends came laughing, now at me. I didn't care, for they were immature to treat Dan with such dis-respect. Dan saw them laugh at me, & she gave them dirty looks. I smiled at her; she had showed how much she appreciated me for caring, & understanding.
The teacher than called my name, & I rose up from my seat with confidence. I read from my new essay & said.
' I wish to contribute to what Danielle had said. I will admit that I treated Daniella like dirt. Now I wish my friends would understand just how much pain it is when you treat someone with no respect. It's a really bad feeling. I could tell from Daniella's eyes just how bad it would feel to lose someone you never knew. She is right. She is just like us girls. Concerned about makeup, hair, fashion & more, there are just some things in life that you can't change. There are personalities inside us that we can't change. It is something that is apart of you forever…like her mother…being a tomboy, is like a way for her to remember her mother. So please judge someone from the inside & not outside. Walk in their shoes for once, & you'll see just what you're judging '
The whole class clapped, surprisingly my friends did too, and they had tears & understood what I had to say. But, even the other part of the school had heard my speech, I guess I was so mad about how I treated Daniella, so I had increased my voice somewhat. The teacher smiled, & I felt great…but better, not to know that everyone was paying attention to me, but to know that Daniella had a smile on her face as well…this was clearly a memory, a memory to remember- to remember forever.
Written by Stephanie Covelli
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Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.
---Siri
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