It was that time of the year around Late March to April. Every current college student and future college student knows this kind of anxiety. Applications were submitted months ago. It's all in the hands of college admission directors and all you have to do is painfully wait for your results.

I understand that you're probably thinking of a billion reasons as to why the admission directors would reject you. You're thinking of some excuse to tell your excited parents, relatives, and friends if by chance you're rejected to your dream school. Please be open to any excuse--but don't be racist. For simplicity purposes let's call this white girl...Molly. (I apologize to all Mollys reading this)

I vividly remember sitting in class as our lab group was anxiously awaiting that one email notification from your dream school when Molly said:

My mother is 1/4 Mexican, so I just said that I was Mexican in all of my college applications. I mean both my parents are "American-American" but that 1/4 still counts.That's not lying right? I mean it's whatever I identify with.

I didn't know much about Molly's ancestry or cultural practices. All I knew about her was that she never did her fair share of the lab and was always talking about her long-distance boyfriend who was in ROTC. I really didn't want to talk to her since I was so focused on the lab.

So one of my Mexican lab mates (for simplicity's sake let's call him Alex) replied:

Oh...so you must really celebrate your Mexican ancestry then.

Oh not at all. Except for Cincoh dee Mayoh. Love the happy hour deals.

And then her white best friend (for simplicity's sake let's call her Holly), who also didn't do any work, chirped in:

That's totally not lying! That's a part of who you are and what your mother had to go through. Don't be ashamed of it!

So, why did you say you were Mexican?

Oh come on, Alex. You've never heard of Affirmative Action? They basically let in all ethnic people if they have the minimum grades. I did really bad my first two semesters and I didn't have the best extracurricular stuff. I figured that it wouldn't hurt just to give this a shot.

And then she turns to me:

You should've probably dug into your ancestry too. I heard they weren't accepting as many Asians anymore.

Then, of course, Holly jumps in:

That sounds a little unfair! I mean I put in a lot of work to my application! My parents even hired a professional college counselor to help me write my essays and they put me through a bunch of tutoring and extracurricular programs. They would've wasted all that money for nothing if I don't get into their Alma Mater!

Alex and I made eye contact and let out a sigh as we both shook our heads.

Why were we left speechless? Were we just stunned by their ignorance or just so accustomed to it? Was arguing and trying to correct their understanding of affirmative action less important than completing a lab?

*Buzz* *Ding!* *Buzz* *Ding! Ding!*

Oh my gosh, Holly! Admissions for [insert historically white University here] are out!

Alex pulled out his phone and anxiously typed in his Portal ID.

After a couple seconds, the brightest smile spread across his face. I congratulated him enthusiastically.

However, there were a couple people who were less enthusiastic than we were.

What do you mean "We're sorry to inform you" ?!?!?!

Molly screamed and as Holly gaped in shock.

Maybe they found out you were white!

They probably did! This is total discrimination. Just because I'm white doesn't mean I shouldn't get in. I mean I bet of bunch of minorities got in with the same grades as me and took my spot! I'm going to call the admissions office. Alex, you applied to [insert historically white University here] too right? Did you get in?

Alex replied cautiously:

I did.

Well, of course you did.

There were several things wrong that happened that day and it wasn't just Molly and Holly's blatant ignorance. It was also me and Alex's inability to correct them and to stand up for ourselves. I was debating whether I should write this article for the longest time. I was worried that people would question me or that I would start a whole fight in the comments section. I replay this moment in my head often, most especially when I see movements like #BlackLivesMatter or even multi-cultural groups on campus that advocate for empowering minorities on college campuses. I am put to shame by their ability to speak up and speak out. I've written countless poems about this incident yet never tried to share or publish it. Why? It's not because of what Molly and Holly said because as far as I'm concerned, this erroneous logic continually circulates around campuses nationwide. It's because I didn't have the courage to defend myself and most importantly all ethnic groups. So if Molly or Holly is reading this right now (and you'll know who you are) here's what I should've said:

1. Lying about your race will not compensate for your academic incompetence.

2. If they accepted all ethnic people with worse grades than you, then why are the majority of college campuses still predominantly White?

3. You do know that the primary beneficiaries of affirmative action have been Euro-American women, right?

4. Universities are still accepting Asians and to not do so would probably be illegal.

5. Please do not ever equate the Asian-American experience to your White upbringing just because the pie-chart shows there are many Asians in a University. (Statistics tends to merge all Asians in one puddle which is, therefore, an inaccurate statistical representation. I mean, have you seen the size of Asia?)

6. Do you know what's unfair? Millions of first-generation students are figuring out this application process by themselves without special and expensive programs, private tutoring/counseling, and parents who were educated in the United States.

( Side note to those who don't believe in the benefits of legacies: Legacy connection gave an applicant a 23.3 percentage point advantage over a non-legacy applicant. For applicants who had a parent who was an alum, the average advantage was 45.5 percentage points)

(Another side note to those who don't believe that having a parent who was educated in America doesn't make a difference in the application process: As a fellow first-gen, we literally are going into college/University BLIND. Our parents can't give us advice or encourage us to join their previous sisterhoods or brotherhoods and our parents really don't understand the college culture in America)

7. A person of color's acceptance to a University you were rejected to does NOT mean they took your spot.

8. In fact, they claimed their space and EARNED it.

9. You're not entitled to get accepted into a University and there is no such thing as your spot

10. Reverse racism is a myth.

11. You do know that the primary beneficiaries of affirmative action have been Euro-American women, right?

This experience, followed by several news reports of White women and men suing colleges/Universities over accepting people of color and rejecting them, has shown me that if we don't tackle ignorance where it is present, it will continually persist.