Digestive System Torbin Ackerman

Digestive System

Walk a mile in my shoes. You may find it’s easier unless you’re like me. I don’t understand Society’s standards because you are the same as me; or why anyone who doesn’t look like me is treated differently. Little white boys are always rambunctious; “They need more leniency.” No thanks. Donate it to the other kids instead of me. It makes my life easier than it has to be. I rarely use my ADHD as an excuse, but others seem to do it for me automatically. And I hear my sister complaining about standards for women, when she has to act upright and perfect; whereas I can essentially do whatever I want, and if I walk down the sidewalk

or enter a grocery store, I'm not the one getting “cat-called” or “side-eyed.”

It’s the opposite of humbling: the standards for white men are bare. It’s hard to digest all the things I’ve listed I’m thankful for. I’m saying this shouldn’t be only for me. It’s like a cake that I want to share, but the people who made the cake won’t let me share. And I filter and take all the things I need out if it and I have to give you what comes out of my large intestine. I’m a veteran to leniency, but staying humble is more important to me.

Torbin Ackerman, Grade 7 Sanford Middle School, Minneapolis Teaching Artist: Frank Sentwali