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I'm that white girl who grew up in the southern part of Virginia.
I'm that white girl who has a family heritage born of the Confederacy.
I'm that white girl who is a Daughter of the American Revolution.
I'm that white girl whose parents stayed married.
I'm that white girl who had a Law Enforcement Officer as a father.
I'm that white girl who got a car at 16.
I'm that white girl who didn't get pregnant at in high school.
I'm that white girl who has never been arrested.
I'm that white girl who was raised in church.
I'm that white girl who has black best friends.
I'm that white girl who tried hard all of her life to get the hell out of the southern part of Virginia because there was nothing to do other than hang out on a farm.
I'm that white girl who saw the underlying history of the Confederacy become tarnished in modern day life, with the flag being flown and glorified more than that of Old Glory, so I disavowed my Confederate blood-line when it was used by others in a more sinister way.
I'm that white girl who was up for a scholarship from the Daughters of the American Revolution my senior year, but was bypassed by my black best high school friend, and I was so proud of her.
I'm that white girl who watched her parents struggle to make ends meet, and sometimes staying married didn't sound so good, but they tried.
I'm that white girl who worried every night whether or not her LEO father would come home, as I would watch my mom pace the floors or "clean" to pass the time, only for my father to die of a massive heart attack while jogging, when I was 18.
I'm that white girl who stayed up late at night, after coming home from my job I worked after school, to study hard to make good grades... just to get the hell out of school, which is why I got a car at 16.
I'm that white girl who could've cared less about weekend partying and boys, because I knew what it was like to be labeled as "not good enough" by certain cliques of my peers, so I did my own thing.
I'm that white girl who didn't want to end up judged even more by folks in my hometown, than I already was.
I'm that white girl that struggled with a poor self image, that starved herself of nutrients and positive thinking, even though I smiled at everyone else... but when things got really bad, my black best friends were there for me.
I'm that white girl that's very proud of her upbringing, even the crappy moments, because its made me who I am, today. If you read all of that and think that its a way for me to express some sort of "white guilt," then you clearly are missing the point.
I'm that white girl who has gone through so many things, more than that listed above, and because I've gone through them, I don't want others to feel alone when they do.
I'm that white girl, that when my black best friends feel lost, confused and torn because of the losses, confusion and tears of humanity in today's society, I want to be there for them, regardless of which side or affiliations they choose, because they were there for me.
NOW... read this whole thing over again and take out the words "white" and "black."
