Beyond Race: A Personal Journey of Understanding Diversity

In many occasions, when I heard the word “diversity” I immediately think of race. I’ve just thought of diversity as being inclusive of people from different races. However, my current understanding of diversity and inclusion have change due to things such as, my attendance to the 2017 Multicultural Leadership Summit and the film Pelo Malo. Diversity is the state of equally including different forms and types of people, as well as ideas and identities. Diversity and inclusion is more than just having different people, it is having a truly understanding and acceptance of all identities realizing that diversity should be about equal inclusion and representation.

As a predominantly white institution, Florida State offers plenty resources for

This film was produced in Venezuela in 2013.I thought the movie was going to be about a little boy struggle to accept his ethnicity and race. However, the movie used hair to portray issues with his race, gender, and class in a developing country, like Venezuela. The plot revolved around a nine-year old boy, Junior, wants to straighten afro-like hair to look like his favorite artist for his school picture and his dream it's to become a singer. His mother, who is single, would not allow him to straighten his hair because she thought of it as “gay”. I believe the purpose of this film was to expose the issues that Venezuela’s society faces relating their urban violence, poverty, politics, and negated

It wasn't until I arrive at FSU that i understood the different aspect of my identity that affected the way I interacted with others. I am a 17-year-old hispanic female and so much more. However, these three identities are the most impactful in my life. Being Hispanic never meant so much to me before I got college. Since I lived in South Florida I was always surrounded by others minorities; but now, here in Tallahassee I am a racial minority. Sometimes, this affects how I interact with people that aren't minorities because I never know what to expect. Some people don’t come from diverse backgrounds and have never experienced diversity and therefore don’t know how to be respectful of others. I tried my best to educate those who aren’t educated on such topics. On the contrast, I also have to stand up to others minorities groups. I take a lot of pride on saying that “I am Hispanic, but I am not Black”. I haven’t experience the life of a black female and therefore I cannot identify with it. As a 17-year-old in college things can be difficult because people assume that you are not mature enough for the environment. This had always frustrated me and affected the way I act around people. Most of the time I never tell people my age because they start to act different and treat me like a kid. I always try to be mature about