One day, Mika Suzuki (teenage Berkeley Buddha) had to go to school very early. It was raining so she did not want to ride her bike but her mother needed to be at work by 8:am so Mika needed to go to school by 7:30 if she wanted a ride.
Driving to school, Mika noticed a girl walking on the sidewalk while they were still a half mile from school. She recognized the girl as they drove past but she did not want to bother her mother to make her stop. Later that day, however, she saw the girl in the lunch room. She was a pretty girl but not pretty like a rock star or a celebrity. She was “perfect-pretty.” Every hair was combed just right and her shirt looked brand new or just ironed. She was wearing jeans that fit perfectly. Mika decided to talk to her.
“Hi, I’m Mika. Can I sit here?” Not waiting for an answer, She sat down and asked, “What’s your name?”
“I’m Cimara. (See-Mara).
Mika thought to herself… that’s a “perfect name.” “I saw you walking in the rain this morning. And you were still a long way from school. Don’t your parents ever drive you to school?”
Cimara looked at the ceiling and stared for a minute. Then she looked at Mika and said “I’ve seen you around. You look friendly.” She stared for another minute and began to talk softly. “Yeah. My parents have cars and they actually do drive me most of the way to school but I ask them to bring me early and turn on a side street and let me out 6 blocks away because I don’t want anyone to see me get out of their cars.”
(Mika) “What? It was raining!”
(Cimara) “Yeah. I know. But my parents drive these really old funky beat-up hippy-mobiles and I don’t want people to see me in them. I mean…my parents are nice and very smart and they both work with computers and make plenty of money but they think it’s cool to drive these old junkers. And they go to work in sweatshirts and cheap jeans and I can’t stand to be seen with them. So I always get out of the car and walk the last six blocks.”
(Mika) “Uh… well… You are dressed so nicely. I mean… there are kids in this school who wear make-up and jewelry and fancy leather jackets… but you just look really nice and normal.”
(Cimara) “Thanks. I knew you would understand.”
(Mika) “Actually, I’m not sure I do understand. I never gave that much thought to the way my parents dress or what they drive or how I look when I’m with them. That’s really important to you?”
(Cimara) “Please don’t misunderstand. I like my parents. But I want to have friends like you and I’m afraid you would think I’m weird if you saw me in their rattle-trap cars.”
(Mika) “Well… you can be proud of your parents for who they are and still not be exactly like them… You just need to be proud of yourself. And I think your friends could understand that.”
Discussion:
Do you know anybody like Cimara?
How do you decide what to wear to school every day?
Do you know anybody like Mika?