Natasha: Yes. Bullying is a big subject. Some people go overboard with it sometimes. I don’t like how they put the fifth-graders in the middle school. That was not a good idea. They are too young.
Nataya: [Bullying] is not fair. Nowadays people get bullied on the shoes they are wearing. If it’s fake, name-brand clothing. How your hair looks. If it’s an older brand, you get bullied on that. What your teeth look like … It’s crazy. One day, these girls were in the hall making fun of a girl saying that her hair was too short. They were saying it while she was walking by them so she could hear them.
CJR: Number-one social issue?
Natasha: Missing kids, animal abuse, war. And the money issues.
Nataya: Missing kids, child abuse, sexual abuse any kind of abusing of children.
CJR: Special gifts, talents, hobbies?
Natasha: I like filling my mind with knowledge. I will Google anything. My friends call me Google. I know how to edit pictures really good. I love taking pictures. Photography.
Nataya: I like to write, period. But I really like to write poetry. I like singing. I like running on track, I am going to do summer track this summer. I like to draw for fun. I like writing poetry.
CJR: Is there anything I have not asked you, but should? Is there any other question you would like to answer?
Both: How we feel about our community.
CJR: How do you feel about your community?
Natasha: Cons — How dirty it is. How there’s a million recycling and garbage cans and people throw stuff away on the ground anyway. … Cops, too. But the cops that work at our school are nice. The cops go too far sometimes. Pros about Kingston? Hodge Center and B&G club. I also feel about my community should get involved in everything we do, not just board meetings. In everything we do. They hear about something, they don’t feel informed. But they should come and be happy.
Nataya: Kingston is trash. There are good things about it, but I don’t like Kingston at all. I don’t like the police. I know a lot of good cops, but the cops at the school are annoying. When I see cops beating people down on a move, I get annoyed because they are here to protect us and here they are beating us down. They go too far — most of the time. Pros — you can walk a few places that are good for kids to go to, like the community center, food, Kennedy Fried Chicken, corner stores. But pretty much Kingston is too small for me. Everyone knows everyone. It’s crowded. There’s a lot of fights.
