Walking the Walk: The Moth Radio Hour
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is the Moth Radio Hour. I'm your host, Samuel James. This time we have stories of people walking the walk, some on their own, some with some help, and others who, let's just say, need a little extra nudge. We have stories of uniquely awkward situations, unrequited love, the search for beauty, and what it's like to have a crush on a classmate when your mom is the teacher. We start with a story from one of the Moth's Grand Slam events in Boston, where we partner with PRX and local public radio station WBUR. Here's Kristen Lee, live at the Moth.
I'm 13 years old and just said goodbye to my parents after they've dropped me off at the University of Iowa dorms for summer sleepaway genetics camp. I am so excited, I'm gonna stay up late talking to my roommate, hang out with friends whenever I want to, plus we're gonna learn about mitosis and meiosis and Mendel and mutations and how can this possibly not go well. When I get back up to my room, my roommate Megan has just moved in and the first thing she says to me is, I knew you were gonna be friends from the moment I saw the clothes hanging in your closet. That's a little odd, but at least she likes me. And that first day, a small crew of girls forms around Megan and me. And I'm so excited I've already made my friends.
The first week of camp is a paradise of biology. We make 3D models of the double helix structure of DNA, lining up those A's and T's and C's and G's. We transcribe DNA sequences into RNA and translate that into amino acids and protein structures. And I feel like we've been given the secret code of life, which we have. I geek out over Punnett Square problem sets and mapping pedigrees, shading those circles and squares to show how a disease is transmitted through a family. Classic summer camp activities. It's the best. I have to admit, though, I'm getting some weird vibes from my new friends. Every morning as we walk through the university quad on the way to class, Heather makes fun of my hair and teases me about the keychains on my backpack.
Tori scribbles on my homework and crumples it up. Megan starts borrowing my stuff without asking and I find notes on my desk written in my eyeliner that say, I'm wearing your sandals today. But it's okay, I know how to deal with people like this. 13 years growing up as a Chinese American girl in Iowa have taught me how to fit in as an interloper. Be super nice, erase my own personality, go with the flow, It's never failed me before, and surely it's not going to fail me at nerd camp, where by definition, no one here is too cool for school. So I keep trying to be as agreeable and accommodating as possible. At the end of the first week of camp, we're playing a game in class that requires other people to help us solve our mystery genotypes.
This involves passing slips of paper to our friends with questions on them. Like, if I had a kid with someone who has attached earlobes, is it possible that our kids could have attached earlobes too? And if the answer is no, then I know that I'm homozygous for the autosomal dominant trait of having detached earlobes. Super simple. But... During the game, my friends, instead of passing back real answers to me on the slips of paper, they write, why are you so ugly? And you're stupid. And at the end of the game, I'm the only one who hasn't been able to figure out my genotype. As the classroom empties out, I sit in my chair and I rack my brain trying to think of what I've done to offend Megan and Tori and Heather and the others.
And I really can't think of anything. But I hope that maybe this is just some weird hazing ritual. Maybe if I weather anything that they throw at me, they'll finally accept me. So I trail along behind them to the cafeteria. And we set our trays down at the same table where we always sit. And the other girls pass around a look. And Megan says, I have a story to tell. Last summer at camp, there was this girl who no one liked. And she kept trying to hang out with us. And we didn't know how to get rid of her. Heat floods my face.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:13–5:01
2
How does Kristen Lee cope with bullying at genetics camp?
5:01–28:45
3
What lessons does Kristen learn after being excluded at the camp dance?
28:45–42:37
4
How did Maura Schneider and her friend plan revenge after first rejection?
42:37–49:58