Shoutout to my 210 girls, this one’s for you!
When people first get to know me there is a tiny aspect about my personality that shocks them. About 95 percent of my friends, and 100 percent of the men I date are African American. Now, to some people that may not be a big deal, but to others, especially in Alabama, it is. To be quite honest, it really infuriates me when people make a big deal about it or walk around telling everybody because let’s be real here; what the hell does it matter who I choose to hang out with?
In the two semesters that I have been at UAH I have already become known as “the girl who hangs out with black people” and I love it! I recently went to probate for the Alpha Kappa Alphas at UAH and I am pretty sure that I was the only white person there. I was proud. I sat on the front row with all my girls and had more fun than I would have if I had sat in my dorm room because I did not want to be judged at probate for being the only white girl there. That is not what life's about. When we got back to our dorm, I met another one of my girls' friends and he made a comment about me being white. All the girls laughed and said “Jamie ain’t white. She’s a part of our family”. To them that was just a nonchalant comment, but to me it was a huge deal. There are some people of my own race that I have known for years who don’t consider me family. Then there are these girls who have known me for months and they call me family. I can never express how much that small comment impacted my life and made me realize exactly how much I should appreciate their friendship.
One of my favorite things about hanging out with African Americans is that they give me a much higher level of respect because they know that I am not pursuing a friendship with them by force, but by choice. Plus, I am constantly gaining more friends through them because they love showing me off. It is almost like they love proving to people that not everybody these days is ashamed or scared to go out of their comfort zone. I have so much more confidence around my friends because they love me for my crazy personality and love the fact that I will make a complete fool of myself and laugh while doing it. When I am with them they pull out sides of me that other people can’t because of the confidence they give me. Every time I see them I get anything from “Hey Jamie” to booty slaps. There is never a time that they ignore my presence. They truly accept me.
Please know that I am not writing this article to get attention or to make a huge deal. I am writing this article to encourage people to expand their horizons. I have grown so much as a person since I began surrounding myself with people of different ethnicity. The African Americans that are involved in my life have a completely different outlook on life and they challenge me to look at situations in ways I never would have before. They challenge me in my dancing skills, my fashion skills, my morals -- really just everything about my life. I love them for that. I love change. I love being told I am wrong and being told other ways to look at things. I love hearing other people’s perspectives on life. You learn so much more about life when you involve yourself with different cultures. Not to mention the deeper appreciation and respect I have now for them. That is what truly matters to me.
I want to thank all of the people of different races that have accepted me as their friends, and some even as family. I can never truly express how much I value the effort you put into our relationship. I hope that you all realize how the impact you have made on my life. I hope that our bonds never fade but only grow stronger. Thank you for never judging how badly I dance and attempting to teach me how to dance better. Thank you for putting up with how crazy I can get. Thank you for the amazing memories throughout our first year together, I can’t wait to see what trouble we get into throughout the rest of our friendship. Lastly, thank you for proving to me that friendship is so much deeper than skin color!
