“I’m starting with the man in the mirror, and I’m asking him to change his ways. And No message could have been any clearer….” Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” goes off on the radio.
“If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change…” Jackson’s song emphasizes.
When I reflect on my life, I often feel like I am looking at mirror images of myself. One of the most important images was in fourth grade. The mirror shows an image of a girl, a girl who was alone, trapped, depressed after being constantly judged by her peers. “Hey F.O.B.,” they would call. “Go back to your homeland. You sound like you are from China.” I felt unwelcomed because I was being treated like a foreigner, an outsider and not part …show more content…
Today, 282,000 students, that is two hundred, eighty-two thousand students in secondary school are victims of this oppressive practice, because schools do not provide enough anti-bullying programs to get the “no racial bullying” message across. The bullies’ words hurt more than expected, they influence the way we see ourselves and the world around us, giving us a non realistic view of what this world should be. For me, it was that fake image of that once beautiful girl inside that the world deemed as “imperfect”. It took many years and many supportive friends and family to help me realize that I was not the wrongdoer. It was my peers, they were the ones who had shunned the light from me. As I grew distant from these thoughts, I learned that being myself is beautiful. My ability to clearly look at myself and understand who I truly am allowed me to once again, reflect on that mirror, but at another …show more content…
Perhaps it is because of her experiences in the past that led her to repeat what history has taught her—to usurp the weaker-- and to not know to the value of self and others. She says she understands what true beauty means, but does she really when she, too, judges people based on color? Does she really when all society has taught her is to repeat the cycles of oppression—to get discriminated and bullied, go through a depression state and then be the discriminator? Does she really? She does, because deep inside, I know the she wants to change and that’s why she tries to keep her thoughts hidden. She’s afraid of hurting others, and at the same time, she’s afraid of being
“If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change…” Jackson’s song emphasizes.
When I reflect on my life, I often feel like I am looking at mirror images of myself. One of the most important images was in fourth grade. The mirror shows an image of a girl, a girl who was alone, trapped, depressed after being constantly judged by her peers. “Hey F.O.B.,” they would call. “Go back to your homeland. You sound like you are from China.” I felt unwelcomed because I was being treated like a foreigner, an outsider and not part …show more content…
Today, 282,000 students, that is two hundred, eighty-two thousand students in secondary school are victims of this oppressive practice, because schools do not provide enough anti-bullying programs to get the “no racial bullying” message across. The bullies’ words hurt more than expected, they influence the way we see ourselves and the world around us, giving us a non realistic view of what this world should be. For me, it was that fake image of that once beautiful girl inside that the world deemed as “imperfect”. It took many years and many supportive friends and family to help me realize that I was not the wrongdoer. It was my peers, they were the ones who had shunned the light from me. As I grew distant from these thoughts, I learned that being myself is beautiful. My ability to clearly look at myself and understand who I truly am allowed me to once again, reflect on that mirror, but at another …show more content…
Perhaps it is because of her experiences in the past that led her to repeat what history has taught her—to usurp the weaker-- and to not know to the value of self and others. She says she understands what true beauty means, but does she really when she, too, judges people based on color? Does she really when all society has taught her is to repeat the cycles of oppression—to get discriminated and bullied, go through a depression state and then be the discriminator? Does she really? She does, because deep inside, I know the she wants to change and that’s why she tries to keep her thoughts hidden. She’s afraid of hurting others, and at the same time, she’s afraid of being