A boy born of Polish immigrant parents shares his story. He, like Jose' Varques, is NOT disabled.
Miecyzstaw Aleksandr Czechstawski (or, for short, Czechstaw; that's the Americanized version of my last name) is my name, and I am 11 years old. As you can see by my name, I am Polish. But most everyone here calls me "Mickey", as in "Mickey Mouse", as it is easier to say (let alone, SPELL!).
I was born here in America, in Chicago, Illinois, but I moved here to Tennessee when I was little. My parents, on the other hand, were both born in Poland, near the city of Warsaw. They came to America just before I was born, and their names are Jan and Minka. I have a little brother named Jozel and a little sister named Annika. (Jozel is 9, and Annika is 7. I am the oldest of my family.) I speak English at school or when in public, but at home I speak English or Polish. I am fluent at both. I also can speak some German and some French.
I have soft, lightish brown hair that is rather curly in nature and big, brown eyes; and I am fairly short for my age. I am also quite skinny. I am not much to look at, and I am rather shy.
I am in the fifth grade at Eastview Elementary School, and school would be a lot better for me if the kids would just stop making fun of me and my Polish background. They jeer at me and call me "Polack", which is NOT very nice; and they always call me "stupid" or "dumb". I may not be very smart, by their standards, but at least I am NOT failing my classes!
I love to play soccer and kickball; and I also love to play baseball and basketball. I am very active; and I think that is one reason why I always stay so skinny. I also love to listen to polka or Polish folk music and do the folk dances, draw, read (mostly mysteries or "action-adventure" type stuff), listen to country music, play the steel guitar (something I learned when I was eight, and it was hard at first, but now I am finally getting pretty good at it!), and go to concerts (country). I also like to eat Polish style dishes like sausage and kapusniak (fried cabbage; it is really good, especially with salt and butter!), and I love to read about the country where my parents were born. They always tell me how pretty Poland is and how friendly the people are; and I would love to visit Poland someday.
We are not that rich, but that is okay; at least, our parents can pay their bills on time, and at least they can afford clothes and food for us. I sometimes wish we had more in the way of money, but I think too much money makes people greedy, and that just isn't me.
I don't watch much in the way of tv, as I am always playing sports or doing something else, or I spend my time doing homework; always have too much of THAT! :) But that is okay. This is my life, and this is how I happen to live it!
At school, despite the teasing, I have many friends; and afterwards, we spend time kickin' the soccer ball or running laps, to see who is the fastest; and we also like to do layups or play combat or war games and pretend we are fighting the bad Iraqis. Typical boy stuff. But sometimes I get mad because Annika gets bored, and she always manages to interrupt our war games, and then I want to bash her little face in (NOT really, but I DO get mad at her!). >:(
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