When I was leaving junior high and moving on to high school, we knew we were being bused to a minority majority neighborhood high school. I didn't think much about it at the time except that the high school was a lot further away then the nearest one where we lived. However, I was anxious to see how the my life would change with the new experience of meeting many more new people. We were a high school that was about evenly divided between Caucasians, African Americans, Latinos and Asians. We were truly a diverse melting pot of cultural differences. I learned very quickly the acts of respect and humility as I came to know my new friends. I found that we had many of the same hopes and dreams when it came to learning, social activities and sports. Our unique blend of cultures didn't drive us apart, instead it drew us together as we learned that despite the color of our skin or our previously held mores, we were no different from each other. We bonded like I would never have believed. We even painted on the front of our school, in a large picture, four arms of yellow, brown, black and white interlocked together to form the shape of a square. Where one race ended the next race began so that there was no break in the link of our bond. That symbol on the front of our school was what defined our school and the students who attended it. We learned about each other and became comfortable in our own skin. What we didn't know then was just how profound a role integration played in our lives. Today I have no fear of anyone who is different than me. I only have a willingness to get to know them. I learned that what scares too many people these days is the lack of understanding. Integration at that young time in my life gave me the comprehensive understanding that we are all human, none better or worse than another.
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