The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXXIII

MUKTI SHAH
KAITLYN CURRY, TEACHER
South Shore Charter Public School, Norwell, MA
What is courage? For many, courage is the ability to do something that they
believe in, even if no one else does. For instance, courage for me is being able
to stand alone and voice my opinion even if no one is ready to hear it. When
I think of courage, I think of the time when I let a small red dot between my
eyebrows scare me, and how I overcame it with this powerful trait. This red
dot, commonly known as a bindi or a chandlo, used to terrify me. Especially
when I was in elementary school, I used to get made fun of for wearing it,
which would cause me to lose courage. At first, I didn’t let these comments
affect me. However, after hearing hurtful names and comments like “red dot
girl,” they started to hurt me a lot. At one point, I even stopped explaining
what it meant to me, because my peers would take it as a joke.
Months and months went by where I did not apply my symbol of courage, and
my parents even noticed and asked why I had stopped. I told them that I felt
uncomfortable wearing it to school because I was getting teased for it and
treated like a joke. Surprisingly, soon, at school, even my peers asked why I had
stopped wearing my “red dot.” As time went on, many more people started to
question me: teachers, students, administrators.
“ONLY AFTER MANY
PEOPLE ASKED ME
DID I REALIZE THAT
THE CHANDLO WAS A
PART OF MY IDENTITY,
PART OF MY CULTURE
AND UPBRINGING.
IT WAS A SYMBOL
OF MY COURAGE.”
priority to show and surface my courage, and at the same time, teach others
about my culture and religion. All in all, this journey has taught me that I need
to always stand up for what I believe in and show my courage, even if it means
standing alone.
Only after many people asked me did I realize that the chandlo was a part of
my identity, part of my culture and upbringing. It was a symbol of my courage.
My chandlo was, and is, a part of me and will always be important to me. It
didn’t matter that I was known for my chandlo, but it mattered that I had the
courage to show my true self to my peers. My entire life, I lived in fear of being
treated differently because of my different culture and religion. However, I
found a way to overcome it. I asked my mentors at my temple how they dealt
with their chandlo and how they properly explained it to their peers. They
explained to me that oftentimes, people are more intrigued and curious than
disturbed and disgusted.
Wearing my chandlo allowed me to be comfortable and open about my culture
and helped me properly inform others about my religion. I hope to inspire
many kids struggling with expressing themselves. I learned the hard way that
you should never back down from showcasing your culture and religion,
because your belief and your background makes you, you. Now, I make it my
THE COURAGE OF CHILDREN: BOSTON AND BEYOND
VOLUME XXXIII
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