Diversity and Sympathetic Imagination

All my life, I have grown up in a diverse community. If I had gone to public school where I live,

I would have only seen Hispanics or African Americans. The neighborhood where I live is considered the bad part of Dallas just because there are so many minorities living there. My parents wanted me to experience a lot more so they put me in private school. There, I was able to have classmates from various cultural backgrounds. Not one race dominated another. I loved that. Meeting so many different people from around the world is enlightening. I was able to learn so much about different languages, religions, and traditions.

When I first started thinking about coming to U.T, all I would hear was about diversity but I didn’t really understand. When I finally got here, I thought it was great how many people were here from different backgrounds. I have friends that tell me they had never African Americans or Asians before in their life. When I hear that, I begin to really appreciate how lucky I was to grow up in a big city and go to a school where the population is diverse.

“The act of identification consists not in reading into the object subjective feelings aroused by it in the observer, but in perceiving, by instinctive but sagacious insight, the essential character and reality of the object itself” (http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/sympathetic%20imagination.html). I have always been taught never to judge someone by the color of their skin or their beliefs. You have to get to know someone by talking to them to really know who that person is. I would never want someone to make a judgment about me if they haven’t even talked to me before. I think that is unfair.

Students at Hill Middle School
Miguel in the Unknown Want, he says “My place in this country has always been questioned, and my access to the culture and language has always been tentative” (842). When I was in high school, I had to volunteer hours as a tutor at a public elementary or middle school. I tutored ESL kids at Hill Middle School where the student population is 97% Hispanic and 3% African American. I would try to teach them English but none of them wanted to speak it. They only wanted to speak in Spanish. They didn’t want to learn math or about U.S. History. When we asked them why they didn’t want to learn anything, they replied with an answer I will never forget. One boy said “I’m Mexican and my parents are poor. Nobody wants me and nobody will accept me. Why should I learn if I’m just going to drop out next year?” It hurt all of us to hear those words. All of those children were intelligent and deserve so much more but they felt that they could never succeed just because they were from Mexico. Me and my classmates tried to tell them that they can do whatever they want in life but they have be determined, stay focused and learn all they can in school to graduate and then go to college. Since I was the only Hispanic out of the 5 people that tutored there from my school, they were shocked that I went to a private school and I was going to go to U.T. I had so much in common with them and they didn’t even realize it. I wanted them to know that anyone can get a great education. It doesn’t matter what race you are and you can always get scholarships if you don’t have enough money.

Ever since I can remember, I have grown up in a diverse community whether it is at home or at school. I have learned about different people who have made me appreciate their cultures and beliefs. Since my dad never even finished middle school, he always had high hopes and expectations for me. He has always wanted me to have what he didn’t have. I just hope other young kids will never be discouraged by any obstacle that crosses their path and that they appreciate the diversity around them.