The 2002-2003 Essay Contest Winners:
Honorable Mention
Pig Herding
Rrring! Yes, there's the bell, time for some pig herding. Pig herding is when we round up all the fat kids in my school and play pranks on them. In the lunch line, I notice that Frankie, the fattest pig of them all, is behind me. After my two best friends, Joey and Ryan, and I got our lunches, we snuck behind a corner of the cafeteria. When Frankie came out of the lunch line we all jumped out at him and he spilled his soup all over his pants. Everyone in the cafeteria was laughing and saying that he peed in his pants, including me. It was the best prank we have ever played on Frankie! Later that day I walked home and I saw my mom's car in the driveway and right away I knew something was wrong. You see, my mom is a scientist and she normally works until 8 p.m. or later. When I walked in I found my mom on the couch watching TV. I walked over to her and asked what was wrong. She told me that she got fired. I was shocked. My mom exclaimed that her boss gave her job to a white horrible scientist.
My mom and I are both black and we've never had a problem with that before. She said that she was kind of happy to leave that lab because the other scientist were extremely mean to her just because she was back. She said that they would eat her lunch, put tacks on her chair, or sometimes even spill her hot coffee on her pants by bumping into her on purpose. That night many questions ran through my head like how are we going to get money if my mom can't get another job. Also, I couldn't believe the people my mom worked with every day would spill her lunch on her.
Then something suddenly clicked in my brain. I hadn't realized that what those awful coworkers of my mom were doing to her was exactly what I'd do to Frankie.
I didn't want to be the type of person that hurts other people's feelings. I didn't go to sleep that night so the next morning I was exhausted. I still went to school that morning, but I felt awful. I knew I had to apologize to Frankie, but I didn't know how. In the first period that morning I talked to Frankie and apologized, but he couldn't forgive me. I didn't know what I could do to make him forgive me and I felt terrible.
At lunch today I wasn't excited at all. I saw Joey and Ryan and waved for them to come sit with me so I could tell them the news, but they put their fingers to their lips. They were about to play another prank on Frankie. However, I went over to them and gave them a piece of my mind. At the end of the day Frankie came up to me to tell me that he forgave me. It felt so good to be with someone who didn't care what you looked like. I wasn't friends with Ryan and Joey ever again and Frankie became my friend. What I realized is that you should accept someone for who they are and not what they look like.
Grade 6
Saxe Middle School
New Canaan, Connecticut
Define Normal
Everyone makes fun of somebody at least once. Sometimes we just say it to make people laugh. The main perspective for most children's life is to be liked. Kids will say and do almost anything to be "cool." Some people just discriminate against other kids because of their race or gender. The truth is everyone in the world is different in someway. About two thirds of the United States think there is such thing as normal. I think to myself, "What does normal really mean?" There is no answer, because like I said before, everyone is different in some way, there is no right or wrong way to be. There is fat, skinny, poor, rich, prejudice, and loving people. Commercials, movies and shows pretty much always make fun of somebody just for the comedy. The comedy movies or shows are what people buy or watch. When they watch them the producers make money. The producers should cut back on the discrimination and a person's ethnicity. It is plain wrong when kid shows make fun of other kids. Therefore the children will think it is alright and they will say hurt full comments. I made a small story about an adorable, loving girl who went from popular to being not liked in one day. When you finish everything that occurs you will think twice about making fun of another person.
What's The Matter?
Lucy Kass is your average 7th grade girl. She had just moved from Alabama while her accent was still very strong. She was average but her parents were very wealthy. Therefore, her personal limo would drop her off promptly at 8:20. She had beautiful, silky blond hair with bright green eyes. Her hair was done professionally every morning. The minute she got to school there were friends all around her. She was the most well liked girl in the school. She would make fun of the "nerds" and "un-cool" kids. Each time her friends would laugh about the hurt full saying, she would do it again.
About four or three weeks passed by with the usual comments and popularity of Lucy. But one morning her parents had a huge change in their job, therefore they had to go to work early. Lucy's parents couldn't call the hair stylist and she also couldn't iron her clothes. Her mom had to take her limo to New York. When she got to school her hair was un-done, her clothes were wrinkled and she arrived in an old car. Everyone stared at her and they all stayed away. Her friends misjudged her with out any of the facts. No body talked to her except for two girls- the not so "cool" girls. They asked her if she was okay. They offered her to sit at their lunch table and play with them. Lucy agreed and learned how wonderfully sweet they were. They played and played until Sydney, Lucy's old friend, came up to them and said some pretty hurtful comments.
"Lucy, what's up with your rag doll clothes?" Sydney laughed.
Then and there Lucy felt how awful it was to be made fun of. Her confidence lowered and her feelings were hurt. She moped around until her new friend asked her what was wrong. Lucy told her what had happened.
"Oh who cares, they say that kind of stuff all the time." She replied.
Lucy realized that she was the person who always said all those harsh comments. She couldn't believe what she had done. At the time she felt horrible and ashamed about her self.
"How could I do such a thing? Why did I do that?" She thought.
From then on, Lucy Kass was a kind and loving person that you would never hear make a hurtful comment. She taught her old friends how terrible it feels to be made fan of. Therefore, from now on, think of what you say about somebody else before you say it!
Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School
Old Lyme, Connecticut
Reilly O'Leary
Reilly O'Leary transferred high schools her sophomore year. She was anxious to start at her new school and, being extremely athletic, couldn't wait to see the sports they offered. At her old school, Reilly was a star at all sports she tried, but her true talent was in soccer. Reilly was a phenomenon and led her team to a state championship in just her freshman year.
On Reilly's first day of school she looked over the fall tryouts list for sports.
"What? Something must not be right!" She thought to herself. Soccer was not one of the options! In fact, the only two teams she could try out for were cheerleading or swimming, both of which she had no interest in. She consulted her old coach about this dilemma and he said she should try football. Being a kicker would be a good use of her strength from soccer.
So Reilly suited up and jogged out to the field on the first day of tryouts. There were hundreds of boys all wanting to make the team. The coach blew his whistle and everyone lined up according to size. Reilly was the smallest next to a scrawny quarterback. The coach walked up and down the line and then stopped at Reilly.
"Are you lost little girl?" he snorted in her face.
"No sir," she replied, "I am here to try out for your team." He snickered and yelled for two juniors to come to him.
"Why don't you knock some sense into this lady. Make her see that she should be at home with her dolls and not trying to play this man's sport." The two muscular boys grinned at each other and took blocking pads over to her. The coach shouted,
"Alright men! We seem to have some volunteers to demonstrate a proper block." The boys started ramming into Reilly. On the first blow she was knocked to the ground and nearly lost her breath.
"Is this too tough for the little girl?" Rang in her ears. She forced herself back up, ready for he next hit. By the end of practice Reilly had two black eyes, a bloody nose and lots of bruises.
When Reilly arrived at practice the next day, most of the team started jeering at her.
"Go find some pom poms!" one yelled.
"Go home, you can't play a man's sport!" Sneered another. Despite this constant jeering, Reilly fought on. She worked hard all throughout the training and was the only valid kicker by the end. The coach had no choice but to put her on the team. She could see in his eyes that it pained him to be proven wrong, especially by a girl. Reilly played in every game and finally earned the respect of both her coach and her team. She went on to contributing to a national title. It just goes to show that a girl is as worthy an opponent as a man.
Grade 8
Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School
Old Lyme, Connecticut
My Twin
No one could believe the summer was coming to an end. After the next week, all of the kids, who were playing soccer out in the street, would be sitting in stuffy classrooms. Although every child's freedom would shortly be gone. Jenny decided to finish off the summer with the biggest pool party ever! A party that no one could forget. Everyone she knew would be invited, even the people she wasn't friends with. In her eyes, this included the "unpopular people," people like Maury.
Maury was a very intelligent and smart person who loved to swim. Her parents even had an in-ground pool built in the backyard for her. The only problem was that she was born overweight. With any type of bikini on, people would start calling her fat and would make fun of her. Even though she was used to the torture, she didn't need to go through it at the biggest party of the year, where everyone who as anybody would be. Maury would do anything to go, since she didn't want to miss an opportunity to see all of her 3 friends, the ones who wouldn't laugh at her.
To see if a different suit might help her weight problem, she went to the mall with her mom to find a new one. Apparently, her excess body wasn't the new trend. As Maury went in and out of the fitting room, a few girls in the corner would giggle and pretend to gag. This didn't encourage her to get ready for the big pool party.
When Maury was walking out of the mall, a familiar face greeted her. Jenny happened to be at the mall looking for a new swimsuit, too. Since Maury was very shy about her weight, she didn't want to show Jenny her bathing suit, but she kept on nagging and insisting. Finally, she gave up and took the boring mascara colored tankini out of the bag. As she was pulling out he suit. Jenny gasped as she grabbed an identical suit out of her bag. Maury was so glad she didn't have bad taste. Jenny said they could be each others twin for the day at her party and that she definitely had to come. When Maury heard the suggestion, she was happy tat jenny wasn't considering her fat. Compared top Jenny, who was skinny as a rail, she was a junkyard getting bigger and bigger. Now she was saying that they could be twins?
After much consideration, Maury finally decided to go to Jenny's party. It turned out that her friends were no shows but Maury still had fun. Jenny offered for Maury to hang out with her and her friends. Maury was so thrilled that everyone was beginning to look past her weight and at the true Maury, a sensible, smart, and gentle person.
Grade 6
Saxe Middle School
New Canaan, Connecticut
What It Feels Like
Once upon a time, there was a world where every one loved, and accepted each other... like I said... "once upon a time". In reality, things are very different. Many people today are prejudiced. They discriminate against others for things that should not matter. Things such as race, religion, ethnicity, or even one's gender. All the biased and prejudiced remarks ever said, can be put in one category-opinions. Now, just think. Where do we see opinions the most? Movies and television shows. All over the world, rude and unfair comments are broadcasted over the airwaves and in the theaters every day. These shows and films can influence others to believe that the people who are in a certain religion or of a certain race behave like the actors portraying them.
Following is a script for a movie, titled "What It Feels Like" that we would like to have made. It should make people aware of what it feels like to be discriminated against and how we should behave.
What It Feels Like
Scene 1: On the school bus in the morning.
"Well, well, well. Look who's just arrived, guys. It's Fattie Annie." bellowed John. Everyone on the bus looked up and snickered at her. John was the most popular boy in school and he has always made fun of Annie. The school year was almost over and every day, John has made a spectacle of her. "Please leave me alone." Annie whispered. She sat down by herself and read her book until the bus arrived at school.
Scene 2: Lunch room at the Middle School.
"Why hello little Miss Chipmunk Cheeks!" John once again screamed and pointed at Annie as she entered the cafeteria. She tried to ignore him and all the others in the large room, however it was hard to do since they were all pointing and laughing at her.
Annie sat down at the closest table so as not to stand out any longer. She didn't know anyone at the table but thought it was alright to sit there... unfortunately, she was wrong. The moment she sat down, the group of five girls glared at her, picked up their lunches, and sat at a different table leaving Annie all alone.
Scene 3: Bus ride home.
"Hey Annie! Did you know that if you were to jump six inches in the air, when you landed you would cause the earthquake of the millennium!" exclaimed John.
"Yeah, and when you fall down, the world will split in half and crumble to bits!" roared Blair, one of John's best friends.
Once again, Annie neglected eye contact and murmured "Please stop." She sat down and began to read her book. Fifteen minutes pass as the old rickety bus screeches to a stop in front of her house. As she approaches the door of the bus, John hollers, "See you tomorrow Chubby Cheeks!" This was the last straw. Annie was furious and tired of him making fun of her.
"I wish you could know what it feels like!" Annie screamed at John. Then, with tears streaming down her face, she ran down the steps and toward her house.
Scene 4: Next morning at Annie's house.
"Hey. This isn't my bed or my room. Where am I?" sounded Annie's voice. Annie's body waddled over to the mirror and then she screamed. Yes, it was Annie's body and voice but it was John's brain! Something magical had happened during the night. When Annie wished that he "knew what it feels like", her wish had come true. They had switched bodies! And, sure enough, a scream could be heard from down the street from John's house when Annie's brain awoke in John's body.
Scene 5: Bus ride to school; school day; bus ride home.
As the day goes on, John (inside Annie's body) realizes what Annie has been going through. People teasing her, pointing at her, not talking to her or even wanting to be near her. In the mean time, Annie (inside John's body) experiences what it's like to be John. People treat him like a king, wanting to be with him and following all the things he has to say. Annie really wanted to act dumb and do weird things to hurt John's reputation in order to get even for all the mean things he's said and done to her. But Annie has a good heart and she knew that it wouldn't be right.
Scene 6:Next morning
The next morning, both brains wake up in the right head. John felt horrible. He really understood for the first time how badly he has been making Annie feel with all the mean things he's been saying. How he has been discriminating against her because she is big. He knows now it is wrong to keep treating her unkindly, but he wonders, "What will all the others think if I am nice to Annie? "
John is seated on the school bus when it stops to pick up Annie. "Hi Annie." John greeted politely. "Ummmm. Hi John. You 're in a good mood today." Annie replied. Annie sat down and thought to her self, "Wow, maybe he has changed!"
Scene 7:Lunch room
"Hi Annie. Do you want to sit here?" John asked. Annie paused to think if maybe it was a set up, but from how he acted on the bus this morning, he sounded serious.
"Sure." Annie answered and for the first time, John was being kind to her. The other students in the cafeteria couldn't believe their eyes, but they followed John's lead and didn't make fun of her. In fact, they sat at the same table and included her in their conversations.
Scene 8: Bus ride home.
"Hey look John. It's Fattie Annie!" cried Blair.
"Be quiet! How would you feel if it was you? " John snapped back.
" Whoa. What's up with you? You are acting like you know what it feels like or something!" Blair snarled.
"Yeah, well maybe I do!" John hollered as he stood up and walked to the front of the bus and sat with Annie.
Grade 8
Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School
Old Lyme, Connecticut
Jacob and Ahmed
It's a wonderful autumn day, the birds are chirping, the leaves are turning and people are waving as they leave church in the friendly village of WhoVille. But the Adili family didn't find this, they were laughed at and ignored. No one tried to make friends with them, except a young boy named Jacob. He was intrigued by differences and quickly became friends with the boy, Ahmed. Jacob would creep over to Ahmed's house after school because his mother didn't approve of Muslims.
Jacob played at Ahmed's everyday for two months. One day his mother decided to spy on the "Bin Laden's" (as people called the Adilis). She went to their window to see what kind of mischief they were up to, but to her surprise, she found Jacob playing in their living room. She was so furious that she forgot she was spying; she marched up their front porch, knocked on the door as hard as she possibly could, and screamed "JACOB!" Everyone inside heard. They all froze, except Mrs. Adili, who opened the door. She calmly greeted Mrs. Travers, but was pushed aside. Mrs. Travers grabbed Jacob who managed to yell sorry as his mother dragged him painfully out the door.
Mrs. Travers yelled at Jacob, and told him he was never to go back there, she grounded Jacob. None of this mattered to him. He knew the Adilis were good people, and didn't deserve to be disregarded. Jacob knew he must do something. He spent many long hours during his punishment locked in his room planning, some way to solve this problem.
Three weeks later in church, during public announcements, he stood up. The surprised minister allowed Jacob to use the microphone. At first he was lacking confidence, but when he remembered the hurt looks on the Adili's faces, he began to speak. He told the congregation, it doesn't matter that they are of a different religion, nor how they go about the day. It doesn't matter how they dress, all that matters is who they are. He told them that they are wonderful people, and they have astonishing stories to tell about life in Jordan. During his speech, he saw many members of the church nodding their heads and listening. He said, "I am ashamed all of you, for you did not accept them when they accepted you with open minds and hearts. They wanted to be your friends, but you rejected them and left their hearts cut open on the streets, and I will not forgive you until they do." With this he took his seat. The congregation sat looking straight ahead. He sat praying.
Not too long after, the congregation stood up and applauded. The minister was in tears because Jacob had reminded her of what it means to be a neighbor. His mother turned and hugged him, said she was sorry, and that he could to go to Ahmed's house any time. Many came and told him that they had been completely unreasonable towards the Adilis.
The next day Jacob and Ahmed played at Jacob's house after school.
The Blonde
No one ever thought it would be her. She didn't deserve to discover what she did. Seriously, a cure for cancer? Oh please, she's blonde! I mean really blonde. She had the whole Valley Girl image down. She was definitely, a true blonde. Never thought she had the brains to even find her way back home if she got lost. All of this, just because she was blonde.
She never got the best grades. She never even got OK grades. In fact, her grades stunk. We all thought that, that was because she was blonde. She was always at a party or with her boyfriend. She never actually studied. Well, she sure did prove us wrong.
Her dad was a neurosurgeon, her mom, a lawyer. But she, she was blonde, and not really all that smart. Even through elementary and junior high she was struggling. She always felt that she had nothing to prove, until she got to high school. All her problems seemed to have started at high school. Feeling she had to prove that she was NOT just a dumb blonde. That she was just as smart as her parents. Her grades started to come up and she got into med school. AH, med school. The one place we never expected her to go. We only expected her to make it as far as junior year in high school.
As soon as she heard about cancer (the first time she had ever heard of it) was freshman year in med school, she wanted to cure it. She was at the bottom of her class, but hey! She was there, in med school.
All her friends had their doubts. In fact, they never ever in their wildest dreams thought she would actually find the cure. Again she proved them wrong.
Yes, it took years of research and it took even longer to even convince herself that she could do it. Just because she's blonde, doesn't mean that she really is dumb, right?
The one thing that held her back all these years was what everyone all her life was saying. "Just another dumb blonde," "You are so stupid," "You'll never make it out in the real world." These were all repeating over and over in her head. Through it all, she never gave up, never, ever stopped trying. All that, in her mind, was for nothing. She felt that she would never find what she was looking for. She felt that her work was only something that a really SMART person would find. She never gave herself the full credit she deserved. Of course, none other friends gave her even the partial credit she deserved.
Her research finally paid off. Her years of research, all of her hard work, all of the discouraging comments, made by her friends, all came together and turned onto determination. The cure for cancer was finally discovered. The person we least expected was the one to find it. Who would have thought?
Grade 11
Hartford Public High School
Hartford, Connecticut
Fairness in the Media
In my opinion, the media is only interested in getting a good story out to its audience. It is a market, like any other business. News broadcasts air what sells, because they want more viewers. Newspapers write catchy headlines to get people to buy their publications.
There's at least one television in 98% of households in the US. Every morning, millions of people read the newspaper. The media has a huge audience, and the news is the number one source people trust for reliability and truthfulness. The majority of viewers are wary of talk shows and entertainment news broadcasts such as Access Hollywood and Extra. When they feel the need to be informed, they turn to news broadcasts. By 9:30a.m on September 11, 2001, a television was switched to the news station in almost every classroom in my school. They were on because people wanted to know what happened. They were switched to the news because people trust that as the most factual source for information. In each class I saw the crashing planes and the collapsing towers, over and over.
Since all news stations are in competition, they often engage in a race to have the best coverage, most graphic videos, or most dramatic displays of breaking events. To gain viewers, some stations repeatedly showed the planes hitting the towers. Other stations played cuts of people leaping off of the buildings, yet others preferred the mob running desperately below or the astounding mountains of debris. I believe the constant replaying of these scenes causes the public to become numb. After a while of being incessantly bombarded with these shocking things, people begin to develop an immunity to them. By the third consecutive day of these tragedies being aired, it didn't seem to make people gasp as much. The pain wasn't quite so real, the crashing of the two towers not quite as devastating. People's minds, reeling with shock, seem to be permeated with the gory details to the point where they don't seem to move them anymore.
The fact that the media has the power to affect people's minds and emotions so drastically is quite scary. This power, however, extends even further. A person's outlook on life is also impacted by the news they see and hear daily. The events being reported now, ranging from the terrorism in the Middle East to the sniper serial-killer, can work to fill an individual with a sense of hopelessness and astonishment. What is there to look forward to when you read an article about radiation pills being distributed in case of an attack on nuclear power plants? These are the feelings of people constantly reading and hearing a continuous flow of bad news.
I do not think the news is always fair in reporting these events, and does not worry about the viewers they affect. I believe this power that the media holds needs to be controlled and at times censored. Impartiality and concern for viewers should rule the news, not capitalism.
