Alright ladies and gents, it's story time:

Imagine this; You're an immigrant, fresh to the United States. Back in your home country, you would work with your parents, at times in the hot sun dreaming of living in a better place. After many years, that dream is reached and you and your family begin your trip to becoming US citizens. As you arrive, guards and people greet you with grins and one of them says, "Welcome To The United States. What's your name?" You tell him your name and soon he frowns.

Soon he suggests you 'Americanize' yourself, and pick a new name. Soon you realize this wasn't the life you wanted. Soon you begin to think America is not as friendly as you imagined or heard about, but you brush that one event off. You think, oh they can't all be like that, right?

That is until you start walking the streets. People give you dirty looks, and follow you in stores afraid you're gonna steal something because thats what they think you're known for. It's hard for you to make friends, because some people have xenophobia and can't handle change.

Despite all this hardship, you overcome it. You realize that the people who treated you poorly, will have consequences at some point for their actions. It's worth moving here because of how many new opportunities we have, that your country might not have offered. Now I want you all, to remember this story when you see refugees.

Growing up in Utica, NY, has been the best years. The diversity is amazing and beautiful. We have people from all over the world living in such a small city. My best friends are all of different religions and nationalities. Walking through the halls of my high school, I hear different languages, I see different foods, and I see different cultural attire, and I love it. I absolutely love being exposed to different cultures. These people have not always had it easy, because people are scared. People are scared because they don't know the truth of who these people are. They dont give immigrants time to introduce themselves, instead they dismiss and remain scared and full of hatred against them. Immigrants aren't given the chance to express who they are to some, because people are so rude and uninviting.

Over the past few months, we have heard some really disturbing things: turning away Syrian refugees, suggesting a database to track Muslims, suggesting the issuance of different identification cards for Muslims; the list goes on. The comments I have seen and heard, such as, "You're in America, speak English." or any comments about religion, I have seen affect my friends. I have seen people I hold so dear, become saddened by the messages and comments of some people, including what our new President has had to say. It is so hard to see people be so scared to express their own cultures because they don't want someone to ignite a war against them. We were all outsiders at one point. It is not okay to dismiss people because of where they come from. We are all human with a common goal of living and thats all that matters.

My hometown is so diverse and I wouldn't want to be from anywhere else. I wouldn't want it to be less diverse. Yes we are in America, we have religious freedom, we do not have a set national language, and we can't let people take away the look of freedom that we have gained. This xenophobia, this Islamophobia, this racism, this hatred cleverly disguised as "common sense" and "biblical teaching" is all nonsense. We can disagree on various political and theological issues with grace and conviction, but hateful rhetoric should not be tolerated and must be met with calls for apologies and demands for face-on-the-floor repentance. If you dumb down racism to just "mean words" that "everyone says" you're the real problem at hand.

We as a nation, can not stand down when it comes to issues affecting the lives of people, who just come here for a better life. It is not enough for us to just quietly say to ourselves "this is not right."

Write about it. Speak about it. Talk. Engage.