I am a 19-year-old female born into a hardworking, middle-class family.

I am white.

I have white privilege.

Contrary to many others, I plan to use my white privilege to make a change.

For those of you who believe white privilege does not exist and the racial divide in our country has vanished: read a book, watch the news, scroll through social media, take a walk through the inner city. You have white privilege because band-aids come in your skin tone. You have white privilege because "nude tones" are considered your skin tone. You have white privilege because the complimentary shampoos given out by hotels are for your hair type. You have white privilege because you can walk into a convenience store without being followed. You have white privilege because if you are good at a sport, it is not just "because you are black". You have white privilege because you are accepted in all regions of our country. You have white privilege because you never have to worry about a makeup brand having a foundation in your skin tone.

You have white privilege because you can live everyday ignorant to the existence of racism in our country.

I have white privilege. I am not afraid to admit that. But, I refuse to use it as power. I refuse to let it put me on a pedestal. I refuse to let my white privilege put others down. My race has climbed a ladder over generations to obtain the privilege we have been granted by society. Rather than looking down on other races, I am going to use my position to reach down and help others up and allow others to experience a just life. A life of freedom and righteousness.

I did not ask to be white. I did not ask to be born into the majority race of our country. I did not ask for the privileges that come with my position in society. However, I accept them. I accept my privileges, knowing I do not abuse them. I will use my privilege in hopes of making a change in my future so that other racial groups can be privileged in a way that I am so that a girl who is black can buy a nude bra that matches her skin tone. So that the man working at the convenience store doesn't follow a group of black kids around because they look "suspicious" when in reality, they just look black.

My white privilege will be used for two things: education and acceptance. I know I can use my platform to educate other white men and women that other races are mistreated. Not everyone lives in an area where they see racism occur everyday, I do. I will use my privileges to educate others about the realities of the injustice that is forced against minority groups. I will educate others on the mistreatment of minority groups. I will educate others on the luxuries we have because we are white that these racial groups have never experienced, but need to. And of course, I will always accept other races. Knowing that I did not choose to be white helps me understand that the black boy growing up in the projects did not choose the life our society has cut out for him. But, I accept him regardless of his situation because he is a human, just as I am.

At the end of the day, I refuse to deny that white privilege exists. It does. I experience it every day and if you are white and reading this, so do you. If we can understand and accept it's existence, maybe we can begin to make strides in eradicating it. Race is an issue in our society. The divide between races is an issue in our society. Let's stop using our white privilege as a protection and use it as a plan of action.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." -Martin Luther King Jr.