Self-Expression Through Writing

Difference is the savior of joy

By: Perimeter School Students

At Perimeter School, we believe that the goal of education should be to bring ourselves into greater knowledge and thus greater relation to God, and our Perimeter School seventh grade students are doing just that through an essay on the themes of individuality and self-acceptance in the novel, A Wrinkle in Time, they were assigned this year.

The following are a few samples of their “hooks,” the first sentence of their essays. We hope you are blessed by their thoughtful and expressive reflections.

“To know someone means to accept his individual weaknesses as well as his strengths.”

“One’s best personal qualities and strengths can make one become prideful and create his greatest weaknesses.”

“Difference is the savior of joy. In Madeleine L’Engle’s ‘A Wrinkle in Time,’ the protagonists learn the importance of individuality.”

“Everyone is unique and different in ways that can only be unlocked with people that care and love a person for what the person really is.”

“Accepting oneself is the first step to loving who one really is.”

“If snowflakes are all different yet beautiful, why should a person not be different too?”

“…the children learn that being different is not their flaw, but their strength.”

“Accepting and loving oneself is the first step to accepting and loving others.”

            “Many children around their teens and preteen years struggle with self-acceptance and/or self-love.”

“Many people struggle with being misunderstood and not fitting in.”

As we reflect on these statements, let us give glory and praise to God, who created us in His image, giving us gifts and strengths, as well as opportunities to trust Him and grow in our weaknesses.