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Taylor Tipping
Ms. Franklin
ENC 1101
2 August 2015
How did I deserve this?
I was born in Boston in 1997, but only lived there for five years. I then
moved to South Florida, Boca Raton. It was a blessed place to grow up, but it
also had its downside. In Boca, everyone is fundamentally the same. The
types of people that live there are snobby old people and snobby families.
Almost everyone is Jewish as well, which I am not. There was little ethnic
diversity. I appreciated growing up there, but I was so excited to go to college
and see what the world has to offer. I was deprived of the ethnic diversity I
sort of craved. I wasnt able to be introduced into new cultures and learn new
facts or traditions that others have. I was constantly interested in learning
about people and their cultures. It is so engrossing to hear about other
peoples traditions that are different then what I have been practiced or
taught. Because of my deprivation of this, my curiosity grows.
I attended a private Christian school for 8 years, and then to a public
high school for the next four years. Both of my schools were almost
completely white people. My high school had probably around 4000 kids in it,
but almost everyone was white and Jewish. Because of this, I have not been
judged that harshly of my race since everyone around me was primarily the
same. Of course the kids in my school that werent the same were not
scrutinized or judged based on their race. The problem was, there was just
no different cultures. I never realized how privileged I was until we started
talking about this in class, and especially since I started writing this. I see

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how different the world is outside the confined walls of Boca Raton. I enjoy
seeing the real world, even if it is difficult to be brought into the reality of the
world. My eyes are finally opening and I am seeing the world for what it is.
My family has prepared me for this real world they know I would
eventually be facing. My parents specifically have taught me to never judge
someone based on their appearance/ethnicity. This allows me to embrace
everyone no matter who they are. Also I have three family members that are
different races. Now you might be asking yourself how is this possible? Well
one of my aunts was unable to have children so she began adopting children.
She started off by falling in love with a one-year-old boy from Guatemala. His
name is Jake, and as soon as he came into our family he has been adored
unconditionally and spoiled than you could ever imagine. My aunt felt so
amazing after adopting, that after about 7 years she decided to become a
foster mom. She would bring these babies to come and play with all my
cousins and I. It was so terrible to see how all these children ended up in
foster care. Some parents would just neglect their children or others would
have them taken away because they couldnt stay away from drugs. Two of
these babies she just had to have. So she ended up adopting these two black
one year olds at the same time (they were not related). Again, my new
cousins are absolutely adored and showered with love. This situation has
impacted my life hugely. Since I have such open hearted family members of
different races, it has created a habit for me to not care about the race of
other people.

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However, even if I attempt to ignore peoples races, that doesnt mean
others dont. I love my cousins to the moon and back, but I see how people
look at them and my aunt when they are out in public. They receive weird
glances and stares. Like what are three black children doing with a white
mom. Or even my friends will be like Not to sound mean but who are those
black babies you are always with. I always reply those area my cousins and
hide my annoyance towards their ignorance. This opens my eyes to the
problems in our world. Why cant we just all accept one another? My aunt
should be applauded for what she is doing, not scrutinized.
Unfortunately, my aunt is not connecting my cousins, especially Jake,
with their culture. She is raising them as if they are white. Im not even sure
if she ahs explained to them that they are adopted or what adoption even is.
Now the two little ones wouldnt understand, but Jake understands that he is
not the same as the rest of the family. We will talk about how my sister or
dad is so tan and he will always go hes not as tan as me! My family will
laugh and pretend like hes joking, but honestly they probably just dont
know how to deal with the situation. In my opinion, my aunt should keep Jake
connected to his Guatemalan culture. He would probably understand what is
going on and be connected to the world.
My family has constantly been talking about what has been going on in
the news, so of course I like to eaves drop into their conversations. They talk
about the entire rioting going on and their opinions on it. Mass media can be
either a popular or a negative element. It clearly brings attention to issues.
Now this can be positive because it can open peoples eyes to issues they

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may be unaware about. All this rioting begun back when Treyvon Martin was
shot. This was a tragic scenario that proves that even if we assume equality
is decent right now, there is still unfairness in our world. We have to adjust to
ignore peoples races and work together to bring peace to this country. I
mean thats truly what this country is all about anyways! It appears as if
thats why we did all that group work and activities in school. It taught us to
always work together even if you were paired randomly with someone you
didnt know or like. No matter who was in your group you had no choice but
to work together to achieve the best grade. In middle school, I always
remembered my history teachers explaining how our country is like a melting
pot. We bring all these different flavors (races) together and create a
delicious treat out of it (a united country). This metaphor speaks to me
because it has always helped me envision America being culturally diverse;
but we all work together and accept one another because all these different
races/cultures is what causes our country so versatile and unique. By talking
about our opinions on race, we could see others point of views and
understand where different ethnicitys are coming from.
It is difficult to be a melting pot with the current racial hierarchy
in our society. It is not like we pick and choose our race when we are born. It
is completely unfair that I live a somewhat lavish lifestyle while others have
nothing. Since I am in the upper middle class scale, I am treated differently.
People tend to have a natural respect towards my family. I should be thankful
for this (and I am), but its tough to not to be guilty. Like how was I chosen to
be lucky to be in the superior race while others were not so lucky. By the

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superior race, I mean the white race. I never thought it was true until this
class. I also thought it was rude or offensive to talk about the racial hierarchy
in our system, but we are just stating facts. Its terrible that we have certain
races that are superior and inferior, but thats just the way society has been
working for centuries. But maybe if we actually start talking about it and
bringing attention to this unfairness, we can diminish this hierarchy. I am
constantly asking myself how did I deserve this? One way that brings me
peace and hope is and I never judge someone based on his or her race. By
doing this, I am spreading equality and not acting like the superior race.
Even though I am just a teenage girl, I can rub off on others. As Ms. Franklin
teaches, even just being aware is already helping with these issues we face
in todays world. This is how we can start the movement of ignoring race.
White people tend to acquire privileges, which is truly unfair. Society
has almost instilled this into this generations brains. So it is arduous to
imagine certain races get extra privileges compared to others until someone
specifically points it out. Now that I am aware of this issue, I look back at my
childhood to when I would do community service. When I was in elementary
and middle school, my Girl Scout troop would always go to this daycare
called Florence Fuller. This school was for mainly the minorities in our town
that were poorer. It was a small building with a falling apart playground filled
with underprivileged kids that didnt have the best parents. There would only
be a few white children and the rest where either black or Hispanic. We
would do the simplest activities like assemble crafts with them or sing them
songs and you knew it would just completely make their day. All the little

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girls would latch onto me and ask me to do there hair or just look up to me
with an almost awe look in their eyes. Now I am not saying this to
demonstrate that white is one of the superior races. I am just stating this to
exhibit that when you do go to underprivileged societies, the races tend to
not be white.
Is this fair? Of course not! It is not like we have the choice of picking
our races, so why do different races have to be treated differently? These are
the type of questions I always ask myself when I am in scenarios like I was at
Florence Fuller. This situation brings me back to my cousins. If they hadnt
been adopted would they be in this same situation? This all goes back to
societys system/racial hierarchy that I talked about before. This is just
another example that goes to expose the extended of this hierarchy. The fact
that almost everyone in lower level schools is minorities (i.e. Hispanics and
Blacks) is mind blowing. And why do these kids portray me as a superhero
when I go to just play with them in school? They should just be able to treat
me normally and not idolize me.
However, in todays world, I foresee that our society is attempting to
fix this social hierarchy. People are giving different races a chance, and
people do want a change in this world. For example, when all my friends and
I were doing our college applications we noticed that there were special
advantages to being a different race. You have a higher chance of being
accepted because colleges like diversity. Also, there are a bunch of different
types of scholarships you can earn just for being a different ethnicity!
Another example is the C.A.R.E. program at Florida State. It is mainly for

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minorities that have never had a college graduate in their family before. All
these are extremely positive benefits of being a different race. Benefits like
these are eventually going to eradicate inequality and hoprfully race to be
non-existing. Imagine our world without the idea of racial hierarchy; or our
kid not even knowing what racism is. Even just visualizing of these ideas
brings me peace. I want to live in a world where you can look at someone
and it takes you forever to even notice what his or her race is. A world like
this will bring a plethora of positivity and unity within our lives I have not
necessarily been changed, but my family has changed me for a better
person. They have taught me to not judge someone based on their race, and
they have taught me morals that are not seen in a majority of people in this
world. Because of them, I feel as if I can begin a change in this world, and
can seek hope for a brighter future. I can teach people what they taught me..
One day in a perfect world, everyone will accept each other for who they are,
not what race they are.