Keianna

Since I was very young, I’ve been exposed to a large range of cultures, customs, and mindsets. This was and never has been difficult for me to run with. I was raised being told that as long as that person respects others’ rights and treats people well, they deserve the same. This was easy to do until it wasn’t. Everyone has different ideas of what’s right and wrong, and that’s something that throws me into long periods of deep thought and reflection.

It’s easy to understand that other people aren’t thinking the exact same way as you, but a little more difficult to try and understand why. I’m not saying that it’s impossible to support and feel for people, just that you can never completely understand unless you have gone through what the other person is experiencing.

In my 17 years on this earth, I’ve had many people around me try to tell me how I should feel. What’s ironic about that is that no one who was telling me these things had ever been through what I was experiencing, so I was often made to feel bad for wanting equality and basic rights. Needless to say, I resented these people for their actions. I’ve tried to learn from their mistakes and offer people my solidarity and resources instead of my opinion on what they should feel.

This is a troubled and, for lack of a better word, sad time for the world. So many people are being oppressed and treated wrongly. In trying my best to help I’ve been given a lot of learning opportunities, the biggest one being to listen and try to understand but never use that knowledge to speak over someone who is actually going through something. I’m going to start incorporating this into every aspect of my life, and I encourage everyone to do the same. ♦