How Does Diversity Contribute To Diversity

When I was three years old I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. Throughout my childhood I was easily angered and often acted out in school. I always knew that I was different compared to the other students in class, but never thought much of it. I come from a small farm town in northwest Ohio and in my town the majority of citizens did not experience diversity. Many people came from the same families and had similar jobs; it was all relatively “normal” as some would call it. Growing up I never really understood what target groups and agent groups were, but in my mind, a target group always had a bad connotation to it. Entering first year of college, I knew that I would experience more diversity than what I grew up with. As I became more involved I started to see the diversity stand out and after reflecting about myself and my

identity, I quickly realized that I was a part of a target group. This idea hit me very hard at the beginning because I never felt different or out of place compared to the people around me, but I had to face the fact that my Bipolar does set me apart from others and that it is okay to be different than the people around you.
People with mental diseases go through a lot of different experiences that others would not understand. When I went through my depression stages I always had people trying to encourage me. I received uplifting words and even cards in the mail telling me that everything was going to be better, but how to you tell a suicidal thirteen-year-old that everything was going to be alright when he does not even know why he exists and feels that the world would be better off without him? During my times of depression, I always wanted to be alone and drove off anyone that tried to help. I now realize that driving people who care away was the worst decision I could have made. People who do not personally struggle with mental disease do not know what is going on in a person with Bipolar’s head. Some people try to help but often just upset the mentally ill person. My advice to the people that want to help is to keep trying and to never give up on someone who is struggling. I want them to know that during hard times, mentally ill people need to know that they are welcomed, appreciated, and cared about. Showing support for one another will not only help the person struggling, but also could strengthen the relationship.
The next thing that I would like people without mental disabilities to know is that we are not much different than you. Just because we struggle with things that you cannot see, does not mean that we cannot do the same things that you are doing. In class, we watched a TED Talk by Stella Young called “I’m not your inspiration, thank you very much.” The TED Talk was about society seeing people with disabilities as inspirations because they can do simple tasks without having the same ability as someone without a disability. Stella advocated that society needs to stop praising people with disabilities for performing average duties, but rather for great achievement that people do. After watching this video, I was very moved because most inspirational speakers that I have listened to in high school had some type of disability or went through a traumatic experience. The biggest thing that I learned from the video was that some people with disabilities, like myself, do not want special treatment, but rather to be seen by society as equals.
My encounters in life have been different due to my Bipolar, but I would not want to change a thing. I believe that my experiences have shaped me into the strong-willed, driven, and caring man that I am today. As a result of my different experiences, I now have a unique understanding of others and feel that I can relate to people with disabilities more. Struggling with Bipolar has become a learning experience for me and I am able to take what I have learned to help others who may be struggling with mental illness.
Progressing through college has me worried about my Bipolar in the future. I do not feel that I will be marginalized by others because of my illness, but rather that I will marginalize myself. Being in a leadership position is always a fun experience for me, but I fear that one day I will lose my temper and lose my leadership privileges forever. The bad thing about society today is that people will remember another’s mistakes more than their achievements. I take precautions and practice patience during times of conflict so that I let my mental illness show and ruin something great.
The 2016 election was the first time that it was brought to my attention that I was in an agent group because of the color of my skin. During this time, I saw a great deal of conflict in the United States and even on OSU’s campus. The phrase “white privilege” was thrown around by many people and I did not entirely know what it meant. To me, this phrase was not said in a good manner and that it was meant to be attack toward white citizens because the only time that I heard it being said was when people were angry. At first, I thought the phrase was used as an excuse for a minority to not be as successful, that the minority was jealous of what others have, or it was a discredit towards whites because “everything is easy for them.”
After hearing this phrase being said repeatedly, I decided to investigate what having privilege really meant. I tried to look up what white privilege was on the Internet but only found political nonsense that did not actually help me, so I brushed the idea aside. It was not until over year later that I truly learned was it meant to have privilege. During the MCC Presentation, we talked about the fundamental idea of privilege being something “that is not necessarily related to merit or what the member does/doesn’t do.” We continued to define the word privilege during class as something that one group of people has that another group does not and that it is without being earned or worked for. This is when I started to see moments in my life when racial privilege was real.
The number of the privileges that certain group possess are endless. In my life, I have experienced a glimpse of the true amounts that I have because of the color of my skin. One examples that I have encountered is not intimidating people just because of the color of my skin. In movies, many African Americans with darker skin scare elderly people, while whites are depicted as more friendly and personal. In many places, the same thing happens, and one might not notice it until they are in the other person’s shoes. Another example is when I accidently cut myself and need a band-aid, the “nude color of the band-aid actually matches the color of my skin. Also, when I travel to other white majority places, like Europe, I do not have to fear being judged, looked down upon, or persecuted because of the color of my skin.
I am most conscious about being in an agent group when I am surrounded by people who are in target groups. My experiences through Buck-I-SERV have opened my eyes to my privilege because I have mostly worked with other students who are apart of minority groups serving others are who in target groups. When I go home for breaks, I do not think much of my privilege because my hometown is ninety-three percent white. I do not see many differences between the people in Celina, OH and myself because of the lack of diversity, but in Columbus, it is a different story because I see so much diversity every day just walking around campus.
Criminal Justice has been a passion of mine since I entered college. The idea of combining law and social issues sparked an interest in me since the first day I declared my Criminal Justice Minor. I am currently in a Law & Society class where we talk about different privileges that people have and how it often separates people in terms of education, jobs, and housing situations. Squires and Kubrin talk about similar instances in their article. They point out that “In many cities, racial differences in poverty levels, employment opportunities, wages, educations, housing, and health care, among other things, are so strong that the worst urban contexts in white Whites reside are considerably better than the average context of Black communities” (55-56). I did not realize the severity of these differences until I started taking the Criminal Justices classes.
Through this class, I have gained a better understand of some of the trials and obstacles that people in target groups face, just based on their appearance.

I always thought that Ohio State was diverse, but after hearing some of the comments people make during this class really started making me second guessing my assumptions. Ohio State has about a six percent African American rate of students. As I looked around in the class, I saw African American students in about every angle I took, but I did notice a lot more white students.
During my time at Ohio State, I plan to participate in more service through Buck-I-SERV and other organizations. My biggest fear is that people will not accept me or see me as a resource because I have not experienced similar situations are those in target groups. Through my previous service experiences, I have helped many minority people and try to connect with them, but I am nervous about the day that someone will reject my help or compassion because of the color of my skin. Therefore, I have decided to advocate for racial equality because no one wants to feel unimportant just because of the way they

look.
I do not think that having or not having privilege is meant to be a positive or negative thing, but rather a resource for others. The only time that privilege is a negative thing is when someone who has privilege does not use it to their full potential or does not use their privilege to help others be successful. I think that each of us are given special circumstances that are to be used for the betterment of ourselves as well as others. Privilege is just another part of the cards we a dealt in life, we cannot change our hand, but rather make the most of what we have been given. Agent groups may have a certain card that people in targets groups do not have, but just because target groups do not have the wild card, does not mean that they cannot win the game. Life is not about being better than anyone else, but rather being the best that each of can be. Too many people in life compare themselves to others and get discouraged with they do not see themselves as equal. The only person that an individual should compare themselves to in order to find achievement, worth, and value is themselves.