Personal Narrative: Breaking The Stereotypes

I started drawing when I was 16. I was cursing 10th grade, or how is called in my country, Dominican Republic “Segundo de Bachillerato”. It was recess. I was alone in my classroom that day, besides two or three people who were just killing time there, and I didn’t had much to do with my time. I was at the last book of a series of books which names I can’t remember and If I recall correctly the last book was very boring for some reason so I didn’t wanted to read it anymore. So, looking for something to do, I stood from my seat and walked boringly down the aisle of chairs and that was, not my first interaction with art, but the first time I remember i liked art or paid attention to it. Yerkis, a guy of my class: short, chubby and well mannered

Growing up with a father in the military, you move around a lot more than you would like to. I was born just east of St. Louis in a city called Shiloh in Illinois. When I was two years old my dad got the assignment to move to Hawaii. We spent seven great years in Hawaii, we had one of the greatest churches I have ever been to name New Hope. New Hope was a lot like Olivet's atmosphere, the people were always friendly and there always something to keep someone busy. I used to dance at church, I did hip-hop and interpretive dance, but you could never tell that from the way I look now.

I grew up in a family where my father was a doctor and my mother a homemaker, both immigrants from Pakistan hoping to achieve the American dream. Growing up in a white-dominant community and attending a high school with predominantly, white students and teachers, I was restricted in my growth and freedom. I was treated differently by my friends, peers and faculty members as I tried to acclimate to the American culture. My low social status, identity as a student in my high school was due to my race and gender. My race, defined by my phenotypic traits, compelled my peers and teachers to treat me differently, because of association with an inferior race. Despite being born in America, my foreign looks and association with another country, led me to be captured by the chains of racial profiling. My family, my low-social status in a White-dominated institution and my membership in primary groups were all pivotal aspects that have allowed me to attend UC Davis, where I plan to combat the low expectations of my Pakistani race.

Over my years of school, one big influence on me has always been sports. Ever since a young age, I have always enjoyed playing and watching sports. In my four years in high school, I have fell in love with the sport of lacrosse.

I woke up and took one bite out of my pop tart but that one bite was all I could eat. My legs were shaking, and my heart was pounding. My dad told me, “It is a true honor to even make it this far so go out there and have some fun.” Once I heard this statement, I knew I was ready to go. I arrived at school and boarded the bus. The car ride was an hour and fifteen minutes of hearing the squeaking of the wheel on the bus. My teammates were getting their heads ready for the big game.

In week four, we watched part of the documentary We Were Children directed by Tim Wolochatiuk. The documentary highlighted the extreme challenges, situations, and abuse First Nations children went through in Canadian residential schools. While watching the survivors outline their experiences. I realize that although we no longer have a residential school system in place, discrimination, stereotyping, and abuse still happen to the Aboriginal people. As a white person, I know that I will never understand what their daily struggle is like. My previous knowledge of residential schools was very limited, but I found the documentary to be very informative and educational.

Her father’s words echoed through her head as one might hear a reverberation throughout the Taj Mahal. Continuous. Chilling. Having no control to distill the wavelengths until they mellowed out on their own accord. She tried to anatomize the depth of his phrase, more than dutifully needed but Davina needed to know why. Why did she need to keep an open mind and more importantly, who the hell was about to come bursting through that door. But then again, did it really matter in the first place. When she thought about it, the brunette could have laughed at the idea. That an unattributed, faceless figure had her panties in a bunch. Surely Dominic wouldn’t think to waste her time with venial diversions,

Thus, because aboriginal children were involuntarily taken from their homes, families, lives, and obligated to live in a world they have not yet been exposed to is evidence of empowerment (Prime Minister of Canada, 2008). The government at this time was ignorant in distinguishing the native culture as one that deserves the same treatment as their own, and viewed them as inhuman, and they were treated as such. Ultimately, the government stripped all aboriginals of their rights, and forced them to live life according to their

Of course the norm for me is that of any citizen living in zone three.

Amongst the jeering and bullying of my peers, I learned to be resilient, independent, and disciplined about my life and my studies—qualities that helped me land a volunteer internship at one of Canada’s leading think-tanks on economic policy, a term on a faculty committee last school year, and the opportunity to serve on the Academic Board of UofT’s Governing Council this year. Most importantly, however, my experience as an immigrant at the bottom tier of society taught me to cherish how I got to where I am today, to never forget where I came from, and to always look back and see how I can help those that came from the very same place. And although I have grown a lot since those difficult times, the lessons that I learned along the way will remain with me forever. I hope to put them to good use with an education in law and leave my little patch of the world in a better condition than I first found it

“The land is my mother. Like a human mother, the land gives us protection, enjoyment and provides our needs – economic, social and religious. We have a human relationship with the land: Mother, daughter, son. When the land is taken from us or destroyed, we feel hurt because we belong to the land and we are part of it.” This quote was written by Djinyini Gondarra, an Aboriginal that is working to towards enhancing the health and well-being of his fellow aboriginal people. Over the years, aboriginal people have been mistreated and have experienced a large magnitude of discriminations that range from health to social inequalities, which have led to many health-related issues that have made it very difficult for Aboriginal people to break the stigma and prejudice they continue to experience.

Not only was I fighting against academic adversity, but I was also battling the adversity of being the 1% of Stuyvesant. It felt like I had isolated myself for over a year to study to get into Stuyvesant, just to spend the next four years in a school where I couldn’t connect with my peers. I was alone in a school where many students had negative preconceptions about my race as well. I still remember the burning humiliation when another student asked for change for a five-dollar bill, but was visibly afraid to give me her bill first. She apologized, explaining that her parents taught her to never trust black

1. The 2nd case study made me reflect on my first head coaching job in football. I was hired by a school in south Texas with the help of a friend I coached with in Oklahoma. He had moved back to his hometown and started teaching and coaching at his high school. He contacted me about the opening and two months later I was hired. I hired him to be one of my assistants and even made sure that he was paid well as a thank you. I was very disappointed with the way he coached that year. I had already make arrangements to move him to a non-coaching position for the next season. I realize I never spoke with him about my expectations or made him aware of how I felt during the season. I identity with Dr. Skinner is some regards. I was caught up in the other aspects of teaching, coaching, and AD duties, I neglected to take care of that issue. I understand that it is OK to hire a trusted colleague or friend but the expectations of them should not be any different of anyone else.

Sadly, our history with respect to the treatment of Aboriginal people is not something in which we can take pride. Attitudes of racial and cultural superiority led to a suppression of Aboriginal culture and values. As a country, we are burdened by past actions that resulted in weakening the identity of Aboriginal peoples, suppressing their languages and cultures, and outlawing spiritual practices. We must recognize the impact of these actions on the once self-sustaining nations that were disaggregated, disrupted, limited or even destroyed by the dispossession of traditional territory, by the relocation of Aboriginal people, and by some provisions of the Indian Act. We must acknowledge that the result of these actions was the erosion of the political, economic and social systems of Aboriginal people and nations.

Being a 9-year-old immigrant, born and brought up in a third world country, Kenya, and moving to Australia was a big step for me. I had no understanding of how life around me would dramatically change. Shifting from a society with dark skinned people around me to almost no dark skin people around me but light skin, from dirty rural areas to clean urban areas, dirty air to fresh air and from an insecure world to an innocent world. My parents decided to move to Australia for me and my little sister’s future. Apparently being educated in Australia was a big deal, according to the media and what my parents had told me.