Racism has been prominent in our country for hundreds of years. It started off as this beyond cruel idea that if you are colored, you are not equal. Throughout the years, laws were adapted to help break this idea but it still is happening today whether we realize it or not. From our president to the small towns of our country full of confederate flags, racism is still active. It may not be ownership of slaves, or hanging of people who are not white, but it is still going on.

I am a waitress at a small family restaurant where I live. I started working there when I was 15 and can honestly say I was not accepted there until this past year. I am the only person of color who works at the restaurant and was looked at as different from the day I started working there. I was expected to train longer than my coworkers and received “special treatment”, as my boss would tell me, from the older clientele that ate there. My coworkers were also significantly older than me so while working, I would always be told to do more than what was expected than me. They ignored me, denied me help, and ordered me around. I knew that you are not going to get along with everyone you meet and every place you decide to go, especially being the youngest there, which is why I continued to work there. My job was my job. 

Over the years I gained respect. They started to realize that I was not another one of the “new girls” who would only last a few weeks. I started to gain regulars who came every night of the week I worked just so I was the one to wait on them. This made me happy but I did not realize that this would give them a sense of comfort that I considered offensive. I would get compliments but with the compliments came questions. “You do not look like the rest of the people here, where did you come from? .. But you are pretty” was one of the comments I got. “Is that your real hair, it is awfully long to be all yours, right?” was another that resulted in a side eye and me walking away before I replied disrespectfully.

With time, I learned how to answer appropriately to ignorant questions and comments that were shot my way. Conversations with my family helped me get through some feelings I felt when things like this happened. It is okay to have an opinion or even a preference, but there are certain ways to go about doing so, respectfully.