Paths

There isn't a specific moment when the fog cleared, but there was a moment when I could see clearly.

It was math class. I sat tucked in the back corner, right where I have always and will always belong. My dull pencil slid over the lines in my notebook. Outside, the sun was hiding behind the clouds, but the flowers were beginning to brighten the day in its place.

She sat to my left. Her perfectly highlighted hair fell to her shoulders. Her bright floral skirt fought with the flowers outside for the most attention. Her posture was enviable, but then again so was everything about her. Her clothes were expensive. She drove a brand new car. If she slipped, her parents would catch her and prop her back up on her shelf.

They had done so often.

I had never focused on what was so clear in that moment before, but there it was. The differences between her and I were stark. My tattered jeans and oversized sweatshirt told a story. The haircut I had given myself served its purpose, as did the old green Mercury I drove around. She and I were on very different paths and had been since the day we were born.

Our paths never really intersected. We ran parallel from time-to-time, but even those parallel paths were unique. Her college years were not unlike something you would see in a movie. The photos she posts now show years filled with careless joy. Challenges arose, for sure, but they were of a different breed.

We stayed in touch. A little bit, anyway. We stayed in touch in that non-personal, non-committal, I-don't-really-care-about-you sort of way that the internet makes possible. She's there. I see the photos of her kids. Sometimes I see her words about her frustrations with the little things in life.

Her frustrations now are about how annoying it is that others don't see the world the way she does. She's gone full #AllLivesMatter except THOSE lives don't matter and blah, blah, blah. Her life is hard right now because other people seem to be screaming about the way things are playing out and she's very happy with how they're playing out.

Keep the immigrants out. They're dirty, anyway.

Build that wall. The three Mexicans that have made their way to North Dakota sure are a threat.

It's a lot.

And it's just enough. It's just enough to take me back to that day when I sat in the back of math class and realized that she was living the privileged life that I would never lead. It's just enough to make me extremely grateful that while she was dealing with a list of challenges, I was dealing with different ones. I was dealing with the challenges that made me see the world in a way that lets me be confident when I say she's wrong.

Diversity makes this world better. Differences are worth celebrating. Together we're better. I don't just believe it, I know it.

And I'm glad life handed me a path that lets me see that.

Comments

[MaryMary]

Very powerful.