Diversity

Carlo Acenas , 12th Grade
Burlingame CA
Burlingame High School

Diversity builds character. When someone shares in the culture of others, he or she becomes a part of the community. I learned this when I joined the staff of a local newspaper. As a photojournalist, I have tried to bring news to life with the emotional power of a photograph. Although I aim to connect readers to the story, I have covered some extraordinary stories that have enriched my own life, opening my eyes to the diversity in my community.

There was the youth poetry contest—a third-grade girl stood alone onstage, reading her tribute to “the King” who had a dream of equality. There was the war protest—a high school Spanish teacher, standing beside her daughter, held up a sign with the words, “Ceasefire now,” calling for peace in the Middle East. There was Santa’s Sleigh Ride—Saint Nick zoomed down the halls of a convalescent home, visiting residents on his Segway sleigh.

And then, there was the mosque.

When the editor-in-chief assigned me to photograph a religious service at the local mosque, I was treading in unfamiliar territory. It was the last day of Ramadan, and as a Catholic, I knew nothing about Ramadan except that it was a month when Muslims fast all day. The evening prayer began, and the worshippers knelt in two neat rows. When I listened to the worshipers deep in verse, I felt the devotion in their words. I hardly lifted the camera to my eye. After the ceremony, I asked them about Ramandan, and to my surprise, they invited me to eat with them as they broke their final fast. As we shared rice, they told me about how difficult it has become to be a Muslim in America, how the word “Muslim” has nearly become a conversational slur since 9/11. In that mosque, I realized the one thing in our world that needs to change.

Our world is diverse. But people are not always accepting. Even at school, people stare suspiciously at students with veils and turbans, and some people mock the Middle Eastern Club in casual conversation. My Muslim friends avoid publicly announcing their faith. I will never forget when I found Ms. Gorgani, a Persian, crying in her room. The flags of Iraq and Iran that hung in the halls during Diversity Week had been torn down and trampled. My experiences inspire me to defend diversity. Although I cannot cause intolerance to disappear, I can use my abilities to fight prejudice of all kinds in my local community. This semester for an English project I will photograph the daily lives of a number of students who come from different backgrounds. Some of these students emigrated from foreign countries, others have divorced parents, and a few live in foster care. In May, I will present my photographs to my classmates, with the hope that they will learn to appreciate our differences.

In college, I want to work for a closer school community. To do this, I will strive to create human connections between students, as I try to do at my high school today. In 2007, I started a club called the KARMA Initiative, whose premise was simple—share a genuine experience with someone new. To initiate such interactions, we carry out “missions” that let people be silly together. In one such mission called Mission Rainy Day Fun, club members used umbrellas when walking outside, even though the sun shined like the summertime. In many of our missions, we confuse many entertained onlookers, but we have fun with each other and recognize that we tend to let our differences separate us.

We all have a desire for companionship and compassion. Diversity creates opportunities to share both. In the next few years, I will meet many different people who will broaden my understanding of global diversity. A college education will give me new abilities that I can use to work for tolerance in my community. Even if the goal of tolerance seems unattainable, unconditional acceptance is worth a lifetime of work.