Personal Narrative Essay: Personal Prejudice In High School

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For most of the formative years of my life, I had been verbally bullied because of my outward appearance. People would negatively looked down upon me because of what society considered to be flaws such as; my kinky hair, dark skin, gapped teeth, and big lips. My African American traits were considered to be unattractive. I was so used to being verbally abused that I had to build my own self-confidence because I hardly received positive affirmations from others. I would build my own self-confidence by using self-talk and positive affirmations from succeeding in sports and achieving high grades. The age of sixteen was a turning point for me in my life. I was beginning to experience biological and physical changes due to the maturing of my body. One would say that I began to start looking like a “woman”, in which others defined as gaining more attractiveness. During this time, my braces were removed so I had now possessed straight teeth and a “nice smile”. It started to become common for young men and older men to try and court me. I was also excelling in the sport of Track & Field. I had received a high status at my school, in which I became known as being the most popular girl and fastest girl in the school. I had also been nominated for prom court. The attention that I received in high school was a great shift for me because I was not used to receiving positive attention during my …show more content…

I was conflicted with my identity because I struggled between my religious beliefs and the societal norms of a teenage girl. I was very involved with my church and ministry in which I had considered to be a vital part of my life. I was very active in my church and community and I had always placed great value on my faith in God. I had grew up in a family that highly valued spirituality and religion which affected the certain behaviors that I had chosen to engage in or refrain

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