2008 - Secondary - Runner-up - Ho

"Hey, Korean boy! You're going to grow up and blow up half the world!" they would say.

Last year, I was called many names. I have ignored almost all of them. I do my best to avoid conflicts. But some insults, you just can't ignore. Just because I'm different doesn't give people the right to tease me and call me names. Yes, I have called people names, but I can't help it. No one is perfect. People have been teasing me ever since I started going to school. My name is Lawton Ho, and I'm Chinese.

I got glasses in the 2nd grade. Kids have called me "Nerd," "Four Eyes," and "Stick" throughout the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade. After that, they called me so many names. I cannot stress to you how many times I was teased about my last name in the 5th grade. They would say, "Is your last name Ho? Hey Ho!" and they would walk away laughing.

Last year, they even made a song about my last name. This is how it went. “Lawton Ho is not a Ho, but he uses a Ho to water his garden,” they would sing as I passed them in the hallway.

That's not all they teased me about. They teased me about my ethnic background. Last year, someone called me "Chinese S**t" three times in the same day! All I would say back is, "Chinese S**t, Chinese S**t, is that all you can say? At least come up with something better!" It was almost always the same kid who called me these horrific names.

I have learned not only to stick up for myself, but for others also. I don't want anyone to go through what I had to. It doesn't matter if a popular person is teasing me. I stand up for myself. The kid who called me all those names is still in my school and is in my English class. We don’t have many conflicts anymore, but I will never forget what he said to me. When I think of bullying, I hear a voice ringing in my ears and it is saying, "What’s up, Chinese S**t!" That’s a phrase that I'll never forget.