Coming from a very small farm town in Upstate New York, that had a predominantly white community really swayed my perception on racism. It wasn’t until I headed off to college in New York City that my eyes finally opened up to what racism actually was, and how my whole life, I’ve been living with white privilege. Growing up, I was taught by my family that everyone deserved love and that everyone should remain equal, and I always believed that to be true. I understood that racism was a thing, but I had always though it was a thing of the past. Racism was a part of history, and I understood that well, but it was a thing of the past, right? Wrong! White privilege screwed me. I never truly opened my eyes to the lives of other races who were still being called names, not given equal rights, and beings shot down by our own police forces. White privilege blinded me from the outside world.

I still remember the exact moment I opened my eyes and saw the world was in shambles. The moment that I noticed white privilege taking over my life, I was actually listening to a song. As cliché as it sounds, the song White Privilege II by Macklemore opened my eyes- the life I had been living was a lie. People in this world don’t have the same privilege as I do; they don’t get the same education opportunities as me; they don’t know what it’s like to walk down the streets and not be feared, but to me, it’s the only life I knew. I had all the opportunity I had ever wanted. I grew up around everyone saying that “the blacks” were the problem. The phrase “I’m not racist but…” was used too often. I grew up blinded. I don’t blame this on my mother but rather on my community. We are teaching our children that we live in a bubble, free from authority, and that because we are white, we get by Scott free. We don’t need to worry about Black Lives Matter, because it’s not our lives right? Wrong. We need to stand together. We are one. We can’t let down the others because they “aren’t like us” or because “they don’t understand us,” but really, we don’t understand them, because we were taught, "out of sight out of mind." We all need to be one community and stand for each other, because the root of most of the world's problems is not getting along with one another. It’s blinding yourself from the daily struggles of others' lives. I am so glad I got the opportunity to escape my small town and realize that there are actual problems in the world. Unfortunately, I can’t escape my white privilege. It will be a part of me until the world figures out equality for all. So, to end this off, I leave you with a quote from Macklemore’s White Privilege II, “I think one of the critical questions for white people in this society is 'what are you willing to risk, What are you willing to sacrifice to create a more just society?”