ISKL+Anissa

**Introduction:**
Include some or all of the following, as well as a link to your blog: first name, what you like to do in and out of school, favourites (food, sport, hobby, TV show, video game, etc.), places visited, future plans, claim to fame.

Hi, My name is Anissa. I was born in Alberta, Canada, but lived most of my life in Houston, Texas. American pizza is the best food I've ever eaten in my life. Out of all the shows I've ever seen, my favorite is Ugly Betty. I love comedy, and action movies. My family is composed of my mother, father, and two sisters, Lua and Nava. My dad works as a mechanical engineer for Shell, and his job caused us to have to move overseas to Malaysia. Malaysia is really different to America and Canada. It is filled with so many different languages, cultures, and religions. since I go to an International School, I am leanring Mandarin. I don't know much, but it is really difficult. I really can't stand the state of the world and all of the poverty that is spreading. I want to become a doctor without a border, in order for me to help people. Thanks.

**Paste your story here:**
**Why is the world like this? Why is there discrimination? These were ordinary questions Karen Smith would constantly ask herself. She was just a typical, white, brown haired, fourth grader trying to comprehend her life. Her parents always reminded her that people that were colored were just destined to be lower than her, that they deserved to be where they were. Karen couldn’t help wondering what their judgment would have been if they had been born black. It is not like colored people had a choice. They were born that way. It was an average morning during 1950 in Texas, and Karen was on the bus, riding over to her all white school. She had no companions and was frequently sitting alone. No one wanted to be friends with the girl that liked black kids. They all felt as if they were given the gift of being lighter skinned, and they deserved that ‘honor’. Karen thought it was all utter nonsense. It was just skin. She was even fond of the color black. There was nothing wrong with it. Every morning, as the school bus drove by the black school, she would peer at all the colored kids. Their school wasn’t nearly as nice as hers and their clothes were all frayed. Although they weren’t perfect, you could easily tell that they were just regular people. It wasn’t as if they were a different species. They ate and drank, just like white people. They lived and breathed, just like white people. There was really no distinction, other than color. As she gazed at the colored children, she felt exceedingly melancholy. Even though they were being treated appallingly by the outside world, their hearts were still overflowing with hope and spirit. This was something that couldn’t be replaced by anything or anyone, and she longed for the same feeling. The black kids enjoyed playing together. They would alternate from hopscotch, to skipping rope, to four square. The entire time they would laugh as their small braids struck their faces. Karen was overtaken with envy when she watched those children play. Finally, she heard the piercing screech that was caused by the halt of the bus engine. That was the noise which reminded everyone they had arrived at the school. The black school was a garbage heap in comparison to hers. The white school was enormous, with high academic standards. Even with all the great perks, it was torture from Karen’s point of view. Everything was so serious and strict; there was no joy. They would continuously be pressured to study and maintain their high grades. She staggered through the line that was formed in the isle, and made her way down the steps of the bus, not regarding the mocking glances being thrown her way. As she walked down the tremendous, white corridor, her mind began to wander off, and she began thinking about the black school. Suddenly, she was summoned back to reality by one of her peers. It was Sally Carter, Karen’s own personal bully. Sally was one of the typical white people in her school, but she seemed to be more arrogant than the others. Karen’s father owned a convenience store across the street, and they were pretty well off. Sally’s father, on the other hand, was the owner of a chain of restaurants, and they were swimming in money. Karen was quite a petite girl, and Sally was, well, the opposite. She was hefty, and she scared everyone around her out of their pants. “What’re you doing here?” Sally said in the most snotty, impolite version of the words she was capable of mustering up. “I’m just on my way to class, why?” Karen replied, gathering all of her courage. “Why? Because I don’t want to ever see you again, got it?” All of the courage she seemed to have conjured up seemed to be gradually slipping away. “Yes, of course, no problem.” “Good, now leave!” Sally ordered. With all of her optimism crushed, Karen left, and maneuvered over to her other classes. The day went by regularly. First she had English with Mrs. Simon, Math with Mrs. Williams, Science and Social Studies with Mrs. White, and at the end, P.E. with Mrs. Johnson. She dreaded P.E. the most, because whenever they chose teams, she was constantly chosen last. After school, Karen took the bus back home, pondering about what she would do next. For once, she was assigned no homework, and she didn’t know how to pass the time. Suddenly, it came to her. Across the street from her house was a modest (interracial) park that she had always longed to visit. When she arrived home from school, she asked her parent’s permission to go to the park. They seemed not to mind and told her she would need to ride her bike there. After they finished explaining the ‘safety rules’ to her, they permitted her to depart. She went to the porch and seized her little yellow bike, positioned her red hat in the basket attached to the front, and went on her way. The park was only a kilometer or so away, and it took Karen a few minutes to arrive there. Even though it was an interracial park, the white people seemed to be dominant, though there were a few black skinned people that appeared to stand out from the crowd. One in particular, Karen had commonly seen. The girl was practically her height, maybe a bit taller, and all of her hair was tied securely back. She seemed to have a few friends when Karen had seen her last, but only a few. None of them seemed very close. When Karen saw her there all by herself, she felt a bit sorry, and did something completely out of character. She approached her. As the girl saw Karen coming, instead of walking away, she just stared at her in bewilderment. “Hi,” Karen said, slightly awkward. “Hello,” she replied, just as stunned as Karen was at her actions. Her voice was slightly high-pitched, but not overwhelmingly so. “My name is Karen, what is yours?” “Kiana.” “Why are you here all by yourself?” “All of my friends are too scared to come over here with all you white folk.” “Oh.” She was quite surprised; Karen had never suspected that they feared white people. “Sorry, but why are you speaking to me?” Kiana asked. “I don’t really care about skin color, do you?” “Not really.” “Then can’t we be friends?” “Possibly.” For the rest of the time Karen and Kiana discussed their lives and what was going on. Kiana’s father was currently looking for a job, and her mother was a teacher at her school. They didn’t have much money, but they had enough to live. She also had a few friends, but, like Karen had predicted, no one that was particularly close to her. Karen told Kiana about how she didn’t feel that color of one’s skin matters, and once she told people her ideas, she was branded as an outcast for life. She also talked about how she never told her parents about her own perspective. They continued their conversation until Kiana had to leave in order to make it in time for dinner. Karen went home too, and decided not to tell her parents about the experience. The next day, she went through the same routine, and, luckily, no one had seen her with Kiana earlier. She didn’t have another encounter with Sally, and following school, she went directly back to the park. She saw Kiana there again, and this time, there were no awkward silences. They were just friends naturally. Instead of talking like the day before, they played and danced, jumped rope, and did all of the things that Karen had always dreamt she would have a friend to do. Karen was wrong at first. She wouldn’t just like having a best friend, she would love it. After an hour Kiana had to leave again, and they made a pact to always come to the park after school and play with each other. The next day after school Karen went to the park, but this time, she didn’t only see Kiana, but she also saw Sally talking to her. Kiana was on the verge of weeping. Her eyes were swelling up. Before Karen was conscious of it, her feet were moving straight towards them. Then, she was standing in between Kiana and Sally. “What are you doing here, dweeb?” “I noticed that you were bullying my friend here!” “Yeah, I heard that you made a new black friend. Hahaha!” “Just leave us alone, now.” After that remark, Sally’s face turned a cherry red, and she was preparing to strike Karen. Then, another one of the white girls came and stood beside them. “Sally, why don’t you just back off?” “Excuse me?” Sally replied, obviously stunned. “Yeah,” another girl came on our other side. “They didn’t do anything to you!” “Back away, and stay out of it!” Sally was virtually shrieking. But it was too late. People were approaching out of nowhere. There was a flood of people, black and white, gathering around the area. Sally was absolutely outraged. Then, there was a familiar clicking sound and they saw a white woman with a camera, on her knees. She stood up and faced everyone. “Wow! I’m a journalist, Sarah Jones, and this is the first time I have ever seen white and black children mixing. You will all be in the paper tomorrow. I’m amazed!”

In the end the journalist wrote down some people’s names, and then everyone left. Sally never returned to the park, and didn’t bully Karen or Kiana ever again. Some of the kids began talking and actually became friends. Now, after school ends, everyone meets up and plays together at the park. The picture of Karen and all the other kids was in the newspaper, and the school board was actually considering building a black and white, interracial, school. With effort, racism and discrimination can be overcome.**

**Questions for Peer Reviewers**
(Think in terms of questions you would like to ask the author.)

1. Think of plot—is it original? (If an adaptation, is it creative or interesting to you?) What suggestions do you have for the author(s)? Great story! Interesting and entertaining, as well as a real meaning. I like how you described the characters really well, and you used great word choice. Something abotut your presentation of the story is that you should've used black instead for green font, but it wasn't too hard to read so it was fine. 2. Think about problems that the characters face. Are there complications that add enough suspense, tension, or interest? Is there a climax that satisfies you? Is the resolution satisfying? What could be added or changed? There was a very clear problem. Black and white people couldn't be friends, and Karen wanted to do something about that. 3. Think of characterization—are the characters life-like? Are characters likable and enjoyable? Do we get a good sense of character from many of these: description, dialogue, narrator's opinion, discussion from other characters, the character’s own actions? I think you did a good job of describing the characters and the character's personalities. The characters did seem life-like. 4. Think of imagery and details. Do they help you //see// and //hear// and //experience// the story? What details would you like to see in the next revision of the story? There could have been a few more details about what it was like to be a character (lets say Karen) in the story and what she would have seen, and heard and felt. 5. What areas of the story need the most improvement? What suggestions do you have for the author? The only part of your story that really has room for improvement is the part when Kiana and Sally are at the park and Sally is bullyign Kiana. When everyone comes swarming around them to stop Sally, there isn't a real "see, hear, feel, experiance" feeling at that part. Other than that your story is fabulous! -VVHaley