You is Better

Mmm-kay...So...

In Art Class, (the school-sponsored kind) we read Dr. Seuss's The Lorax. So Ms. Patterson, my eccentric art teacher with red dreads(natural, real, red-headed dreadlocks), is having us write satirical skits about things in society we don't like. Mine is on Gender Stereotyping. You want to hear it?
Good.

You is Better
Theme: Gender Stereotyping
Characters: Narrator, Jo, Mom, Dad, Little Girl
Narrator: Once upon a time, in a town much like yours, a little girl lived, behind tightly shut doors.
Jo: No, Mommy, no!
Mom: (holding up a pink lace dress) But, sweetie, my Jo…
Jo: I won’t wear that dress, I simply will not.
Mom: But in those long pants of yours, you’re sure to get hot.
Narrator: Jo hated dresses, and jewelry, and pink. She’d rather get dirty, not bathe, and just stink.
Mom: Don’t you want to look nice?
Narrator: Mom said to her Jo.
Jo: I’m sorry, but Mommy, my answer is no.
Mom: (holding a coat with lace trim) Well, Jo, baby, please, would you at least wear a coat?
Narrator: But Jo didn’t listen, just picked up her toy boat.
Mom: Please, my sweet Jo, your Dad’s on his way. We don’t want to be late and ruin his day.
Narrator: Jo stood up, shaking her head, saying-
Jo: Mommy, I think I’ll just go back to bed… (begins to walk off)
Mom: Oh, sweetie, Jo, please, come back here right now. The dress would be too small, anyhow. It doesn’t matter, really, whatever you’re wearing. You know that nothing could ever stop me from caring.
Dad: (walks in the door) Honey, I’m home! And how is my Jo? Come on, both of you, it’s time to go!
Narrator: They climbed in the car, and were about to drive off, when from outside the window, they heard a small cough.
Little Girl: *cough* Freak *cough*
Narrator: A lacy little girl choked, standing there staring, and holding a Coke. The family drove off, ignoring what the girl said. But the small little cough stayed stuck in Jo’s head.
Jo: I’m not all that different. I just don’t like lace. I like puppies, and guppies, not pink on my face. Girls can act boy-ish, and still be girls, too. Why don’t we try just being ourselves? Just try being me. Try being you.
Narrator: Jo learned a valuable lesson that day. To just be yourself, no matter what people say. As Jo and her parents drove off to the fair, they all though about what it means, truly, to care. About how people feel, despite what they do, and how important it is to just…be…you.

I hope you, and Ms. Patterson, like it. :) -me