Sikh here. I was in 6th grade in Tennessee when 9/11 happened. Leaving school everyday I'd often get rocks thrown at me by other kids while calling me "Osama bin Laden". Even before 9/11 I was often bullied for my appearance (having hair longer than most girls and wearing a patka), so I was fairly resistant to it. There was also the constant staring and the random insult thrown when out with the family. Seeing every head turn when entering a store was a bit jarring, and I quickly started consciously averting my gaze from everyone around me while in public.

The strongest memory I have from back then is hearing about the murder of a Sikh gas station owner on CNN. My dad shut off the TV after the anchor read the headline, but that moment just stuck with me. I could shrug off a few stupid kids throwing rocks at me, but after hearing that headline I felt like I had my first taste of the real world. I no longer felt safe.

Thankfully, I had a good support network. I was the #3 student in my class and carried the school's math team, so I was on good terms with most of the teachers and the vice principal liked me. They would often watch out for me, and the VP would occasionally check up on me to make sure I was doing okay. It was generally kids above or below my grade, and thus didn't know me, who didn't like me; most everyone in my grade still treated me as a friend. Before 9/11 my classmates were fairly curious about my heritage, and I was always open about explaining it to them whenever they asked, which I think really helped. Plus all my close friends were fellow socially awkward video game/anime nerds and they didn't let superficial crap get in the way of friendship.