Everyone Is Different
Many people struggle against conformity in high school—and adulthood.
Disputes are begun over our "differences," and that which is
unfamiliar can seem threatening. Yet difference is the great richness
that gives us cultures, species, personality, art,
and unique lives. Students who champion difference in high school, and
claim their dignity and rights (or those of others) are leaders who
teach by vision and action.
Here, they also teach by writing down their lives. The collection of
essays below brings together strong young voices detailing the
personal experience of many kinds of difference: physical difference,
difference in the way we learn, think, speak, here, walk, and dress.
The authors speak for self-acceptance, and acceptance of others. Their
essays "greet difference," celebrate it, and provide a map for a more
inclusive society.
We are grateful to the following organizations for allowing us to reprint these strong youth voices: Frodos Notebook, New Moon, Teachers College Press, Teaching Tolerance, Youth Communication, and Writing Austin's Lives.
"What do I really need? That isn't a hard question. I really need some help from doctors to find a cure for my sickness. I need help to get better and stronger. I know what my sickness is. It is called Hypothyroidism. I have had this sickness ever since I was 8 days old. So now that I am 13 years old, I should know what's going on and how the doctors are going to help me..."
"Down Syndrome is a 'chromosomal anomaly.' That means my chromosomes made a mistake when I was being made that caused a 'structural' difference in my cells. Structure is the way something is made. The number of my chromosomes is different. The way they are put together in my cells is different from most other people's..."
"I've been in a deaf community my whole life. My parents are deaf, so they taught me and my brother sign language when we were babies. I lost some hearing when I was 5, but I can hear some sounds and speak, too. I like having deaf parents..."
"Sometimes it can be like trying to type while wearing mittens. Somewhere around second grade my mother decided that even in the summer I would have therapy for my stuttering. Lured by the location of the therapist (a cabin on a beautiful lake about a half hour drive away), I couldn't refuse. Once or twice a week I would be driven out to this cabin and would sit and talk with the therapist. She would talk about things I did, the things I should be doing..."
"When a country struggles for independence, its people fight for their rights and freedom. My fight for independence is from all the people who want to help me because I'm disabled.I have Frederick's Ataxia, which is a genetic disease (I was born with it). As the disease develops, it makes walking, speech and hand control more difficult. I was diagnosed five years ago and I started using a wheelchair about four years ago..."
"Everybody says you need to graduate from high school to succeed in life. But what if you just can't pass your classes? Should you keep trying? I'm 20 years old and I'm still in the 11th grade. I failed 9th grade once and failed 10th grade three times. I'm not sure I'll ever graduate..."
"I was walking up the street with my boy Anthony and this other kid. Anthony was making jokes and the other kid turned around and asked, 'Are you in special ed?' My man said, 'Yes.' Soon after, being in my six-person class, like yesterday I remember South Orange Maplewood School District classified me..."
"A girl asked me/While flicking her highlighted hair/And smacking her gum/As though it didn't really matter to her in the least:/'Why do you talk to them?'..."
"...Someone had posted a message saying they thought all mentally retarded people should be killed. In language reminiscent of days of Hitler, the posting called mentally retarded people useless, and even a 'plague.' I cannot say for certain whether or not the author's intent was to be humorous. But even if it was, I was far more disturbed than amused. For me, the issue is personal: my little brother is autistic..."
"We should acknowledge differences, we should greet differences, until
difference makes no difference anymore." — Adela Allen
A Cure for My Sickness
by Yesenia Chavez, Austin, TX (age 13 when written)
I'm Smart in a Different Way
by Michael Arnold, Oklahoma City, OK (age 19 when written)
Sounding Off
by Gloria Claussen (age 12 when written)
Lessons in Taxidermy
by Ben Meyer, Alaska (age 18 when written)
I Can Do It Myself
by Tania Morales, New York City
Will the Tortoise Win the Race?
by Eric Green, New York City (age 20 when written)
Classification
By Amir Bilal Billups, New York City
My Friends
by Layla Ingwerson, Los Angeles, CA
Teen Launches Autism Awareness Project
By Jessica Leving, Chicago, IL (age 16 when written)