Jacob

I am different than most people. People often look at me funny because I can’t talk. They think I look weird too. It drives me insane, because on the inside I am just like them. My brain can hold information and think, but it can’t send messages to any part of my body. I have been paralyzed ever since the car accident five years ago. I was only five then, so I don’t remember it that much. All I know is that in those drastic seconds, my life was changed forever.

Today was my birthday. I hate my birthday parties. I usually get gift cards because people aren’t sure what to buy me. The only present I’ve ever gotten that I actually liked was Blue, my dog. I’m the only one who knows his real name, but that’s okay. Everybody knows he likes me the best. Sometimes Blue and I go to the park... with my mom of course (It’s not like I have any way of moving by myself).

I love being in the open air and being able to see the sky. My favorite part of the park is the flowers. They are beautiful colors and they don’t care if I look different. People say that flowers can’t talk, but that’s only because people don’t listen.



Brea

You may think I am the luckiest person in the world. You are wrong. Sure, I may have a huge house, a family, and everything I have ever asked for... except for one thing- happiness.

I hate it that all of my “friends” are people who I don’t even like. Just people who my parents refer to as “proper acquaintances.” But what can I do about it?

Every day, I look forward to the ring of the bell that signals the end of school. I always walk home from school (after I convinced my father that I don’t need a limousine to pick me up, when I only live ten blocks away).

I love walking past the park on my way home. There are pretty flowers there. Today, I saw a boy in a wheelchair. And he was just sitting there, perfectly peaceful in that sea of flowers. I went over and sat next to him. We didn’t talk. We just sat there. Together.




Josephine

When I first came to America, I was astonished. Back in my little village in Mexico, there were flowers everywhere. Here, there were skyscrapers. In my new village, there was a park. There were not any flowers in the park. I planted flowers in the park. It makes me happy when I see them. It makes other people happy too.