I am a white 20-year-old student at a Christian university but I am not your normal white girl. I have the soul of a black woman. Now, before this turns into a race thing, let me explain. I don't find pleasure in the normal "Jesus loves me" songs, I don't find myself feeling that I can't scream Hallelujah in places I shouldn't, and I find a better connection with soul music than I ever have with basic pop. Some would say this is just a preference but I find that I am able to connect more with black people and mixed people than I do with white people sometimes. I have always known I was "different," I never really saw a difference between me and my black friends besides the fact that I was white. We had the same mindset about a lot of things, listened to a lot of the same music, and even wanted to fight for the justice of all people.

Now, as a college student, I work on a council called the Multicultural Activities Council and yes, I am white. No, I don't feel uncomfortable, no, I don't feel like I have to keep my mouth shut, and no, I don't have "white guilt," because I fit here. I have never felt more welcomed than that first meeting and now, I have been apart of MAC for almost a year and I never looked back because I feel so welcome and wanted and warm because for once in my life, it isn't a color thing. THIS IS A LOVE THING! I love the black church, I love black music, and I love my black friends just as much as my white friends. Now, most would say "well you're white so you fit in everywhere," and that is a lie. I am a white college age girl and I am told that I am unwelcome in most places because I don't fit.

One of my favorite poets states in his poem "Motown" the following line: "They like black music but they hate black people."

How? How can you take something beautiful and just take it? This bothers me more than anything in the world. So if you can take anything from this article take this: don't take a culture in pieces, respect the whole thing or don't call yourself cultural.