We are honored and humbled to post DevDoc Theatre’s first “Tell us your Story, Speak your Truth” submission. It comes to us from a 17-year-old high school junior attending a small high school in rural Louisiana.
The student and her 9 classmates were asked “If a play was being done to bring understanding to the misunderstood world of teenagers, what’s the ONE thing that must be a part of that play? Make a list or Speak your Truth. Answer this based on your own experience.”
9 students shared powerful and insightful lists that included such topics as Mental Health, Mental and Physical Abuse, Social Media, Depression, Suicide, Parental Loss, Bullying, Stress & Anxiety.
1 student shared this:
IDENTITY – Too Black? Too White?
Why must I act a certain way to be considered my race?
Just because I act differently from a stereotype, does
that change my skin color? Does that change my
identity? If I talk too proper, I’m not black enough. If I
wear hoops or talk too loud, I’m just another black girl.
If I act neither, I’m labeled weird. This leads me to
wonder, if I’m too different for any race, then where do I
belong? My skin is black, but in the eyes of society, your
skin doesn’t matter. Your race is how you act. So what
I’m too black. So what I’m too white. Why must I be put
into certain conformities to belong anywhere? If my skin
doesn’t determine my race…well who am I then?
We applaud the courage of this student and all 10 students for sharing their truths about what it means to be a teenager today.
Now it’s your turn. We invite you to respond, by video, voiceover or written word, to any of the questions raised by the 17-year-old high school junior in her written piece on Identity. We invite you to respond to her topic, sharing your own truth about identity in the hopes that she and others may not feel alone. And we invite you to tell your story, speak your truth about any topic included on the list of the other 9 students. Send your truth or any questions to devdoctheatre@gmail.com.
We hope that this submission begins to bring understanding to the most misunderstood stage of life. And we hope that more of you find the courage to tell your story and speak your truth.