Young Writers discussion

I think I'll regret putting this up later but it's 2am and I'm feeling risky. May take it down. I cried while writing.

I get scared when strangers start talking to me randomly
Freezing up at the sound of an unfamiliar voice
Until I realize they're not screaming
Hateful slurs
Then I'm fine
Because it's happened to me enough when I was too young
I didn't realize what people were like, how fear could twist and darken good hearts
Because I was too young.

Go back to where you came from!
Take those towels off your heads!
Terrorists, Criminals, "These F*cks"
"This is America"
A woman accused me of stealing in the middle of a mall because I was holding a shopping bag
"Where did you steal that from?"
I was eleven. My sister with me was nine.
"This is America"

I'm ashamed to admit this, but for a while when I was young
I would be too afraid to leave the house
Too scared of people and their stares,
Their accusations, bitter laughter,
I was too young
I was in the wrong place and the wrong time
But I couldn't escape

School was safe, and I went to the library out of necessity
I lived through books, with their white, conforming-to-society's standards of normal protagonists
Who didn't wear a hijab and didn't have darker skin
Didn't bear the burden placed on them of the deaths of millions by others
When they were in preschool
And for so long that's what I wanted to become
I didn't even realize how badly I wanted to be white, to be normal, accepted,
To be anyone other than me,
Until I noticed that when I wrote stories, as a young Muslim girl, fully Indian,
All of my protagonists were white

There's no trick to getting through discrimination and xenophobia
My skin became hard as armor
My eyes and ears now had shields
I learned to walk fast away from trouble, keep my head down.
By blocking out all my fear and letting it roll off me in waves
I am ice, I am stone
I asked myself, deep inside my walls,
Who are you? And why?

"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!"

Cried the voice of a child, too young
But within the safety of the walls, she grew
She grew until she was bigger than the walls
Breaking them down, filling the body she was in
She was the sky, she was the mountains
Pebbles thrown couldn't harm her

Women I know are afraid now like they were when I was in preschool
Younger than me, my friends from school, my own sisters,
They want to hide their hijabs, stay away from strange people, not go out too much
A woman pushed in front of a train, a woman smashed in the face with a beer glass
A boy beaten and thrown out a window
"This is America"
But they're stronger than I am,
And we can endure so much worse.
The first thing I tell them is "Don't be afraid,
Like I was
And like I still am."

Don't apologize for this at all, this is so relevant and important. Nicely done.

I'm glad to hear it, thank you! :)

My heart aches reading this, Maya; it's wonderfully written. I'll be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.

Anastasia wrote: "My heart aches reading this, Maya; it's wonderfully written. I'll be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers."

Thanks so much

I want to say this poem is beautiful, but it's too sad for that to be appropriate. Writing is about telling things as they are, not how we wish they could be (which is the main reason I'm so annoyed at Stephanie Meyers) and this was done so well in your poem.

Mindy wrote: "I want to say this poem is beautiful, but it's too sad for that to be appropriate. Writing is about telling things as they are, not how we wish they could be (which is the main reason I'm so annoye..."

Thank you! You guys are so sweet I was nervous about posting this because of how personal it is but now I'm glad I did.

Maya wrote: "I think I'll regret putting this up later but it's 2am and I'm feeling risky. May take it down. I cried while writing.

I get scared when strangers start talking to me randomly
Freezing up at the s..."

This is so powerful. The last few lines gave me such intense chills.

I am sorry.

Kriss wrote: "Maya wrote: "I think I'll regret putting this up later but it's 2am and I'm feeling risky. May take it down. I cried while writing.

I get scared when strangers start talking to me randomly
Freezin..."

Thank you

Wow, I'm so sorry about everything you've had to endure. :( But this is so important and your writing is beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

<3 hang in there, you are amazing. People can be so hateful sometimes.

This is beautiful.

I cried reading this. Because people like that exist. Because a little girl had to go through such things. Because my thoughts immediately went to the times I was discriminated again, for who I am and what I believe. But I can pass as white, and I don't know whether that's better or worse. Most people wood say better, I guess, since I look so-called "American". (But at the same time I don't particularly consider myself fully American, so idk?? However that's my decision, not someone telling me whether or not I am, and the fact that I have that choice and no one is forcing a label on me...) I don't don't know where I'm going with any of this or if it makes any sense at all. It's all jumbled. But. basically, labels are gross. People can be gross. But you are not gross. You are beautiful. I love your faith and your love of who you are all. I admire so much that you wear a hijab, that you are who you are, and that identity, that wonderful unique identity that you have, is something that no one can take away from you. You are who you want to be, and who you believe yourself to be, not what some stranger tells you you are. Thanks for making me think. And cry. I've been crying a lot today. But it's okay. Because this showed me what I needed to see right now: that I need to be-- that we all need to be -- who we are, and not hide what we are and believe from others. Because I'm not changing who I am for anyone, so it makes little sense to pretend on the outside that I am. We are who we are. And that's wonderful. We're wonderful. Let's keep being wonderful, no matter what those around us may say. <3

(Ughh autocorrect changed words. **against and **would

Sam~~ we cannot see the moon, and yet the waves still rise~~ wrote: "<3 hang in there, you are amazing. People can be so hateful sometimes.

This is beautiful.

I cried reading this. Because people like that exist. Because a little girl had to go through such thin..."

Ironically, I am also very often discriminated against, being a Hasidic Jew. The ironic part is that the stereotype I get is that I am narrowminded and discriminatory. I find it funny because I guess people don't realize that by judging me that way, THEY are the ones who are judging. I really love all people and believe that it's not where you are from but what you are that really counts.
I was thinking wouldn't it be wonderful if we could get like 5-10 people from all walks of life, religions, cultures, etc. and write a memoir threaded together. It would show how even though there are many superficial differences at the end of the day everyone is really the same.

Mindy, you're chassidish?! Modern orthodox here. Sup. (:

Mindy wrote: "Sam~~ we cannot see the moon, and yet the waves still rise~~ wrote: "<3 hang in there, you are amazing. People can be so hateful sometimes.

This is beautiful.

I cried reading this. Because peop..."

Sam~~ we cannot see the moon, and yet the waves still rise~~ wrote: "<3 hang in there, you are amazing. People can be so hateful sometimes.

This is beautiful.

I cried reading this. Because people like that exist. Because a little girl had to go through such thin..."

Yay feelings partyyy. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I feel the same way Sam and it took me so long to just accept myself. Discrimination in any sense is wrong. Mindy that's a cool idea.

Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "Wow, I'm so sorry about everything you've had to endure. :( But this is so important and your writing is beautiful. Thanks for sharing."

Thank you!

Mindy wrote: "Sam~~ we cannot see the moon, and yet the waves still rise~~ wrote: "<3 hang in there, you are amazing. People can be so hateful sometimes.

This is beautiful.

I cried reading this. Because peop..."

That sounds like a fantastic project. You could hit on so many different areas.

I'm an American born Israeli secular Jew.
That sounds like a really cool idea. Someone needs to write it.

Sam~~ we cannot see the moon, and yet the waves still rise~~ wrote: "Mindy, you're chassidish?! Modern orthodox here. Sup. (:"

Yeah. :)

There is too much of this going on with lots of religions and cultures. I am a Mormon and I face a lot of judgment because of it. Mindy, I think the memoir is a really good idea! I'd be happy to participate in it! We should start a thread or something for it. WE GOTTA DO THIS GUYS MINDY I AM SO GLAD YOU THOUGHT OF THIS

Sorry, getting a little crazy. :) Maya, your poem has sprouted an amazing idea. It has touched people. I am glad you posted this.

Gosh this is such a strong post. I admire your courage but not so sure if it's from real experiences. If that's the case I honestly feel for you. In school we're currently reading Guantanamo Boy which has serious cases of xenophobia.

Bidemi wrote: "Gosh this is such a strong post. I admire your courage but not so sure if it's from real experiences. If that's the case I honestly feel for you. In school we're currently reading Guantanamo Boy wh..."

Thanks! Yes, it's all based off of personal experience, but the lines about the woman pushed in front of a train, the woman hit in the face with a beer glass, and the boy who was beaten are real hate crimes that happened to others.

Allison (Violinist Extraordinaire) wrote: "There is too much of this going on with lots of religions and cultures. I am a Mormon and I face a lot of judgment because of it. Mindy, I think the memoir is a really good idea! I'd be happy to pa..."

Thank you! I'm glad as well :)