I've never thought much about my white privilege. Sure, I've known about the reality of racism since I was a kid, but I have never taken the time to educate myself on this country's foundation of white supremacy and acknowledge all of the advantages I am given on a daily basis for the simple reason that I am white.

I decided to spend a day examining the countless ways in which white privilege permeates my everyday life, and here's what I found.

(A note: I am in no way trying to prioritize my white perspective over Black voices — I am undoubtedly not the voice that matters in this conversation. Please take time to read the works of Black authors and journalists, such as Ibram X. Kendi or Rachel Cargle, and listen to their words much more closely than any I have written here.)

9:45 a.m. I left the house to drive to a doctor's appointment, and while I was fumbling with the radio, I accidentally turned on my hazard lights. I didn't know how to turn them off, so I drove the rest of the way to the doctor's office with them flashing. After I parked, I finally figured out how to turn them off. Sitting there in the parking lot, I thought about the fact that I wasn't pulled over, and if I had been, the possibility of the situation turning dangerous would be very unlikely. This was my first observation of my white privilege because Black drivers are more likely to be pulled over than white drivers and Black citizens are more likely to be killed by police officers than white citizens — what's more, there is a paradoxical relationship between these statistics.

I know that I will never have a fatal interaction with a police officer because of the fact that I am white.

10:00 a.m. I entered the doctor's office for my appointment, and I was out in five minutes, the prescription for my medication filled with ease. As I walked back to my car, I thought about how grateful I am to have uninhibited access to adequate healthcare, which, just minutes after my first observation, was another example of my white privilege, because Black Americans are exposed to constant racism in healthcare: mortality rates are higher for complications ranging from childbirth to heart disease and Black patients are less likely to receive sufficient aid due to doctors' racial biases. The problem has only become clearer with the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I know that I will never face potentially fatal discrimination by a healthcare professional because of the fact that I am white.

11:30 a.m. I spent most of my afternoon playing around on my guitar and fingerpicking on my ukulele. I've spent a lot of my quarantine learning about music composition and writing my own songs, and it's been one a major source of joy in my life. As I played, I thought about how if I ever wanted to take a shot in the music industry, my white privilege would play a significant role. This is because Black musicians face constant discrimination in the music industry, from being exploited by record labels in the early days of the recording industry to being denied the success that is given to their white counterparts, not to mention the fact that the now-whitewashed genre of rock 'n' roll was created by Black musicians.

I know that I would never face roadblocks on the path to becoming a musician because of the fact that I am white.

1:15 p.m. While I was playing, a Facebook notification from my best friend's dad popped up on my phone. He had tagged me in a post reporting that Ohio voters can now request a mail-in ballot for the presidential election in the fall. It was exciting — as I have learned more about social justice, I have grown to love all the ways I can get involved in making my voice heard in government. Recently, however, I've learned that my uninhibited access to the polls is another example of my white privilege. There are voting policies in place that make it harder for Black citizens to cast their vote. Further, most prisoners are not given the right to vote but are counted in the census, meaning the more prisoners a state has, the more representation that state gets. (This drives up the incentive to lock up more prisoners, who — you guessed it — are made up of a disproportionate number of Black citizens.)

I know that my attempts to fulfill my civic duty will never be impeded because of the fact that I am white.

3:45 p.m. I took a break from playing music to look through various Ohio State job boards in search of a job on campus. I already have an on-campus job, but I'm really interested in finding something that's better suited for my career goals. The job opportunity I'm most excited about is an opening at Ohio State's Multicultural Center, which provides services focusing on social justice and diversity, two initiatives I want to be involved with as part of my career. As I was daydreaming about my future job, I thought about how my white privilege will give me an unfair career advantage. The discrimination that Black employees face in the workplace applies to both the hiring process, when resumes with "Black-sounding names" are more likely to be rejected, and on the job, where Black employees must be "twice as good" to gain the same success as their white colleagues.

I know that I will never be denied a job opportunity or success in my career because of the fact that I am white.

6:00 p.m. Later that evening, my family settled down together to watch the TV show "Fargo." We've been making our way through the seasons over the past couple of weeks, and I'm a big fan — it's thrilling enough to grab my attention, but not so gory that I can't watch it. One not-so-good thing that has remained apparent, though, is the distinct lack of Black characters. During our time in quarantine, my family and I have been watching a lot of movies and TV shows, and in everything we've watched, my white privilege has materialized in the fact that it is not hard to find characters who look like me. This discrimination of Black actors is perpetuated by Hollywood, the diversity problem of which not only concerns race, but also gender and sexual orientation. And this racism continues off-screen, as Black actors further encounter racism perpetuated by their fellow creatives.

I know that I will never struggle to find characters who look like me because of the fact that I am white, and the actors portraying these characters will never endure discrimination because of the fact that they are white.

* * *

The observations I've listed here in no way encompass the vast entirety of the white privilege from which I've benefited every day of my life. If I were to try to record every example that manifests itself throughout my day, the list would be miles long. This is because the foundation of our society is white supremacy — every facet of American life, from the government to the economy to common phrases you didn't even know have racist origins, is constructed in a way that favors white people.

There are several big changes that need to happen in order to dismantle white supremacy and reconstruct a society built on true justice for all, but the first step is one that all of us who are white can take without leaving the couch: take the time to think about your white privilege. Read articles, watch videos, listen to podcasts. Sit in the discomfort of knowing that for your whole life, you have benefited from a corrupt system, and none of your struggles, though valid, have ever been a result of the color of your skin. Then commit to consistently observing and analyzing your white privilege for the rest of your life.