Julie's Essay

Julie Philippe
Mr. H. Salsich
English 9
October 20th,2008

Life as a homosexual
- an essay on heterosexism and Stump Olsen’s talk

When I walk into a room with lots of strangers, all of them awkwardly staring, checking every part of my face, as if they were looking for something to judge me on, it feels a little uncomfortable. For Stump Olsen, the minute she walked through the school door, people stared her down, called her names, and hurt her. They considered her as being too different to be able to fit in. Is that the right way to treat someone? During her whole life, Stump Olsen was not given the chance to be herself.

Being shoved in lockers, being pulverized, and being called hurtful names is not exactly what life is supposed to be like when you are fifteen years old and growing up. Unfortunately, this is what Stump Olsen had to deal with everyday when she came to school. After being kissed on the cheek by a little girl when she was 5 years old, Stump Olsen realized she wasn’t like anyone else. Ms. Olsen didn’t like to play with barbies, or had crushes on other little boys, but rather on other little girls. As nights passed, she would pray to open her eyes the next day and “not be gay anymore". As Stump Olsen was growing up, and it was finally time for high school, life became more difficult as “ all the words [she] was hearing around [her], were now being directed at [her]”. As soon as she walked in that door every morning, names would be thrown out at her and “[she] was now, the target of everything”. She would never want to come home and would often find herself making up excuses for having a black eye or having a broken arm. For Stump Olsen, it wasn’t about the black eye or the bruises on her body or the broken body part, but it was more about the words that the students were using towards her. As Stump Olsen says, “the punches and the broken bones healed, but the words always (and always will) stay within me”. Stump Olsen wasn’t learning or growing like others, “[she] was using her brain to stay alive and think about how [she] could cross the hallway without getting attacked”. Her bones aching, her heart broken, Stump Olsen never gave up. (ABSOLUTE).

What exactly is heterosexism? Why do some people discriminate based on others' sexual preferences? Is being homosexual so different that they constantly need to be judged and disrespected? To me, we are all the same and we have no rights to judge those people because they’re gay or lesbian. Nor, are we allowed to use words that could hurt, even though we have no intentions of being hurtful. Words are so powerful sometimes that trying to ignore them will hurt more. Since the first day of school, we have been taught how to accept people the way they are. In a society like today, where everyone is always judged and no one is allowed to be different, we must be the ones to make a difference. Acceptance is the one thing that we owe to the lesbians and gay, as they are so often judged because they try to be themselves. My mom always used to tell me “treat others like you want to be treated”. Would we really want to be treated like Stump Olsen was treated when she was a young teenager? Typing on my keyboard at this very moment (PARTICIPLE), I realize no one deserves to be treated badly, no one deserves to be judged, but everyone deserves a chance to be proud of who they are. Words hurt; “words are so pervasive, that we as a community, have to learn to think before we speak”.

As a result of “being too different”, Stump Olsen lost everything: Her mom, her dad, her sister, her brother, and her home. As she looks back on her life today, she wishes that when she opens the mailbox on her birthday, a letter from her family would be there, but nothing ever comes. As I hear little kids around school screaming “that’s gay”, I want to say “stop", but then again, they will tell me “they’re just kidding”. I hope that someday, heterosexism will stop, and they will be accepted like everyone else is. No one deserves to be treated like Stump Olsen and we must make sure that what happened to her, will never happen again.

________________________________________

Self Assessment:

2. Writing issues that I am continuing to work on:

I am still trying to work on organizing my paragraphs so that it flows better.

3. Some strong points I see in this essay:

I really liked my absolute because I think it was a great concluding sentence that closes the paragraph very well. Also, I liked how I didn't go off topic this time, as much a I usually do.

4. Some weak points I see:

I did not do a very good job with my commas and where they should be exactly. I still have trouble figuring that out. I also think I focused more on Stump Olsen than heterosexism.

5. The grade I would give myself: A-