Nicole Fernandez
Visions of Unity
January 19, 2021
        Origins
As we grow older, we drift away from the 2-dimensional fantasy, that is our childhood. While maturing can be an exciting time of new experiences, it also exposes all of the world’s blemishes. On my path to adulthood, I leave behind countless hours spent on the handball courts at Arlington Elementary, true peace, an unawareness of my appearance, the thrill of playing on the playground, having playdates, and I’ve stepped into a world where there’s anxiety and depression, people hold grudges, and your skin color defines your character. But how can we solve these problems? When it comes to racial discrimination, we can use our past experiences as learning experiences, and grow from them. Furthermore, we can pass our knowledge on to those around us, to create a more united society.  
When I look back on my own life, there was racism going on before I was even old enough to notice. During my years in elementary, my mother would volunteer around my school like run the library, be the Room Parent, print copies for the teachers, make the yearbook, or run Adventure Through Art classes. My school being predominantly asian, and my mom being hispanic, she was an odd one out. While there were some parents who would treat my mom as an equal and befriend her, there were many who would treat her with no respect or decency. My mom would greet them, but they wouldn’t greet back. And when they weren’t bold enough to be upfront with their discrimination, they would act passive-aggressively towards her. Always having criticism and making it difficult for my mom to do simple tasks. There was no gratitude or respect for the sacrifice she was making for all the students, including their own. 
This was the earliest form of racism that went on during my life. Although it wasn’t directly at me, as I got older and knew about it, it shaped the way I saw my peers and their parents. As a fifth grader, my elementary school participated in a district-wide co-ed basketball tournament for the first year. That was the first of many opportunities I got to play basketball, and that was the start of my basketball career. Almost right off the bat I was able to see the blatant lack of respect my teammates and their parents had for me and my parents, and it was clear that it had to do with our difference in race. I will say that there have always been a handful of good people who, throughout the years, have proved to be fair and just, and have become some of my family and I's best friends. Unfortunately this was not the case with most. At first I thought if I could be a good basketball player, I would earn their respect, but no matter how good I got, it didn’t change the dynamic of our relationship. There was just always an awkward vibe between me and the others, as if we were really that different!
When I thought my situation was bad, my sister started playing basketball, and her experience was much worse. The parents in my grade would at least fake a smile, where the parents from her team wouldn’t even do that. The girls on her team were much worse. A group of flat out nasty people, and this wasn’t just a social dilemma. In a 40 minute game, my sister would get an average of 2 passes from her teammates, mind you she was at least two feet taller than the average player on the court. It was clear that this wasn’t just some conspiracy going on in our heads when the only other caucasian girls quit within the first year, this was no coincidence. 
People can learn to be open minded, respectful and loving through the influence of others. Family and society play a great part in our own actions. Learning to see how beautiful each culture is, can help us be more open to spending time with different people. Schools can have different cultural celebrations, so students can experience different holidays. More importantly, having basic human decency is to treat others the way you want to be treated. I’ve learned these traits through my experiences with racism. The pain that I felt when I was excluded turned into gratefulness. I’m grateful to be able to use my past experiences to intentionally be different from those who hurt me. I’m grateful for how I’ve grown and matured, and I’m glad to be liberated from ever stereotyping people due to their race, and being able to look at all human beings the same.