Kids' four square game - changes and adaptation to my surroundings

Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?

During my first day of kindergarten, I was immediately met with the stare of 20 other classmates as I walked into class 30 minutes late. I spotted an empty seat, and I began to notice the strange looks I received from kids around me.

My teacher began her Language Arts lesson after a quick icebreaker and introduction; I did not understand anything she said. I was gripped with fear and attempted to spell out the rest of the lesson, but could not. A feeling of anguish lay upon me like a veil of negativity, and the rest of the class I attempted to remain unnoticed. Of course, my attempt failed, and the teacher called on me. When I attempted to answer her question, I blurted a string of incomprehensible English in my embarrassing Indian accent. At first, the class chuckled, and then began to laugh. I was thoroughly embarrassed, and my face flush red.

At lunch, my classmates played games like four square. I waited to join a game. When I finally got into the boxes, the ball was served to me. I hit the ball out of the box on the first hit, and everyone around me began laughing and pointing at me, because I was not able to hit the ball. I went home dismayed, thinking I would never adapt to the society around me. As I sat in bed that night, I wanted to just go back to India and live my old life again, but I knew I could not; I was not a quitter and I refused to accept my place in society as an immigrant. I wanted to be something more than an immigrant, and distinguish myself among my classmates.

The next day at school, I strode confidently into the classroom, ignoring the snickers from my classmates, and procured my materials, ready to learn. I listened carefully to my teacher, noting how she pronounced words and silently mouthed them, paying no heed to the giggles from my surrounding classmates. I was called on the end of class to answer a question, and right before I answered a classmate began saying "He can't speak English! I'll just answer myself!" To his surprise, I responded, albeit slowly, "There is nothing wrong with my English. What are you saying?" Day by day, my conversational skills improved, and soon I made friends and talked to them in English. In time, I noticed more of my classmates began to talk to me as if I was one of them, and they would eat lunch with me and my table; it was an enjoyable experience, and I was finally able to feel reassured that I would not be taunted furthermore. I had cast off the chains of prejudice.

But there was still the issue of four square. It was my goal to master it now that I had gained acknowledgement within my classroom, but still wanted school wide acceptance. I stood in line, and soon took my place in the fourth place box. Within a few bounces of the ball, I was already in the second place box, ready to undertake the challenge of defeating the first place box. The ball was served to me, and I sent a hard hit to the first place, surprising him and finally granting myself the honor of first place. I looked to my friends, and they saw my smile stretch from ear to ear for the first time. Over the course of a week, I played more four square and eventually, I began to be invited to other kids' four square games, and gained the acceptance of other kids on the playground. I am glad that I withstood the prejudices and harassment of my peers, because they made me an accepting individual through their actions, as they changed me to adapt to my surroundings and fit in. Had I not been made fun of, I don't know who would have taught me to change and adapt.

On my first day at kindergarten, I felt pretty embarrassed with the stares of twenty fellow classmates set on me as I walked thirty minutes late. I quickly spotted a seat in a corner to settle down.

Well.... this is a kindergarten experience and I feel that's not an experience to get the reader believe your story. Why I say so is that it is unlikely one would remember the details of kindergarten experiences. Also, entering a class thirty minutes late at kindergarten level cannot be a big issue on a little kid. I think you better think about this point.


Do you have all these serious stuff at kindergarten? In my country it is mainly focused on playing games and learning ABC stuff ...


Day by day, my English speaking skills got improved.