It’s 2020 and you turn on the tv, and all you see is a world divided by race. You say to yourself that race shouldn’t define you as a person, but society says otherwise. You realize it has become people’s biggest identifier for everything they do, and can either create barriers, or open doors in your life. You wish it could be a different story, but it is what it is. If you could snap your fingers and fix everything you would. You would rewrite history, and what seems like a dream, would become reality. Sadly, life isn’t like the movies that are full of magic. All you can do now is hope for a global change in the system, and think about when times were better.

 You pour yourself a drink and reflect. You sit back in your chair and remember a time where the word race, only created an image of a finish line in your head. You think about your first day of kindergarten, where identity didn’t matter, only laughter and fun did. You had no idea what to expect, but your little mind was filled with excitement. Your parents walked you into the classroom and your eyes scanned the room of many new faces. Your teacher arranged you and your peers in a circle, and you spent the day getting to know each other. The race of your classmates never crossed your mind, but the thought of recess and who else liked the color blue. You remember when it was snack time, and everyone was enjoying their packed snacks. Your mom packed you a pb&j but forgot your juice. The kid across the room notices and comes by to hand you his extra apple juice. You realize now that he was white, and you weren’t. 

Life was good.  

Maybe the answer to it all, is to become children again.