Discrimination Monologue

I’m a square peg in a round hole. I’m living in a world where labels symbolize a sense of worth. We label everything from property, to relationships, to people.

Rebecca Malek, the “token black friend”, the girl who talks “like she’s white” (how do you talk like a color?), and “the adopted girl.” Those are just a couple of labels I’ve reluctantly accepted, but in the sense that I let them go in one ear and then quickly try and pry them from the other. The classic thing I’ve heard all my life is “you’re adopted?”...yes, I was adopted, but no, I am Rebecca. I was adopted by a wonderful, caring family, who love me unconditionally. However, so often I felt as if I were the odd one out. Physically and emotionally, life hasn’t always been easy. I’m bi-racial,

Consequently, I feel misunderstood at times. I had this hole in my heart, where the love and affection of my biological mother belonged. A lot of my childhood involved being anxious about whether I would find my spot in a world where it seemed like everyone looked different than me. However, everything I felt, the discrimination, the disapproving whispers, and the loss I endured all happened for a reason: to strategically mold me into the person I am today. My experience and viewpoints have lent me the desire to use my education for better and to be someone who strives to create an accepting, understanding society. I find the world around me to be fascinating; it’s a jumbled up, beautiful chaos that tugs at us from every angle. My world has been turned upside down by the recent political turmoil. Last year, I began to understand what it means to be confident with who you are. Seeing people who so eagerly will tear into you, simply because of the color of your skin has always affected me. But now, I see things differently… I don’t desire to look like my peers anymore, I desire to show others why it’s imperative to listen and accept