6) FROM Deaira
Q: ?????William. Hi!! I'm a 15 yr old "black" sophomore, in a really diverse high school. Now most people of color cast me out as a weird or odd person because I’m not what they call normal. For ex: I listen to TAI and alternative music... not Kayne west or Lil Wayne (although I do at times) or I’m not up to date with the current hit song. Sometimes I feel really out of place, like I can’t fit in. I always think about just pretending to be someone else to gain that respect I guess from those people. Then again I don’t want to lose who I am as person, because I believe in breaking those stupid stereotypes that classify us by color and everything else dumb- and not who we are as a person. What should I do?
Secondly, this kind of adds to my first problem, but in 15 short years my family and I have moved approximately 18 times (not an exaggeration). I’ve lived everywhere from California, Texas, Illinois and North Carolina to name a few. All this moving has made realize that I can’t get attached to people, because I’ll just end up leaving again. I feel like I shouldn’t socialize and make friends, but I really want to. Being a teenager, I should be out on Fridays having fun but I just don’t want to set myself up and become happy just to get the rug pulled from under me again. It makes me feel worse when I have people who really want to be my friend but I just can’t let them. I’m afraid that this would cause huge problems for me later in life when I really need a FRIEND. Help!!!
A: Dearest Deaira,
I can certainly relate to you on many levels here. My family moved around a lot in a short period of time, making me "the new kid" on 5 occasions in as many years. As a result, it was hard for me to have any close friends for a good portion of my formative years.
While I do think this aided in solidifying my sense of self and individuality in the long run, it didn't make those long loner years any easier. I did find a great group of core friends once we finally settled down, and by this point in time I was a sophomore in high school.
Like you, I marched to the beat of my own Disc Man and didn't fit into any of the segregated groups that most of my peers were so eager to mold themselves into. While the isolation and dirty looks add up, so does your own sense of self and individuality.
The best advice I can give you, is to celebrate being YOU. Others will be drawn to you for this. There are others around you that you may not see that share your perspective, you just have to allow yourself to open up to the possibilities of letting them in.
Q: ?????William. Hi!! I'm a 15 yr old "black" sophomore, in a really diverse high school. Now most people of color cast me out as a weird or odd person because I’m not what they call normal. For ex: I listen to TAI and alternative music... not Kayne west or Lil Wayne (although I do at times) or I’m not up to date with the current hit song. Sometimes I feel really out of place, like I can’t fit in. I always think about just pretending to be someone else to gain that respect I guess from those people. Then again I don’t want to lose who I am as person, because I believe in breaking those stupid stereotypes that classify us by color and everything else dumb- and not who we are as a person. What should I do?
Secondly, this kind of adds to my first problem, but in 15 short years my family and I have moved approximately 18 times (not an exaggeration). I’ve lived everywhere from California, Texas, Illinois and North Carolina to name a few. All this moving has made realize that I can’t get attached to people, because I’ll just end up leaving again. I feel like I shouldn’t socialize and make friends, but I really want to. Being a teenager, I should be out on Fridays having fun but I just don’t want to set myself up and become happy just to get the rug pulled from under me again. It makes me feel worse when I have people who really want to be my friend but I just can’t let them. I’m afraid that this would cause huge problems for me later in life when I really need a FRIEND. Help!!!
A: Dearest Deaira,
I can certainly relate to you on many levels here. My family moved around a lot in a short period of time, making me "the new kid" on 5 occasions in as many years. As a result, it was hard for me to have any close friends for a good portion of my formative years.
While I do think this aided in solidifying my sense of self and individuality in the long run, it didn't make those long loner years any easier. I did find a great group of core friends once we finally settled down, and by this point in time I was a sophomore in high school.
Like you, I marched to the beat of my own Disc Man and didn't fit into any of the segregated groups that most of my peers were so eager to mold themselves into. While the isolation and dirty looks add up, so does your own sense of self and individuality.
The best advice I can give you, is to celebrate being YOU. Others will be drawn to you for this. There are others around you that you may not see that share your perspective, you just have to allow yourself to open up to the possibilities of letting them in.
I got this interview at http://fuseblog.typepad.com/kill_hannah/
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