The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXXI

Naheemah Mustapha
Sr. Sawsan Mezyan, Teacher
Al-Noor Academy, Mansfield, MA
Courage to me is when you find it in yourself to do something you want,
something that makes you feel brave. It might not be as easy as you think.
Finding courage was the most difficult thing for me to do, but I learned if I
didn’t stand up for myself it would stay the same and not get better.
I was the one who motivated myself to have the courage to stand up for myself
and not be scared. I am a gymnast. I was the only dark-skinned girl in the
course. A lot of the other girls would make fun of me because of my dark skin.
While I just sat there and let them call me names, it would make me feel selfconscious
about how I looked. I would go home and cry after every practice.
I would ask myself why I let them call me names. Why did I not stand up for
myself? I am still a human being, I am no different from them.
“Finding courage was
the most difficult
thing for me to do,
but I learned if I
didn’t stand up for
myself it would
stay the same and
not get better.”
It was then that I told myself I needed to be brave and have courage. I am a
good gymnast, and that won’t change because of my skin color. The next time
another girl called me a mean name, I told her, “I don’t appreciate that you
are calling me that just because of my skin tone. I’m just as good a gymnast as
you, and I am a human being too. The racism that happened in my past won’t
affect who I am today.”
This is what courage means to me. You should not let other people change
who you are just based on how you look. I realized I had it in myself, and I
don’t need anybody to tell me what to do based on my skin color. I just hope
other dark skinned people know that they are not lower than anyone just
because of their complexion.
The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond
Volume XXXI
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