Melissa's+Metaphor

A Song of Tolerance By Melissa Merkel

My best friends have always been the nerds, the quiet ones, the annoying ones, the new kids, the people no one else was willing to deal with. I listened to people talk behind their backs, wishing they could see the beauty in each of my friends. I have noticed that society believes that the best people are strong and popular. The best girls are pretty and they all have boyfriends. I have been told that I will not last long in this world because I am old-fashioned and nerdy. I know the pain of isolation, watching people ignore you because you do not fit their norm. Then this year, I watched as one of my friends was bullied. A couple of girls thought that she was annoying, so they kept harassing her and telling nasty rumors, trying to force her into becoming someone else. I realized that they were so focused on my friend’s darkness that they could not see her light. It was then that I decided upon my philosophy. I believe that people are basically the same; none of us are perfect and we all feel lost at times. People should look for the light inside of others, instead of trashing them for the bit of ugliness that they see. All people matter, no matter how different we are. I believe the first step to peace is learning to respect what makes people different. To achieve this end, we must dedicate our lives to accepting who we are.



Little man, big man, who came first When we’re all a part of one world, Rich as a sultan, poor as a mite, We’re all just the same when we turn off the light. The sun is up, please make us all of size.

 Little man big man,What’s inside? I am not your judge, I cannot be, It is not my soul.

Let us reflect, Thousand millions of people, There are many things about life, <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">That connect us. <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Strangers are just family you have yet to come to know, <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Some things don’t matter much, <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Marchers asking question, <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Sticks and stones, <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">The nature of the rumors that are abroad. <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">You matter, you are. <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">You Are God's precious gift. <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">To God, every soul is precious. <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">That’s one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule. <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Give no mind to what they say, <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">It doesn’t matter anyway. <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">

<span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">I believe that, <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">If you’d stop awhile, and maybe you’d smile, <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">You’d see that we’re all the same , <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">We feel the same pain. <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">One spirit, one voice, <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">If we sing with love and the will to trust. <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Live in unbounded tolerance,

<span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">For You, living now, is your identity, <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"> <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">And if you’d just reach out, <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Then you would find, <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">The galaxy itself is part of a mighty orchestra, <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">And each star and planet, <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Men, women, and children, <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Adds its own instrument to the music of the spheres. <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">The universe is the property of every individual in it, <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">So Love yourself. <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Sing for the glory of the living and the loving. <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Imagine all the people, <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Living life in peace. <span style="color: #37afcd; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Welcome again, my children, to the communion of your race.



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<span style="color: #1e067a; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 160%;">

<span style="color: #1e067a; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 160%;">"There is only one child in the world, and the child's name is All Children."