From the Student Anthology: “Same Boat: Stories of Love, Loss, and Resilience”
Background: The beginning of mindfulness is embodiment—coming home, coming back to the body, which supports self-regulation. Valerie reported that mindfulness helped her to calm down when she was angry and focus more in class. She found inspiration for her poem in an excerpt from Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself.” In this masterpiece, Whitman celebrates the beauty of connection to self and others—”My respiration and inspiration, the beating of my heart, the passing of blood and air through my lungs…a few light kisses, a few embraces, a reaching around of arms…” Valerie’s work demonstrates her growing appreciation for the good in her life and her strength as a writer.
The Sniff of My Friends’ Perfume
by Valerie
The smoke of my breath
Breathing in, breathing out
Chest rising, calming.
Myself, a blue sky, an ocean
A bird in a beautiful day
The sniff of my friends’ perfume when we hug each other
The sound of our kisses
Have you reckon’d how lucky you are to have people around you who love you?
Have you practiced so long to learn to love the people who love you?
Have you felt so proud to have beautiful people around you?
Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess a happy life.
You shall no longer fight in school.
You shall be nice to other people.
Background: This story was written by a young boy who arrived mid-year certain he didn’t belong in our ELD class. He spent his time writing sexually explicit raps, making inappropriate comments to female classmates, and spending a lot of time in the office. Through mindfulness practice, he learned to control his impulses and develop compassion for himself and others. His growing maturity is demonstrated in “The Crash.” Writing and sharing about this tragic loss improved our relationship and helped me to be more patient and empathetic with him.
The Crash
by Felipe
One day in the summer of 2016 my step-dad and I were driving on the freeway and all of a sudden the car behind us crashed into us. My dad got out of the car to talk to the guy behind us. From our car I could see that the man was drunk because he was bobbing his head back and forth. My step dad came back to the car and called the police.
A police officer arrived and also a policewoman who asked, “ID please.” My step-dad said, “I don't have one.” They took my dad and me to the police department. I decided to call my mom. Thirty minutes later she came to pick me up. She didn’t know what was going on. My step- dad was speaking to the officer and I heard the officer say, “The border patrol is on its way.” I shed some tears.
They took my step dad to Tijuana. Two years have passed so my mom decided to move to Mexico. She asked me to decide whether to stay here with my dad or leave with her. I decided to stay here in Richmond with my dad.
It's been three months since I’ve seen my mom. It's been hard but I learned that I was never going to be with her my whole life. I realized that I would just have to deal with the situation. I miss my step-dad and my mom, but my dad said I'm going to be able to see them every summer and every time there is a break.
I keep in touch with my mom by texting or Facetiming her to see what's up with her and my step dad and to know if they are okay. In the future my mom and I hope we can get my stepdad papers so he’ll be able to come back to California legally.
Background: Luis seemed like a popular, friendly, outgoing guy. But like all of us, he could get swept away by his emotions. By sitting quietly and anchoring his attention on his breath, he was able to train his mind, so that he could respond rather than react in the heat of the moment. His story highlights the significance and power of a pause and reminds us all, once again, that we too need to take a breath when tensions rise.
Walk Away
by Luis
It was Friday, the 13th and I was on my way home when this kid called me the B word. My friends said, “Hey, he’s talking crap about you!”
“Like what? I asked.
“He’s talking about your mom.”
I said to myself, “You know, what's the point of fighting if you can just talk it out?”
I went up to him and said, “Hey Alex, what’s your problem with me? You keep talking smack about me.”
“No, I wasn't!”
“Yes you were!”
“When?” I asked.
“During lunch.”
“So, you’re mad because people say that I called you something? If I was going to say something to you, I would have said it to your face.”
When we finished talking he said, “So, are you going to fight or not?”
“No, I said.” But even though I said no, he still hit me. Everyone screamed, “Fight! Fight!” like six times. I asked myself,
“Should I fight him, yes or no?”
I breathed in and out. I said, “You know what, I am not going to fight you?” I went home. Mindfulness.
