[font="times new roman"] When my family and I moved into the two-story brick house in Dunn, North Carolina, in the summer after my eighth grade year, mine was the stereotypical response of pompous disgust. I wasn't worried about the hundred-year-old house with an old kitchen and no dishwasher; the real issue was it's close proximity to the 'Park Island' mobile home park. The front of the house was ten yards from the highway and through the back windows of the house one could view the assortment of white and rust colored mobile homes that made up the trailer park. As could probably be expected, none of us were expecially excited about the location of the house, but rental homes large enought to to house a family of six are not altogether plentiful either, so we got comfortable.
The day that we moved in, about five kids came over from the mobile home park to introduce themselves and meet all of us. In the warm summer weeks that followed, there was not an afternoon when a group of neighborhood kids was not playeing basketball on the old cement half court in our bacyard, oftentimes amongst themselves. Gradually my siblings and I began to join in their basketball games, and, as we played, we builtfriendships. Soon "T", Cedric, "Honey Money", Scotty and his younger brother Josh became regular subjects for conversation at the dinner tavle and welcomed guests as well. I soon came to regret my previous attitude of prejudice. I recognized that living in the vicinity of the mobile home park was more of a blessing than any curse that I had imagined it to be. I learned the truth to the aphorism: "Don't judge a book by it's cover."
When school started, I found that I rode the same bus as "T" and Scotty and I immediately felt more secure with two older sophomores as friends. However, at school I soon began to make new friends and establish a stable place in the territorial luchroom, and I did not spend much time with either Scotty or "T". Without many shared interests, aside from basketball, and completely different classes, I considered our separation to be acceptable. Maybe it was- but discrimination certainly is not.
The loud laughter of the rambunctious boys caught my attention as I carried my tray of food to my lunch table. I turned around to see three boys laughing at Scotty as he hung his head and turned red. I yelled his name to call his attention, and, as he looked up at me, the laughing stopped. He smiled and waved at me as I waved back, but as soon as I turned away the laughter was revived with two words: "Trailer Trash!" I heard the phrase and immediately spun around, which only fueled more laughter from the mocking boys. My reaction was more like a reflex than anything else. "Quit it you guys!" I called, and, feeling rather insecure as a freshman gurl against the three guys , I walked away. My response , however, did not end with my quick reaction.
The prejudice remark ran through my head for the entire day as I remorsefully realized that I had previously had an identical mindset. The situation caused me to make a to set aside time to spend with my friends in the neighborhood as a way of countering the negative messge that I had witnessed.
Throughout the next week I made a point of saying hello to both Scotty and "T" every time I saw them in the halls, and even searched them out during morning break to invite them to play basketball after school. After the basketball game that afternoon I suggested the idea that I had been mulling over: starting an afterschool club with the kids in the neighborhood. After hearing possible ideas for activities, including a short meeting and lesson, an afternoon snack, and organized games, such as, kick ball, baseball and basketball, the younger kids readily volunteered to join and Scotty and "T" quickly followed suit.
The club met once a week throughout the remainder of the school year and eventually, the entire neighborhood was aware of the club. Occasionally, the club would do service activities in the neighborhood. During one club meeting, we picked up litter from around the trailer park; another meeting was spent writing letters of encouragement to imprisoned Christians through a special organization. Around Christmas time we had delivered home made 'good Samaritan cookies' to the families in the mobile home park. Through these shared experiences, the club became like a society of friends cooperating to make change.
The friendships that I formed with these amazing students taught me to accept everyone in love and learn about their character before passing any judgements. Since my experience, discrimination based on economic circumstances has always prompted me to shout out. However, more importantly, this experience taught me to make an extra effort to befriend those who seem to be misfits in school. Building up self worth gives a person confidence, and with this confidence one can achieve things that previously seemed impossible because of circumstance.
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