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turning point in your life
what in your life has made you change in some what way? whether it be a big or small change... share if you'd like... 
I wrote a story on what made me change... and this story has to do with going through prejudism and racism... so if you're interested in how it changed me, go on and read!
-note- this is also for my language class
“Daddy, I like my school!” I exclaimed smiling.
I was a 2nd grader at the time and I just moved to a new town. It was a small town North of La Crosse, Wisconsin. Holmen, Wisconsin was the name. We had moved to Holmen because we found a nice, little, cozy house there. I had to go to a new school, called Viking Elementary, and I really liked the school. It was a big, two-story, brown building. I had made new friends within days. My teacher was Mrs. Johnson and she was a nice lady with dark brown hair. She read us stories and we had a lot of free time! Everything in my 2nd and 3rd grade years was great!
Too soon, I was finally a 4th grader. My teacher was Mrs. Lipke and she was one of the greatest teachers I ever had. No doubt I had the most fun with her. She made learning fun and interesting! I remember when we were learning about the Underground Railroad. She had set up a game where we traveled around the whole school as African Americans in search of freedom. I had a lot of fun with her.
I also remember that it started in 4th grade. As I said earlier, I moved to a small town, Holmen. I was one of the only Asians who went to school in Viking Elementary so I got tormented a lot.
One day, three boys who were my age were chatting among themselves.
“Hey, I heard Kana eats dogs,” said Lucas.
“Yeah, I heard that too! EWW! I bet all Hmong, like her, eat dogs,” replied Nathan.
“Yuck! That’s so gross! I wonder what else she eats?” asked Dustin.
All the boys laughed. My friend, Tasha, had overheard the conversation and was curious. So she came up to me and asked me.
“Hey Kana?” asked Tasha. “Is it true that you eat dogs?”
“WHAT?” I was surprised. “Who said that?”
“Well, uhm,” Tasha hesitated. “I heard Lucas say that.”
“What? No way. Why would I eat a dog?” I got angry.
“Well, that’s what they said,” Tasha pointed over to the boys.
“I don’t. They don’t know anything about me so don’t believe them,” I said.
“Okay,” Tasha smiled. “Let’s go play with Cathy and Melissa.”
That day, I couldn’t forget what I had heard. I was devastated that anyone would think that I ate dogs. I didn’t say anything about it though. I just ignored it.
A few weeks passed by and I didn’t hear anything about what Tasha had told me until that afternoon, during recess, when Nathan approached me.
“Hey Kana! YOU EAT DOGS! YOU EAT DOGS!” Nathan chanted.
“No I don’t,” I was angry.
“Yes you do!” Nathan said. Then he ran off.
I was so angry and sad that I sat alone crying until recess was finally over. I went inside and the aides asked me what was wrong. By then, I was balling my eyes out. My eyes were all puffy and I had a runny nose.
“Na-Nathan said that-that I eat do-dogs,” I tried to say while tears were running down my cheeks.
When I told the aide what Nathan had said to me, she left me in her office and went to talk to the teachers. When she finished talking to the other teachers, they had talked to Nathan about what he said and so he didn’t say anything afterwards to me about it.
That didn’t stop the rumors about my family and I eating dogs because we were Asian. Once in a while, I’d hear it being yelled down the hallway but I kept quiet. What they said hurt me a lot but I just had to shut their tormenting out. Eventually, the harassing got to me. People taunted me at home, at the park, school, anywhere in Holmen.
There was even a time when my sister and I were riding our bikes and an older boy walked passed us with his dog.
“ECK! Let’s hurry up before they catch you and take you home to eat,” the boy yelled laughing.
I was so hurt. I turned back home, went to my bedroom, and cried. I hated Holmen. I hated Holmen because the people were so mean, shallow, and ignorant. They didn’t know the facts and were assuming things that weren’t even true.
During my years in 4th and 5th grade, I got tormented so much. The problem had gone even farther. The issues were not just of my family eating dogs, but they also called me a chink, loser, and many other names, and many things about how my culture and customs were so messed up. All this hurt me so much that I couldn’t hide my tears anymore. I finally burst out into tears in front of my teacher. So she called our guidance counselor, Mr. L, and he came and talked to me. I told him the situation and what had been going on so he talked to the kids who harassed me. The kids were all boys too. After that incident, the boys finally shut their mouths and never said anything again.
All the hardships I went through with harassment, torment, and verbal abuse because I looked different taught me to be strong, stick up for what I believe in, and teach the right from wrong.
When I entered junior high, I was extremely mean. I had been hurt so much from all the people who surrounded me in Holmen that I decided that if anyone was to say anything or do anything cruel and against ethnicity, race, culture, or anything like that, I’d either beat them down or yell at them and make them cry. Many of my classmates were scared of me. As the end of junior high came near, I began to simmer down and I made more friends. People were starting to finally see the real me. Some even wondered why I was so mean at first, and I never told anyone.
Now in high school, I’m really nice, patient, caring, and thoughtful. I get along with everyone well, and teenagers from my school tell me that I’m the sweetest person! Don’t get me wrong, if anyone says anything that sounds a little prejudice, I blow up. I get angry right away.
Because of what I went through in elementary school, I’ve made the movement to educate people that being different is okay. That’s what makes everyone so special. I want people to know that making someone suffer because they look different is not right. We shouldn’t just assume things because of how they look, or what we hear. We should know the facts before we act. I want to make a change.
Nowadays, I enjoy Holmen a lot because the people here are finally used to diversity. There are still some ignorant people who judge me by the outside but I brush them off. They will learn some day.
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10-11-2002 04:22 AM
