Vol. 5, No. 1 • Fall 2000

Different
by Jennifer L. Painter
Photo courtesy of
Alex Maness/Independent

I am no different than you, Although you treat me as such Because I don’t have a mom or dad To give a gentle touch. Perhaps because I seldom laugh When thinking about my past And find it hard to turn away Though the moments never last. I’ve been abused and neglected And never can forget Yet I don’t want these trials to dominate The potential I still have yet. Does that make me different? Because I’ve only lived. Even though it’s hard to ignore The negativity you give. I face the lies, the pain, the jeers. Yet my struggle persists. And all that I’ve accomplished Announces that I exist. I’ve overcome so much With still a ways to go. You look in from the outside Not knowing what I know.

You never stopped to notice That I’ve worked twice as hard To get to the point you are at And be the same star. But I had to do it alone While you had so much help. You never stopped to think How I could have felt. Is that why you treat me different? Because of what I’ve missed? Maybe I am different Just because of life. But no matter what precedes, I won’t be left behind. I follow my dreams and Chase my goals, Always, ever an endless fight. I truly have myself to thank, But who gets the bragging rights? So I guess I am different But what you don’t stop to see Is that by using what you call “different,” I have made myself—me.

Jen Painter is a sophmore at UNC-Chapel Hill and a member of the youth advocacy group SAY SO.

 

Copyright © 2000 Jordan Institute for Families