What do you admire most about your community? What would you improve?

What do you admire most about your community? What would you improve?

It was surprising to see a normally drab theatre transformed into nothing short of vibrancy. Bright, patterned fabrics were draped over the dividers of the reception area. The students who normally wore jeans and T-shirts were now clothed in colorful dashikis, geles, habesha kemis, and saris. Enticing smells of peppers and curry invaded my nose, and soon I spotted the buffet line filled with an abundance of homemade dishes. More importantly, the people in the room radiated such an enthusiasm for the event. I turned around, and saw that my mother was just excited as I was. I hurriedly put our tickets onto the table and entered the lobby. I’ve always loved the disguised diversity within my school. On the outside, it may seem like just a minority majority school, but that is such a simplistic viewpoint. The people in my community come from a variety of places, such as Nigeria, El Salvador, Jamaica, and Sri Lanka, among other countries. Reducing my school to “a mostly black school” overlooks our specific heritage and our cultural differences. Multicultural Night in particular was a great demonstration of those differing cultures, and attending the event showed me that so many students never have the chance to be proud of those differences. After enjoying ourselves with the flavorful food, my mother and I set off for the auditorium. And, upon watching the first few performances, I was thoroughly impressed. The fluid bachata dancers, the Japanese drummers, the highly coordinated Pan-African fashion show--all of it left me in awe. I didn’t think about anything other than the show until I noticed one of the performers during the Ethiopian dance. He was one of my classmates. I suddenly recalled one of the comments he had made during our AP United States Government class: “Eh, this is good enough.” It was in reference to the grade he had received on one of our tests. In a class where most of us scored above 85%, to hear his contentment with a grade just above 70% saddened me. Interestingly, this is not only a sentiment he feels, but one shared by many of my classmates in my grade level, and even my community at large. It has become acceptable in many instances--whether in school or in grocery stores--for things to be just “good enough.” I do understand that we can only do so much. Everyone has their limits. But there is also always the option for self-improvement. It is not always easy, and it can involve so much effort, but I strongly believe that if we can do better, we should do better. Like seeing my classmate on the stage, I’ve seen the ways my community has shown its strengths. We are diverse, we are welcoming, and we have pride in ourselves and our work. My only hope is that we extend our pride to all areas of our lives.