I am originally from the South. My family and I moved to live up north when I was a freshman in high school. My name is not important; I could be the girl who sits across from you in history or the one who always knows the answers in geometry class. It is who I am and my story that should be listened to.

In appearance, I am just like anyone else: tall and thin with long hair and dark eyes, and wear glasses. I am very laconic but if you get to know the real me you would be surprised. This story is about my struggle to get past all the prejudging and show people the real me, my true colors.

I moved to a little town in the North at the beginning of my freshman year. In my new town I was going to go to a private school. On the first day, I woke up early and ate my breakfast. Then I dressed for school, putting on an outfit I would have worn in my old school: jeans, a cotton blouse, and ankle boots. I looked forward to a multitude of friends and good teachers. The color silver, like the lining in a cloud, represents Hope; my heart was silver.

At my new bus stop, there was a group of students waiting. I smiled shyly and walked over to say hello and introduce myself. I waited for them to say something; they didn't. I stood there awkwardly until a girl came up to me.

"Where are you from?" she asked me. "You have a really funny accent.

"Don't you know that you are supposed to wear nice clothes to school? What is that, a K Mart special?" another girl said.

I felt my hope slip away as more and more students came over to ask me questions. Luckily, the school bus came. All the kids ran to get a seat. When I got on the bus, I sat alone; everyone was already sitting with someone else. No one spoke to me; so I sat in silence. I was Ashamed; my heart was pink.

In the classroom, it wasn't much better. Everyone had their own friends; they weren't interested in making new ones. They stared through me and then walked away. No one spoke to me, so I sat in silence. I was Angry; my heart was red.

At lunch I didn't know where to sit. Finally, I joined a group of girls who were in my English class. They stared at me inimically for what seemed like an eternity.

"You're new here, aren't you?" a girl said.

"Yes, I just moved here fro ..." I began.

"You're so quiet. I bet you get all A's. Do you study all the time? For fun, do you read a dictionary?" A blond girl cut me off.

"Well, I ... I ..." I stammered.

However, they weren't interested in what I had to say. They ignored me for the rest of the lunch period. No one spoke to me, so I sat in silence. I felt Confused; my heart was a muddy brown.

That was the way school was. For weeks my classmates ignored me and looked upon me with repugnance. They laughed at my radical clothes because what I wore was so different. They called me a brain because I got good grades and worked diligently. They laughed at my accent because it wasn't like their jargon. They called me different because I wasn't a generic clone. I felt Misunderstood, I felt Forlorn, I felt Frustrated; my heart was a mix of grays, blacks and white.

I went to school miserable for weeks, until one day, a girl came up to me. She introduced herself timidly and asked if I wanted to sit with her at lunch. I smiled shyly and said yes; however, I have to say that I felt very chary about it. I needn't have worried; she was very friendly. She said that because I was so quiet, she had felt intimidated and was scared to talk to me. I felt Happy; my heart was silver.

I have made many more friends since then and I am much happier. My new friends respect me for who and what I am. They don't spread rumors about me and they don't laugh at my anomalies because it's our differences that make us all unique. I first went to school looking for my silver lining, and through a dense cloud I have found it. c