Genre: Opinion/Argumentation

Lupus : Jess' story Have you ever heard of lupus ? Well , I 'm Jessica , and I 'm nine years old , and that 's what I have . Here 's how it all started . When I was eight years old , I was sick for a very long time . I got poked a lot and it hurt , but I got used to it . I learned that I had something called pericarditis . That 's a problem with the heart . I learned that it 's not fun when your heart does n't work like it 's supposed to . Then I turned nine . That 's when I found out that I had lupus , and that 's when I learned that it was lupus all along that caused the problem with my heart . It was really hard for me when they were figuring everything out . About that time , everyone except my friends teased me and said that I looked fat , I guess because I had always been skinny . I was n't really fat . The medicine that I needed to take made me look that way , that 's all . I was sad , so I asked my mother to come in and talk to the kids about lupus and about what I had been through . She 's a nurse , so she really can help kids to understand things . My friends are really understanding and I can share my secrets with them . They always stick by me and they never tease . They do n't care if I have lupus or not . Now I get along with my life as if nothing happened . The medicine helped me feel like my old self , and I can play soccer , which I LOVE .