I cry.

Infants- cry for hunger, thirst, diaper change,

Toddlers- cry for attention

Children- cry from a scraped knee, want more toys; jealousy

Teenagers- death, broken friendships, back-stabbing, loss, pain, disappointment, aches, longing, damage, family

Broken Hopes, New Hopes

Why does my big sister cry?

Why does my mommy cry?

I see them laugh, but then they cry,

They box it up and I don’t know why.

When I’m a big girl, 7 maybe,

I’ll make all their pain go away.

Everything will turn out okay,

I’ll have it no other way.

But for now,

I guess,

I just have to deal.

I’ll stay strong for them too.

And I will help them heal.

Monologue

It should have been me.

I should’ve been the one to take that bullet.

She wasn’t supposed to die. Why do these things happen to me? To us? Why?

It wasn’t supposed to end like this.

We were just having a good time in the park.

Everything was… normal.

As it should have been.

Just two best friends having fun as we shouted and hollered on the monkey bars, up and down the swings.

And then just like that, my best friend was gone.

Forever.

I remember the moment right before she was shot.

‘I wish things would stay just like this. Perfect,’ she told me.

I agreed as I heard the gunshot and saw my best friend fall to the floor.

We should have never moved to this country.

If we had never met, she wouldn’t have been in the park that day.

But God chose this.

Funny how destiny works right?

But not so funny when a person who you loved dearly is now gone forever.

I want to die too; I can’t imagine a life without her.

But for her, I will try.

For both of us.

Dialogue: Mother & Daughter

“But Mom, I don’t want to move! I have friends here!”

“Honey, you are old enough to understand. The war is becoming too dangerous.”

“I won’t know anyone there…”

“You will meet plenty of new people once we get there!”

“What if I don’t fit in?”

“Just be yourself.”

“I don’t want to go.”

“I don’t want you to die.”

“I won’t, I promise.”

“You’re right. You won’t die in a new country.”

“I guess you’re right Mother. When will we go?”

“Soon, just be ready. This country is unpredictable.”

Coming of Age: 2 Voice Found Poem: Persepolis

Wealth

Invited Attacks

I was 10 years old

The “Islamic Revolution”

Execution

In the name of freedom

Capitalism

“Cultural Revolution”

My mother was really scared

Arab Invasion

Justice, Love & the Wrath of God!

Massacre

Ouch!

Forbade people to rescue 400 fire victims

God, where are you?

Down with the king!

God chose the king!

Pain

Destiny

I lived in poverty

I felt ashamed

The king is a killer!                                                                              The king is a killer!

Tomorrow we are going to demonstrate

We shouted from morning till night

New freedom.                                                                                             New freedom.

Foreword to Coming of Age Multi- Genre Project

Sometimes when we close our eyes, we see ourselves differently as opposed to when we have our eyes opened. Maybe we’re a small child, with big hopes and dreams, ones that reach farther than imagination takes us. When we then open our eyes and look in the mirror, we may see someone else. We close our eyes because we miss that child and we long to be them again. We still move on, happy to have actually been able to be that child once. I think part of coming of age, is taking who you were with who you are, to shape who you will someday be.

When I think of coming of age, I think of two scenarios. When I was younger, I couldn’t see well. I didn’t know I needed glasses. It wasn’t that I couldn’t see at all, just things weren’t so in focus. This is the first scenario. The second scenario is now. I have glasses and I can see clearly. You start out in life, maybe more naïve, but as you get older, you begin to see the world for what it really is and start the journey to find who you are as well.

For my multi genre project, my inspiration came from my life, and people in general. Some things I have actually dealt with or am still dealing with now, and others are fictional, but come from the real world. Stuff like this happens all the time and we should all be aware.

Throughout this project, you will follow the story of 3 sisters and how their coming of age each differs, yet help each of them to be who they were meant to be.