Someone asked me why I am so nice to people who treat me
bad, and I didn't know the answer.
Then, during class, I looked around after finishing my test and
realized why.
I looked at the boy who made fun of my inability to do math, and
his head one on his desk and he looked tired. I knew he played in
the band, so he had to be at school early, and I wondered if had
something keeping him up or maybe it was the amount of class work
the teachers assigned.
I looked at the girl who always returned my hellos by snapping
her gum and twisting her hair. I knew her and her boyfriend broke
up, and I wondered how hard it must be to have everyone concerned
in your business. He could probably be a jerk, I knew that she
only acted dumb so people would like her.
And I thought about the boy in PE who picked me last for teams,
how he squinted at the paper and furrowed his eyebrows. It must
be a lot of work always practicing, and then having to get good
grades to go to college.
And then there was also the girl who everyone thought was a
b.itch, but little did she know I saw the scars on her wrist.
And then there is the girl who is always reading, and I wonder
what she gets from those books or if she is running away from
reality.
And then there is the boy who always wears that shirt and I know
his shoes have holes in them because when it rains he complains
about wet socks, and I wonder if his parents work hard for him or
if they drink a lot and I wonder if he feels like an outcast
because he has so little.
And then there's the girl who just moved here from Brazil and
doesn't speak a lot of English and I can only imagine how
confusing it must be to learn everything in another language.
And even the teacher, I noticed he wasn't wearing his ring
today. Maybe he is giving us more work and more homework because
he wants us to do better than he did.
The point is, I look at all these people and realize that
they have their own troubles and their own demons, and the last
thing I want to do is add to them. It's a lot of pressure
growing up, and no matter what anyone says--none of us have it
easy.