Troy (Canada)

”Kids would tease us and tell us awful things, call us names and believed stereotypes that hurt us.”

What makes me angry? When people get teased or made fun of for the colour of their skin. It is something that is out anyone’s control, so there is no reason that anyone should make fun of something a person has no choice in. When I was in elementary school, I was teased for speaking Spanish and made fun of for my skin colour. This was not all bad because that is how I met my best friend; he was in my situation as well so we stuck together (and still do). Kids would tease us and tell us awful things, call us names and believed stereotypes that hurt us. We mostly ignored it all and didn’t let it get to us (mostly), but one of the few things that got us mad was being asked the question: “are you guys brothers?” even though they said worse things than that to us all the time. THAT question made us furious! As we grew up (but still in elementary), the things they said got worse and worse, so we started saying bad things back to them. It all went downhill from there. One day, we ended up in a huge fight because kids started throwing stuff at us. Luckily no one got hurt badly, but I will probably always remember that day (and a few others). This is why my dream is that no one get made fun of for something that they can not control or that they were born with, although I am guilty of it too (although I think most people do it without realising). I hope someday we can all accept people for who they are.