Foreword:

He has his mother’s jade-green eyes, pinkish skin, and red hair; he has his father’s flat nasal bridge, high cheekbones, and long thin eyes. While all his classmates have huge eyes, like lightning bolts, he never feels ashamed of these willow-leaf-like eyes.

Seth likes his eyes.

Different, but beautiful.

Seth’s Diary, March 15th:

Why can’t we just be earthlings?

I’ve never asked this question out loud. Maybe it is the fear of getting mocked, or maybe it is the fear of being different. I don’t know.

Joanna’s Diary, March 18th:

Dear diary,

I have this weird feeling about that new kid in school. Seth. He lives next door, the house with a huge willow in the yard. That red head. Red head on a green willow. How disturbing!

He wouldn’t answer the question “what is your identity” in English class. He wasted three minutes of our class time. That would probably be a good thing if it were physics class, but no, he wasted three minutes of my favorite English class. Ms. Joyce should give him a detention. But she didn’t. That is so unfair, Jacob got a detention for saying he’s an alien from Mexico. (Jacob is not.) We all laughed, except for Liz, but probably because she wasn’t listening. This kind of joke won’t hurt anyone, it’s not like we have Mexican students in the class.

I also don’t understand why Seth came to our school. I heard that his mom is from Scotland; that’s probably why he has those creepy green eyes and that disturbing red hair. (It looks more disturbing when he sits under that stupid willow.) I think his dad is Japanese, or maybe Chinese. I mean, where else would people have long thin small eyes?

Hope I’m not his lab partner.

Fingers crossed.

Good night.

Seth’s Diary, March 23rd:

Joanna Murry became my lab partner. She seems nice and popular, but she won’t talk to me. I told her about my idea for the biology experiment: I want to study the rate of plant growth. The willow in our yard is so big. I heard that it can reproduce if we just take a twig and plant it. It’s spring, and the weather is getting warmer these days. Suitable for willow-growing.

The experiment is due on June 1. I guess this will be my first and final biology experiment at Wolverest High for this semester. My dad talked to me last night and told me to behave while he’s teaching in Mongolia. He said that he will be back if I get straight As on my report card. Mom was busy trying to find a new job in town. She said that she needs to make more money for my college tuition fees. I miss her.

Joanna’s Diary, March 24th:

Dear diary,

This is just unbelievable! I, Joanna Augustine Murry, got detention from Ms. Marshall. This biology teacher is insane. Just because I rolled my eyes at Seth two days ago, she changed my lab partner to Seth Chung. I argued that this is not fair because, apparently, I can’t cope with this new kid in class. His nationality is unclear, he talks about willows, plant growth, and dry matter all the time. Whatever that is. Then, Ms. Marshall sent me to detention.

Liz told me that Ms. Joyce sent Jacob to the principal’s office for being offensive and disrespectful. Guess this is the new trend now, outsiders are the “weak” ones and we just have to treat them the same. Anyway, I have to work with him and do groupwork.

Fingers crossed.

Good night.

Lizabeth’s Diary, March 30th:

Dear Anna,

I wish high school could end soon. Life just seems to get more and more boring since Ms. Marshall started to make Joanna work with Seth on their biology project. We used to go to Starbucks after school and read novels for hours. I mean, we’ve known each other since we were born. I named you, my dearest diary, Anna because Joanna is my best friend. Somehow, I feel we are getting far apart as we grow up.

She doesn’t know that my parents are from Mexico; she doesn’t know why Mr. Joyce was upset when students were joking about the so-called “outsiders”; she doesn’t know what I meant when I told her why Jacob was getting detention. I know the town is small and people have this fear of the “outsiders.” But things have to change now.

Who am I? Mom kept telling me stories from back in the day, when Mom and Dad met each other in Mexico. She told me never to forget where my roots are, yet we have nothing at home that symbolizes Mexico because she wants to fit in. Who am I? Am I still a Mexican? I know nothing about Mexico. I don’t know how to speak Spanish, or is Mexican the language they speak…

Does it matter?

I’m so lucky that Mr. Joyce didn’t call on me when he was asking that question. What can I say? Stay silent like Seth? And let them treat me like a weirdo? Why does it matter? Why do I need to fit in? Why? Why can’t I just sit under a willow tree like Seth?

I wish I knew.

Seth’s Diary, April 5th:

We decided to plant the willow twig in Lizabeth’s back yard. In math class, she told me she likes my willow tree. I like it, too. So, I told her about our biology experiment, and she said she wants a willow tree and asked me if I could plant it in her backyard. Of course. Joanna hates willow trees, and I already have one. In fact, I am sitting under my willow right now. By the way, Lizabeth came to my house today. We sat under the willow and talked until the wind started blowing and the sky turned orange. Her brown hair flew as the willow bent into the wind.

Lizabeth’s Diary, May 18th:

Dear Anna,

Starting last month, I've walked to Seth’s house after he's finished recording the height of the willow twig. Joanna doesn’t know anything about this because she never shows up for these things. She only talks to Seth during biology class because of Ms. Marshall.

I asked why Seth remained silent in English that day. He said: “Why can’t we simply be earthlings?” Somehow, this sentence rang in my head for so long that I started to wonder. I stared at the small willow and asked myself, “Can I just be an earthling?” I don’t know. But this seems like a great idea. Instead of confusing myself with all the clearly stated identity tags, being an earthling seems like a great choice. Somewhere out there, outside this town, there must be people like Seth and I. As human beings, we should treat each other with mutual respect. Despite all our differences, we have one thing in common: we are all from earth. This unwraps all the questions.

Postscript:

Decades have passed. The twig has grown into a tall willow, just like the one in Seth’s yard. Liz passed away last year in a plane crash. She was heading to Mongolia, wanting to spread the idea of being a global citizen to young children in Chung’s Primary School. Seth passed away two months later.

I realized how naïve I was during high school and truly felt regretful for having those thoughts. We became friends eventually, but it doesn’t change all the harm I did to Seth and Liz.

These diary entries were presented to me when I went back to Wolverest. Thinking back to my high school years, I didn’t realize how Seth and Liz felt, and how ignorance can harm others. Diaries are intimate texts; they taught me to respect others, and they might help you as well. They showed me Seth’s and Lizabeth’s valuable views into the past and revealed thoughts that might have died with them.

There are so many Joannas like me out there who are mistreating Seths and Lizabeths. No matter who you are, this collection of diaries may enlighten you and guide you through life.

Trying to change with regrets and hope,

Yours truly,

Joanna Augustine Murry