By Carmen Bonilla
Sixth Place (Tie), Grade 4-6 Division, 2010
Grade 5, Harriet Tubman ES
Teacher: Ms. Copeland
I always got teased and laughed at in school just because I was smart. I tried to show my classmates that there was nothing wrong with being smart. I ignored the rude comments they made, answered the questions that the teacher asked and got them right, and I told them that they shouldn’t get mad at me for being smart. Even though I tried to convince them, still nobody liked me. I knew that I had to do something. I really wanted everyone to like me, so I talked to my tutor about how I felt.
My tutor said, “Be proud of who you are. Even if you are smart, you know you are a special person. Don’t listen to what other people say. Listen to your heart and follow it.” I felt better. All I had to do was to be myself. But it was really difficult because everyone ignored me. I was really sad. I knew I had to step up and show that I was not going to give up just because people kept ignoring me.
So I stood up and went to a group of kids and said hello. I thought they would just turn around and walk away, but they didn’t. They said hello. I felt really happy. I asked them why didn’t they just ignore me like everybody did. They said that they had the same experience that I was having and they said that they didn’t like seeing other kids being without any friends.
When I went to my tutor’s house, I told my tutor about my day at school and how I made friends by being myself without losing hope. She was so proud of me. I was proud of me too. I learned an important lesson from this was to ask for help when I need it. So this essay is about how I survived being smart and the lessons I learned with the help of my tutor and a few good friends. I survive and even more, now, I flourish.