Does being in the minority matter?

Living in a society that categorizes, names and enjoys stereotyping groups, I find it difficult not do the same to myself.

Being a minority in America, I live from day to day knowing that in most of the places that I will go, I will probably be in the minority. I ask myself whether or not this bothers me to the extent of trying to keep clear of being in situations where I am the minority.

I have decided no, I will not try to limit what I do and where I go, and NO it does not bother me. To let it hinder or impede me in anyway is a failure on my part, because then I have sold myself short.

The truth is, being a minority in America is difficult, not just living in the present but continually remembering the past, and trying not to let that have an enormous negative effect on who you are and how you relate to people. This is an obstacle for many minorities, especially blacks, to overcome.

Many minorities have the tendency to stay with their own race, to live in the same neighborhoods, go to the same schools and have friends of the same ethnic group.

I don’t want to give off the impression that I believe minorities are the only ones who do this. It applies to everyone; people generally feel more comfortable around those like them. what I want to express is that I believe that as a minority who wants to see a change in all of America and how it deals with race, it is my duty and the duty of those like me to take the first steps.

If we, as blacks, remember to face any situation with the idea that the people we meet and the places we go are not going to be affected by our race or anyone else’s, then we are moving closer to change. Some people would completely disagree with me, saying that there is no way for a person not to feel uncomfortable or awkward in a situation where he is the only one of his race.

Surprisingly, I would probably agree with them because it is a hard thing not to notice; it takes a strong person to overcome that and look past color. People who step up to the challenge and look past color will invoke a change in society.

I like to think I am one of those people. I have always been part of the minority group and those who know me might say I do it on purpose.

Since I was child I was around others who did not have the same skin color as me and did not have the same family background as mine. Oddly enough, these people have become some of my best friends.

I went to a small private school where I was one out of about five blacks. Middle school was one of the first times I started to really look at who I was, as an individual and as a black female.

I went to an Episcopalian school in Houston, Texas, where I was the only black person in the middle school and one of four in the entire school, which went from 18 months to eighth grade. I remember the first day of class when I sat in a circle with all my new classmates and casually looked around to see if anyone black would walk in – no one did.

It pleasantly turned out that those were the best middle school years a person could ask for.

High school was a different story because I went to the most diverse school in all of Houston. This taught me a lot about others and myself. It was a great experience and I think I am a better person for it.

When it came time to choose a college, I did not consider the percentage rating in the minority category of each school; it was of very little importance to me. SMU, although suffering in the amount of minorities that attend the school, had what I was looking for in a university. I got a great deal of negative feedback when I told people where I was going to college.

Some people I went to school with said, “you’ll be surrounded by a bunch of snooty rich white kids.” I heard what everyone was telling me but I was not listening.

I never would have expected to be where I am at SMU and be this happy. I never even fathomed doing some of the things I have done at SMU. I joined the women’s crew team, something I never expected to do, and finished my first year being the only black on the team.

I joined the Gamma Phi Beta sorority and currently am the only black member at SMU. Unfortunately, I almost let race and fear stand in the way and keep me from being in a group I now love. I would not take back my decision for the world.

The experiences in my life have made me who I am. I thank God daily for them and thank him for creating me the way He did, skin color and all. I try to remember each and every day that who I am and what I do does not depend on my race, but more than anything makes my race, and me, better.