Zulfi Monologue
Sitting at my desk, as my red pen completed a circle around the paper, a little boy, no more than seven years old, dashed into the Kumon Center.
"Hi everyone, I'm here", he exclaimed. He circled around the room as if he was in a marching band, before making his way to his seat.
In that moment, a bunch of little scenes erupted in the 1000 square-foot room. My manager, Grace had just rolled her eyes, scolded the child and whispered in the ears of her assistant. Two middle school boys looked at each other imitating Zulfi as their faces uncontrollably turned red. Two best friend co-workers grinned at each other from opposite sides of the room trying to contain their own laughter.
Suddenly, my pen dropped. I became silent. How such a prestigious …show more content…
He didn't have the best instincts when it came to one-on-one communication, but that wasn't his fault. He didn't deserve to be belittled for being different.
Watching this, a fire lit inside of me. Making sure Grace saw me very clearly, I went to the two students who were indirectly bullying Zulfi. "Davis and Peyton, what are you laughing at? Do you realize how disrespectful both of you are being? He may be autistic on the outside, but on the inside, he is just like you. If you were in his shoes, you wouldn't want to be made fun of like this. Be careful next time and please think about what you are doing."
That day I cared. I did not let my fear of being reprimanded by my manager or even judged by my coworkers control my actions. Just as Emory University took charge this past year, with the Ebola virus, I took charge in my Kumon learning center. I used my knowledge of autism and my compassion for Zulfi, to do what would benefit the public good, what would benefit the community of autistic children. It was just a small act of kindness, yet with this act, I was able to create a chain reaction by influencing Grace and those two boys to change the way they thought about Zulfi. Their misunderstandings were cleared as they no longer viewed him as a disruption whom they could mock, but rather an individual who deserved to be treated with respect just like everyone
"Hi everyone, I'm here", he exclaimed. He circled around the room as if he was in a marching band, before making his way to his seat.
In that moment, a bunch of little scenes erupted in the 1000 square-foot room. My manager, Grace had just rolled her eyes, scolded the child and whispered in the ears of her assistant. Two middle school boys looked at each other imitating Zulfi as their faces uncontrollably turned red. Two best friend co-workers grinned at each other from opposite sides of the room trying to contain their own laughter.
Suddenly, my pen dropped. I became silent. How such a prestigious …show more content…
He didn't have the best instincts when it came to one-on-one communication, but that wasn't his fault. He didn't deserve to be belittled for being different.
Watching this, a fire lit inside of me. Making sure Grace saw me very clearly, I went to the two students who were indirectly bullying Zulfi. "Davis and Peyton, what are you laughing at? Do you realize how disrespectful both of you are being? He may be autistic on the outside, but on the inside, he is just like you. If you were in his shoes, you wouldn't want to be made fun of like this. Be careful next time and please think about what you are doing."
That day I cared. I did not let my fear of being reprimanded by my manager or even judged by my coworkers control my actions. Just as Emory University took charge this past year, with the Ebola virus, I took charge in my Kumon learning center. I used my knowledge of autism and my compassion for Zulfi, to do what would benefit the public good, what would benefit the community of autistic children. It was just a small act of kindness, yet with this act, I was able to create a chain reaction by influencing Grace and those two boys to change the way they thought about Zulfi. Their misunderstandings were cleared as they no longer viewed him as a disruption whom they could mock, but rather an individual who deserved to be treated with respect just like everyone