Black, white, yellow, red, purple, blue. All colors. And they should only be colors. But we make them more. We classify ourselves and other into groups just because the color of our skin, which is something none of us have control of. Our skin is something we are born into, not something we choose.

We all have our own way of being “racist”, which is a word we shouldn’t use. We use this word to describe others when we are all being unjust. Being racist means a person who shows or feels discrimination or prejudice against people of other races, or who believes that a particular race is superior to another. A person, not everyone. In our current society, not many people are actually racist, it is not accepted. But it doesn’t mean that we aren’t showing discrimination against people of different races. We are unjust to each other. Yes, I mean each other, plural. It is not just one race that discriminates against the other, it is all of them. If you walk into a mall, you are likely to see a group of white people shopping, a group of black people shopping, a group of Latino people shopping, and so on. None intermixed. You may not think of that as discrimination, but in a way, it is. We are casting out other races, without even realizing it.

I walk into school every day, and already I see people in their own groups, everyone looking the same. Now, I’m not saying there is no intermixing, but very little. We do this at lunch, in class, out of school. Everywhere. People don’t mean to do this, but for some reason, we are drawn to others like ourselves. You may ask why? We can connect to people with the same religion. We can connect to people with the same culture. We can connect with people like ourselves. This is just the way it is. But we should also be able to learn about others and their race, religion, culture. We need to learn to be able to connect with others that we don’t know a lot about. Be able to connect with someone by learning about them and the similarities and differences they have with us.

I realize that it’s not only others but that I am guilty as well. I have many, many friends. I have a very diverse friend group. I have friends that come from all over the world. I have a friend that lives in Spain. I am even a citizen of Switzerland. But my best friends are all the same as me. It’s not that I choose to do this. I don’t. I am just drawn to be with these people, for a reason unknown.

Do me a favor and think. Really contemplate. What are your friend groups like? Do they all resemble you? We need to spread our horizons. We need to welcome more contrasting people into our exclusive friend groups. We need to allow ourselves to be drawn to people less like ourselves.