Around this time last year, I had decided I wanted my college major to be something that would allow me to fight injustice wherever found. That's why I chose to major in Communications and minor in Sociology.

I want to be a public speaker and speak out against various forms of discrimination, racism being one of them. Now, I myself have never experienced racism and never will, but I am going to fight for those who have.

I have lived in the South for my entire life –– an area that is notorious for being historically racist. During my short 20 years of life, I have witnessed various forms of racism, such as people around me having racial slurs thrown at them, people giving my peers dirty looks when we hang out together, those around me being denied opportunities I was given in a heartbeat, and many more.

I have confronted numerous people about their racist wrong-doings, but most of them did not see the error of their ways, which is quite disturbing. I have decided to compile a list of things I have seen and heard for myself, as well as things that people have told me about their personal experience.

What's interesting is that most racists don't even realize that they're racist, or they just don't care.

1. "Well, I don't think of myself as racist."

Usually, this is said in response to POC talking about race through factual information as well as personal experience. But of course, someone feels the need to chime in with this line even though nobody asked.

First of all, Karen, nobody accused you of being racist. Nobody was talking about you. However, the fact that you felt the need to proclaim this when nobody accused you of anything is quite suspicious.

2. "I'm not racist. I have a black friend!"

Ah yes, the ever-popular "intergroup contact theory" approach (or nah). First of all, Susan, having friends that just so happen to be part of various minority groups does not make you immune to bigotry.

Whether or not you are racist has nothing to do with your friends. It has to do with your awareness (or lack thereof) of the way the system of oppression operates.

3. Any use of the "n-word" coming from people that are not black.

And yes, this includes non-black POC. This racial slur is derived from the Latin word "niger," meaning black. However, by the 1800's, during slavery, this word had evolved into a derogatory word intended to be used to put down POC.

To this day, the use of this word has gotten completely out of hand amongst racists, who do not seem to be interested in educating themselves on the history of this word.

4. "Wow, she's pretty for a black girl."

No. She's just pretty in general.

5. "Hey, I said n***a, not n***er!"

For some reason, there seems to be this mentality that the pronunciation of the "n-word" determines its degree of harshness.

Newsflash: whether you use the "uh" or the "hard-R" at the end, it's the same word, and both are equally wrong to say. For example, my name is Sarah, which can be spelled in 2 different ways. You can spell it S-A-R-A, or as mine is spelled, S-A-R-A-H, but no matter how it is spelled, it is the same name.

6. "What's the big deal? It's just a word!"

Okay, well if it's "just a word," then why don't you "just stop saying it?"

7. "I have a lot of black friends, so I'm like an 'honorary black girl.'"

Be quiet Brittney, you're making a fool out of yourself.

8. Any form of cultural appropriation, specifically wearing hairstyles that are not associated with your culture.

Yes, I'm talking about braids. No, not the 2 French braids you wear with your flannel shirt and Daisy Dukes. I'm talking box braids.

Disclaimer: If you are not black/mixed with black, you have no business wearing braids.

Why? It's simple. It would not be fair for someone to wear a hairstyle that represents their own heritage and get discriminated against (for example, Giuliana Rancic saying that she felt like Zendaya's hair probably "smelled like weed" when she wore locks at The Oscars), when other people that are not of this heritage get praised for stealing.

Yes, I said stealing.

9. "I have a crush on this person from class. He's black. No offense!"

Yes, someone actually said this to one of my friends. Are brains no longer a thing?

10. Categorizing someone as the "angry black woman."

Now I don't know about you, but if I was born into a particular racial group that...

Caused me to be forced over to a foreign country...

Systematically cut off from my roots...

Enslaved for over 200 years, forced to endure unbearable living conditions, deprived of basic liberties, such as the right to learn how to read, the right to own property...

To be freed in 1865 only to be forced to endure various tactics of being held back, such as Jim Crow Laws, "Separate But Equal," the Grandfather Clause...

And other methods of being denied the right to vote, all the way up to 2017 where our society is filled with police brutality, #BlackLivesMatter being shut down by "All Lives Matter" and institutionalized discrimination...

I could go on for days.

All I'm saying is that if I had to endure even a mere tenth of the things that POC had to endure throughout history, I'd be a little pissed off, too.

11. "They're just playing the race card!"

In this life, one can only play the hand that they're dealt. We're all in the same game – life – but we were not all given the same cards.

I know many of you are thinking, "Why are you so passionate about something that you're not even affected by?"

The answer is simple: I am able to recognize that just because something isn't a problem for me personally doesn't mean it's not a problem. I am tired of watching those around me constantly having to fight.

Under the Constitution, "All men are created equal," but apparently society has forgotten that. I will never stop fighting for those I care about. I will not give up until the battle is won.