What Does Diversity Mean to You?

I believe diversity has a wide variety of definitions. It means accepting others despite their moral values. As a young African-American woman attending a school where people come from all different walks of life, I am challenged with different types of people and accepting their moral values. One of my best friends is an African-American male, Christian, and homosexual. Typically Christians and black people don’t accept those who attribute to same-sex relationships, but I love and see past his beliefs and accept him for who he is. He has stayed by my side and helped me through all of my issues. He has held me when I cried and we cried laughing so hard together. We do everything together and I would not be the same person if I hadn’t met him 5 years ago at an 8th grade. Diversity also means reaching out to others to see if they face the same challenges as me. I had the amazing opportunity of becoming a People to People Student Ambassador and traveling to Spain, France, and Italy. While in Spain, I had a host-family who didn’t speak English. It was a huge language barrier but we communicated through hand gestures. I learned that they are just like us. I believe everywhere we go we are faced with diversity because not one person is the same. Facing experiences in racial discrimination, I believe I can accept others and their moral values. Not being certain if my family will accept me dating out of my race is a struggle because I attend a diverse school. Being at a school where students categorize others and label you as a black person is hard, because your more than your skin tone. There are so many ways to become involved on a college campus. I would love to join service projects like Habitat for Humanity to give back to the community. I believe joining a sorority would help me become a part of a diverse college campus because it gives you lifelong friendships, chances to do community service, networking to meet new people, leadership development, and becoming involved in social activities. Through all of these following ways I feel like I could contribute to a diverse college community.