Walking toward the exit of the school, sixteen-year old Amir heard the kids behind him. They shouted the same overused racial slurs that he had to deal with on an everyday basis. He got called the dirty Muslim and laughed at due to his religion. Another kid practically ran into him, laughing as he watched Amir slam into the wall and collapse to the ground. The calculus textbook he had been carrying, along several other papers, flew out of his hand. His glasses flew off his face and onto the floor. His tormentors laughed and walking away. One short blonde kid carrying a skateboard stepped on his glasses and Amir heard a cracking sound. He’d been going to the school for months now, and the problems continued to occur without fail.

Avoiding eye contact, Amir shuffled to gather his schoolwork, and stood back up. He picked up his ruined eyeglasses and put them on. He walked the last few feet out the door and into the open air. He had been Islamic his whole life; his whole family followed the traditional faith. His parents moved out of Iran right before the revolution when they realized the danger that had been about to happen. He had experienced an extreme culture shock moving to the Americas and was struggling to assimilate to Western ideas and traditions.

In accordance with his religion, Amir had to pray three times a day, one of which came during the school day. Even though it was a public school, the students and teachers mostly practiced the Christian faith. When he started attending the Western school, he received a detention on the first day after he tried to perform a salat, or prayer, at lunch. This punishment seemed unjust, as he had seen students say grace before they even touched their food.

After that, he didn’t dare pray at lunch, instead he would sit in the bathroom during the time he was given to eat and he would recite the prayer. He would often cry, scared and horrified by what his life had become. Amir refused to tell his parents; how could he disappoint them like that? They had worked hard to make a life in the states, and they had moved there in order for things to improve. They had no knowledge of the bullying that he experienced daily.

One day as he walked up to class after lunch, his main antagonist, a burly meathead named Adam, walked up to him. He reached out a beefy arm, blocking Amir’s way. "Where do you think you're going dirty Muslim?" he cackled. Adam's booming voice could be heard from across the school and his heavy walk shook the ground. He played football and would probably never attend college. He had a group of friends, who acted the same exact way he did. They all gathered around Amir. They called him a terrorist and blamed him for 9/11.

That was the breaking point for Amir; he was furious. He knew all about the terrible day that occurred, and he knew in his heart his faith would never be responsible for that. He had grown tired of being abused. He had to stand up for himself. Letting his backpack slip off his shoulders and fall to the ground, Amir stood up as tall as he could.

“Stop! My skin color and religion does not put me below you. I am proud of my faith and you will never be able to change that. Leave me alone.”

This left Adam and his friends speechless. They stared silently for a minute before taking a step back. They have never seen this side of Amir and had not expected him to react in such an assertive, confident manner. They realized they could not disrespect him any more or push him around. They admired him for his courage and never tormented him again.

From that point on, Amir’ situation became a lot easier. People seemed to actually start respecting him, and he was no longer scared to go to school. He made friends with many people, and everyone admired his confident personality. His grades also went up, and he did not fear success. Amir started the Muslim faith club, and it began to gain many members. He felt happier and in a better mood constantly. Amir felt like nothing could take him down. All this change took was one statement of defense, one declaration of equality.

This became a tremendous lesson for Amir. He understood that in order to gain respect, he had to stand up for himself. He needed confidence and the knowledge that he was not inferior. He remained proud of who he was, and did not waiver. Because of this, he became successful in life and excelled in many aspects. He knew never to let anyone disrespect him again.