Ramon Trinidad 
Mr.Spreling
January 8,2023
Everything the same but One Thing Different 
As one young man lives his life in Torrance he comes across challenges from all over. One of them being discrimination. Keala is around 6’0  with a slim body type. His dark black hair is like the night sky with no stars. His hair is very curly as the curls sit upon the top of his head. His brown eyes that have seen too much for a young man his age gaze upon a future he controls. His brown skin that is looked down upon by so many others. After a day at North High School, Keala went to McDonalds to grab some food. On his way home he was stopped by Torrance police and handcuffed for questioning. Questioned while being handcuffed about what he was doing, what was he doing around there, and what was in his school backpack. Being stopped, handcuffed and questioned for no reason is beyond one's comprehension. At 17 when he was driving with his friend, they were pulled over, asked to step out of the car, handcuffed, asked to sit down on the curb and questioned while his friend, who is white, was never asked to step out or handcuffed. Even though Keala was not driving he was the one being questioned. El Segundo police questioned Keala out of pure nonsense but off of assumption. Throughout his highschool years Keala was racially profiled by certain faculty members at North High numerous times. At age 20 walking home from work, he was followed by Torrance police on 182nd street almost all the way to where he lives. After getting his license he continues to be stared down by police wherever he goes. I stand around 5’11 with a larger body type. I have brown wavy hair that matches my mom's hair. I have green eyes that my parents don't know which side of the family my eyes come from. I have white skin, far different from Keala. I have been assumed by so many people that I am completely white. Told by others that other white people are my white cousins has been one of the most recent comments told to me. Going to places I have never been handcuffed by police and questioned what I am doing. I have never been followed by Torrance police anywhere around my home. I never had to deal with the police. I have had very different experiences involving my skin color than Keala. Although Keala and I are very very different, we are brothers. We are straight blood brothers. We are the same race. We have the same parents. We are blood. I am the youngest of a family of 6 . My mom is a mix of Samoan, English, and Hawaiian and my dad is 100 percent Mexican. Jose Kealakekua is a powerful name with Jose being named after my dad and Kealakekua meaning pathway of god in hawaiian. Ramon Keali’i, I was named after my dad's middle name and Keali'i meaning the chief or the royal one in hawaiian. Although we look different, we are the same. As a senior at North High school I recognized my brother's struggles first hand. We are so close together and connect together like magnets, inseparable. I see the discrimination in this story. The irony in this story comes from the fact that we are treated so differently in society because of one thing—skin color. We look so different so we are treated so differently even though we are literally the same race. We have the same parents, we live together with our family, and have the same culture yet treated so differently because of the color of our skin. I find that this discrimination should not exist. Discrimination should not be a part of anyone's daily life. The golden rule should be applied to all, treat others that way you want to be treated. Society can do one thing to end this discrimination and that is to not see someone as their skin color. We are judged because of our skin color and what we look like yet so many people don't know who Keala is or who I am. As a whole in society we come from all parts of the world and from very different backgrounds. Diversity brings so much beauty to a society that we should want. Diversity brings unity. The United States is the most diverse country in the world. In order for us to be united we must start in our own communities. Being so diverse we can become united as one where people are not judged because of their skin color or where they come from but judged by their character and who they are. As we unite we bring Unity that is strong and unbreakable. An example of this is one pencil can easily be broken by bending the pencil which causes it to snap. However, trying to break 50 pencils at once is impossible. Unity is unbreakable.