I knew she was smart . . .
and funny and fun to be around.
But I had no idea how observant and insightful she was.
You see my girl’s in middle school now and her Language Arts teacher required them to submit a piece for Reflections. Reflections is a national PTA contest to encourage children of all ages to explore their own creativity in a variety of methods and media. This year’s theme for Reflections was “Diversity means . . . “
Yesterday, she brought home her submission, which was a poem, and it had won Honorable Mention for her school. And I was amazed, not just about the poem but also about her author’s comments. I’m going to share both as I am blown away.
Just flat out amazed.
Midnight Sun
As the time goes by
And our mind grows up
The world will change with each step
We shall make to
Change the concept
The concept of diversity
Encompasses
Acceptance and
Change
But the world still spins and
Our minds do not understand
That it does not matter
What clothes you wear or
What color you are and
The color you will always be
There is no changing who you are
It is impossible to change who you are
Or who you will be
Just like a Midnight Sun will never shine or
An Eternal Moon will
Never stay for long enough.
You have amazing beauty but,
You will not let it shine for fear
Of being different, fear of being weird.
Thus your beauty will never show
Or your true self shall never shine
Only few will find that
“You can’t spell Beautiful without ‘Be You’.”
Even few find that “Diversity is beautiful.”
And her comments about the poem are “I wrote this poem because I felt that people in middle school do not really know what diversity is. This poem shows why diversity is affecting my peers and me. We really do not know who we are because we hide behind make-up, new clothes and different actions. I have not seen the true character of numerous of my new friends here. This needs to come to the attention of parents, teacher, and students alike so we can show that you do not need to hide from you are. The phenomenon is common among teens and preteens but most people do not know it’s happening.”
It’s a little rough but as this child’s parent, I am just so darn-tooting proud, I can’t even find the right words.
