by Kendall Lee
In kindergarten, that’s when part of my hair started to grow white. Older kids always bullied me and said I was growing old. I never thought my hair was unique. Also, I was not strong. I was weak and people also bullied me for being skinny.
When I was in first grade, my dad would always pack two Oreos for my lunch. Because I usually sat in my own little corner, one 5th grade girl would always force me to give her my Oreos. She figured out I was shy and that I wouldn’t tell any adult from my school. She would always lie to me by saying things like, “I promise I’ll trade you for something,” or ,“If you don’t give it to me, you will get in trouble.” I believed her, but she would always just run away and never come back with anything. Also, she was much stronger than me. If I didn’t give her the cookie, she would grab it from me. I never told anyone about this. It happened for months. After a long time, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I stopped bringing Oreos for lunch.
Like other people, I didn’t want to be different. I didn’t want to be the one who got picked on. I wanted to be like everyone else, I wanted to be like them.
When I got to Rise Prep, things were different.
On the first day of school, everyone was talking to one another. Some people even went to the same elementary school. But everyone showed kindness to me. I felt less different, less isolated. I felt like I was special.
A few days went by and I still had no true friends though. I realized another girl named Dulce was sitting alone at lunch just like I was. I sat next to her.
We talked a little while we ate. She had a little food and I had a lot. I asked her if she wanted some of my homemade pizza. Dulce took it and ate it, and she LOVED it. And she loved my white hair too. She said I was unique. After that we started to hang out and became very good friends.
Rise Prep taught me to be positive even when life is hard. I am glad Rise Prep accepted me. They taught me that I am special. Rise Prep is a great community of people and an awesome school. They taught me to be who I am.
I am Kendall Lee.
