A Speech From Stargirl
A Speech from Stargirl
By Jax S.
[over PA system]
Salutations fellow Mica High land-beings,
“My name is Stargirl. I sing to you “Happy Birthday” as I play my ukulele. I wear dresses that reach my toes with my pet rat, Cinnamon, perched on my shoulders. I keep my special belongings in a sunflower canvas bag. I leave gifts during homeroom and cheer for both teams. I have seventeen pebbles out of twenty in my happy wagon. I go by Susan. I have jeans and sandals, burnt-red nails and lipstick, painted eyes, finger rings, toe rings, hoop earrings I could stick an entire hand through, and beautiful straight hair. I chew gum. I am gorgeously ordinary. There are only two pebbles in my happy wagon.”
“I place small gifts on my homeroom pals’ desks when it’s a holiday. I serenade you with a birthday song as I strum my ukulele in celebration of your special day’s anniversary. I smile as you walk by. I drop change on the floor for children to find later. You like the shoes Hillari Kimble bought last Friday. You like that football team Wayne Parr wants to get accepted into. You like those bellbottoms that every other girl in school wears, or those leather jackets every other boy in school wears—at least that’s how it seems.”
“Is that really you? Is there something special you take pride in that makes you you? And would it really hurt to just like the things you like, say the things you would like to say, and do the things you would like to do, for just one day? Let loose; focus on your originality instead of fitting in. If we all lose the fear of expressing our nonconformities, we won’t feel the desire to be normal, for odd, unusual, and unique will be so common among Mica High students. You should spend your days expressing compassion for others and appreciating the life you’ve been given. It is important to be true to yourself.”
“The point I am trying to get across may seem fanatical, but the trends you all follow and the things you all “like” are ubiquitous. What are you so afraid of? You have the right to be yourself; you have the right to be different from your peers. There is no need to fit the mold or fall in line, and people who believe otherwise will merely be jealous. Once everyone is busy being the stupendous human being they have hidden inside themselves, it will be normal to be abnormal. If everyone could learn to be different and choose to wear their hearts on their sleeves instead of acting capriciously towards kind actions, the world (or even just our small town of Mica, Arizona) would be much better.”
“Not quite catching what I am trying to say? Quite frankly, MAHS students, you all live boring lives! It is time to get back up on your feet and spend your time doing anything worthwhile. I tried to be in harmony with the rest of you by following your melancholy ways, but being an individual is just so much better! I encourage you to find the care and the eagerness in your hearts to unleash your true power of being unique. If everyone is different and chooses to wear their hearts on their sleeves instead of being capricious towards generous behavior, then “different” wouldn’t be abnormal and it wouldn’t be something to fear. What is it that makes you a star?”
It’s your turn to be a star-person. Tag, you’re it!
Stargirl Caraway
“P.S. Apologies, Leo, for being absent on your birthday. I should have been there to serenade you.”
A note from the author: Stargirl is a great analogy for me to use to express my general opinion about the importance of being unique and being generous. I really appreciate this novel. Writing this letter didn’t feel like it was from Stargirl, but more like it was from me. I advise you to be cautious of your words, use them carefully, and take the opportunity you have been given and give life a shot because you only have one. Remember to stay warm, stay happy, and be you. Have a good one!