I didn’t really fit in at school. I usually bounced around from tribe to tribe making connections with every group. One connection I didn’t make was why didn’t I know more of the black students in my school?

This wasn’t really an issue in middle school. There were plenty of black students. Specifically, there were plenty of black students in my Pre-AP classes. For those that don’t know, that’s pre-advanced placement. The classes for nerds basically. They got you ready to take college level courses by teaching you good study habits and piling on the homework.

In high school, I was a minority. Even in my electives. We jokingly had a minority table in one of my art classes. One of those people works with me now. My high school Pre-AP and AP classes were filled with about 5-6 black people in a room of 30. No wonder why I never knew anybody with melanin at school. The worst part is that I knew a lot of smart people taking “regular” classes. People that I work with today. That may be a crucial flaw in that AP system. They don’t truly see the intelligence in people of color. Especially because plenty of it is there.

I wish I had the chance to get to know everyone I didn’t see daily. I didn’t really have the same black experience that everyone else did.