Being An Outsider

There are times in everyone’s life when they feel as though they can’t connect with the people around them; which impels us to isolate ourselves. Comparatively, there have been many times in my life where I find myself isolated due to personal differences. For instance, the time I attended District Honor Band or my first Student Ambassador meeting. Even during class discussions, I constantly find myself being an “outsider.” In certain experiences, the feeling of being an outsider has led to galling situations. While in those situations an individual can decide to allow their isolation to cause dilemmas or overcome that feeling to resolve issues.

The time I attended District Honor Band was one of the many times when I felt as though I was an outsider. I spent months preparing for the rigorous audition to get accepted into the band for advanced players. This is why the feeling of being an outsider was extremely strange. I was the only Baritone saxophone player and I was between the Tenor saxophones and Bass

When I arrived with the ambassadors from my school, Southwest High, we received looks of aversion from the other schools as they turned to gossip. It was obvious that we were the “oddballs.” As I glanced around I noticed that my school was the only one that was majority African-American however, I discarded the idea we were the outsiders due to race. Likewise, the other schools were known for their accomplishments in education while I was a part of the only school labeled “failing” in the room. I attempted to converse with the other ambassadors and was asked “Have you ever been to a brownie party”; I was puzzled until I realized he was talking about an African-American party. To evade any confrontations I chose to isolate myself consequently, I was not as effective as I could have been. Furthermore, I did not resolve the problems that my isolation