Changed for Life

Going into this conference, I thought that it would be a little weird considering I'm a white female and I was about to attend a diversity conference (1st thought =I'm not diverse!!). It would be way too long to share everything I have learned in Denver, but it has honestly changed my life. I have never had something change me so dramatically within two days. I think it really hits home when you hear people's stories and what they have been through, and for me being a white female it really makes me realize how privileged I am. I know that from this conference I have learned how to be an ally for people who need someone they are able to trust and confide in. I think completely different about the way I look at people and I have learned to drop judgements and not slip people into a category before I'm actually able to know "their story"(as POCC taught us).

I'm so privileged to have been able to meet Lily, Mona, and Kisha. I say meet because I had never taken the time to get to know anyone else, with a story different from my own. I plan on staying great fiends with these girls, and I know we will all work hard to change our school's diversity the best we can. I plan on posting more blogs before the end of the week, but I would like to leave you with one story...

On Thursday, I had joined the lunch line and found myself meeting a new friend named Katie. At first, Katie seemed like a normal girl, most likely around my age. As I continued to talk with Katie she told me that she had a mental illness, which caused her to be born premature and for her brain tissue to develop differently. Katie told me how it felt to be ignored in school just because she thinks different then the other kids, and also how it felt for all the kids to make fun of her because she had to have an assigned "note taker" because her hand shook whenever she wrote. The thing that hit home the most is when Katie told me that her parents call her a disappointment. Katie told me that it made her feel like she was letting them down and that she wasn't good enough for them. Since then, her sickness has gotten better and she can write for short periods of time and she is also now able to hold a fork. My question for society is that, when was it made acceptable to not love someone for who they are? Why is it acceptable to have a vision of your own child, and if they don't meet those standards, then its a disappointment? Katie and I became great friends, and I hope that her and I will be able to stay in touch for a long time because she is truly a beautiful person.


-Mia