*loud phone alarm noise*
Another day. It’s going to be a great one. Or is it? My optimistic, oblivious, naive mind tells me it is going to, but I feel as if life is telling me that it is going to just be mediocre; that is fine too. I get up from my bed, deciding to start getting ready instead of hitting the snooze button for the third time. I exit my room, use the bathroom, wash my face, enter the room key-code, and go into my room to get ready.
I look inside my closet; there aren’t many options. Most of the clothes were bought used or given to me used, so it wasn’t like I was going to spend a lot of time finding the most stylish outfit. I scan my wardrobe for an outfit that will be (1) comfortable, (2) weather-appropriate, (3) in dress code, and (4) something that I haven’t worn recently. Outfit- done. My hair styling passes by quickly as well, there is not much to do to short curly hair other than moisturizing it enough so that you don’t look like a llama, or putting it back so that people can’t even see what state it is in. Hair- done. I pack my bag, and proceed to begin the school day.
I look around and see the other students walking with their school bags and talking to their friends, unlike me. Everyone seems to be doing the same thing, just in a different place with different people. I head off in the direction of the building where my first class takes place. Depending on the day, it’s the one where people think I’m crazy, the one where I don’t annotate in my textbook as much as I should, the one where I am the only person of color, or the one where I try to participate as much as I can because I need it for my grade. I can tell that people are watching me, but I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because of my clothes, face, hair, or just my disposition. None of those characteristics will change anytime soon, so I’m stuck with this.
