Personal Narrative: How Racism Changed My Life

I remember the first time that I really experienced racism in a way that changed my entire view on life, and made me want to do more for others. During my middle school years, my family and I moved from one side of Wilkes County to the next. The side of the county that I previously lived in had enough diversity to where I was sheltered from the experiences most black children faced at that age. However, the county I moved to, and live in now, lacked diversity on an extreme level. The first of day of eighth grade at that school will always be engraved in my mind. The way everyone stopped everything they were doing to stare at me was like that of a movie, and over the next four years I would eventually get used to it. That experience alone made …show more content…
The one subject I loved, history, constantly talked about the struggles of others, and always allowed me to imagine what my life would be like if I was different. The class constantly left me wanting to learn more about others, and desperate to do something with that information. Teaching was what I wanted to do. I even doubted myself because I’m a very shy person who would rather jump out of a plane than stand up in front of my peer and stutter over a PowerPoint. Even so, the doubts were counteracted by a thought of determination, and no matter how much I tried to talk myself out of it, I knew that teaching history would be the only way for me to satisfy my need of spreading awareness about diversity in some way. With everything I have been through, I have always found a way to turn things into a learning experience, and add them to my drive to reach my goals. I want children to grow up learning more about themselves instead of the sugar-coated history they hear. I want for people to understand people instead of condemning them. I want so many things from life, and I have found that the only way to fulfill those wants is to go out and do the part