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Character Sketch
The Little Tornado
You wont know when she enters the room. Shes sneaky, silent,
and tiny. Somehow, she can make her footfalls silent, making her
almost invisible to someone focused. Once you see her, however,
youll know. Her ear-piercing giggle can penetrate walls. Her
curious nature will take everything off your shelves and scatter
them across the floor. Her name is Lilli, and shes The Little
Tornado. We predict shell be an artist one day, mostly because
of her fixation with drawing on the walls in permanent marker.
Every once in a while, shell cuddle up and watch Big Hero 6 with
you, but she usually sings and dances right in front of your view
of the television. Her medium length hair is always in knots
(from her fear of hair brushing) and a spectacle for our family
because she is the only one with her beautiful, soft, blonde
hair.
She speaks quickly, and youll often think, Where did she hear
that word from??. She wont really ever listen to you, spitting
back So what?? as a reply. Shes kind (most of the time), often
playing as her stuffed animals vet or doctor. Shes four years
old and shes my littlest sister, the baby of the family. She
certainly benefits from it: extra gifts at holidays, extra
patience from distant relatives, and extra love (from me
especially).
Weirdly, shes silent when shes around strangers. Her bright,
big eyes do allude to her creative, curious nature, but you would
also think shes outgoing because of her open and friendly body
language.
Shes destructive and restless and loud, but shes also smart and
kind and cuddly and I love her anyway.

Place and Time

My Humble Abode
In October 2011, My family and I moved out of the house I grew up
in to the house my mom grew up in. It wasnt a difficult change,

the distance between the houses could easily be walked and I

spent a lot of time there; my grandma was my babysitter since I
was born. This new house though, it was older than my familys
previous abode. The house had that really old insulation that
sinks down with time, and by this time, there was barely any
insulation in any of the house. This would mean cold winters, and
we understood that. It was small too- it only had one bathroom
(imagine sharing one tiny bathroom with four other people in the
house).
My room was on the second floor and down its own hallway. It has
pink carpet and off-white walls. Now, the first wall, the biggest
one, is covered by posters and drawings and pictures I have
printed off and taped there. I also stuck up a large chalkboard
sticker on the wall to keep track of dates of tests and school
assignments. My bookshelves line one wall, and another wall is
taken up by two closets and a window seat. My bed is pushed
against the last wall.
Since Ive moved in Ive kept it clean. This was my first room
Id have to myself (while my two sisters were forced to share the
other bedroom by my parents room). My to-be room was my Aunt
Melissas old room, and when she moved out for college my Aunt
Beth moved in.
As I cleaned out the closets to put my own shirts and knickknacks on the shelves, I discovered some treasures. An original
vinyl record of Michael Jacksons Thriller (straight from 1982)
and The Monkees Greatest Hits. As I stood inside the closet,
(the inside painted a powder blue color) I noticed some markings
on the inside of the folding doors. There were names and dates
written from the top all the way to the bottom, like a height
chart. Instead of height ticks, there were couple names. Melissa
Ricky, Janet Mike, and more. The last couple written was
Melissa Adam. I immediately felt a warm feeling- Adam is my
Aunt Melissas husband. My uncle. I thought seeing their names on
that wall that dated back to the 80s was touching and inspiring.

The Woven Essay

Modern Genocide and the Erasure of Transgender Teens
If you have a tumblr account and you pay attention, you might
have heard some of the following: Her name was Leelah, His
name was Zander, Rest in Power. These phrases memorialize

several transgender teens who have taken their own lives or were
murdered in their pursuit of who they were and their happiness.
As a teen online, its getting harder and harder to ignore the
social injustices in America. Transgender people, (which is what
the T stands for in LGBTQ+) especially POC (people of color)
face the same, if not more prejudice than they did when movements
started in favor for their rights. The New York Anti-Violence
Project has recognized that at This time in 2014 we knew of no
homicides of Trans women in the US. As of now there are AT LEAST
SIX.
(https://twitter.com/antiviolence/status/567184881298706432). It
is an issue not many ignorant, white, cisgender men in their 60s
care about, which is what makes it so difficult for these people
to gain ground.
The truth is, one in ten transgender women are murdered every
year and as of 2012, 45% of reported homicides were of
transgender women. People who are trans are 28% more likely to
face violence than people who are cisgender (people who identify
with the gender they were born with, ex. a boy who grows up
feeling comfortable as a boy). Even online, these statistics were
a HUGE struggle to find with a reliable source. You wouldnt hear
numbers like that on the news, mostly because all records of
these tragedies are being erased.
Leelah Alcorn, born Joshua Alcorn, died on December 28, 2014. Her
mother posted on Facebook to share the tragedy, but she
misgendered Leelah and didnt even mention that it was suicide.
In addition, the Tumblr account that belonged to Leelah (and
where she posted her suicide note) doesnt even exist anymore.
Her parents deleted all of the posts off of the blog, including
the note and apologies to people she knew. If thats not erasure
then I dont know what is.
As a cisgender teen, I want to put more effort into understanding
these often misunderstood people. I feel comfortable in my own
body, but what would it feel like if I was in the body of a male?
Things like this are an everyday struggle for someone who is
transgender and not accepted by their own family or friends.
Trevor Project: An organization dedicated to the support of
suicidal LGBTQ youth. (866) 488-7386.
http://www.glaad.org/tdor
http://www.glaad.org/blog/violence-against-transgender-peopleand-people-color-disproportionately-high-lgbtqh-murder-rate

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2015/1/6/harvard-trans-suicidealcorn/