Teens Meet Outreach

“Go away, we don’t need you here. You don’t fit”

You probably won’t know how much this hurts unless you find yourself in such situation. Situations where you suddenly can’t fit into; things you are deprived of doing, and the emotional imbalance that follows it.

Sometimes, we don’t just match. Things happen and we are mismatched, by culture, race, exposure, wealth, moral, character, motive, (dis)ability, among others.

Discrimination can be two sided:

1. You discriminate yourself from others
2. You are discriminated from others

Either ways, the result is unhealthy, because these two sides are tied to wrong mindsets. The feeling that you cannot mingle with the rest of them, because they are rich and you don’t have up to what they have. Oh! You really do not match, so you step away to maintain your lane. Or it’s probably the other way around; the rich pushing you aside because they can’t mingle with a low-life, so you are left on your own to bear the pain you never asked for.

While this two-way scenario may seem natural, I believe it can be corrected. So, rather than being isolated because you feel you do not match, why don’t you move on, assuming you can’t take the bold step to walk up to them?

Things happening aren’t inevitable, but our reaction towards them can be managed. It’s not your fault that you are disabled or your race/culture differ, so you definitely don’t have to beat yourself over it. We all have our rights in life, and we have to come to the understanding that there are times we won’t just match, and how you manage these times matter.

You can’t be silent about it. Being discriminated and keeping shut, thereby accepting it as a way of life for you, isn’t just it. Now, I don’t mean you have to go about telling people how you feel mismatched all the time. No! Not being silent isn’t just about that. It can be you rising up and refusing to be let down by any factor. Nothing limits you from being who you want to be; not race nor culture, and neither should it be wealth or anything at all.

If you find yourself in a clique where you all have equal rights to contribute. Sitting down without saying a word simply because you feel you won’t be taken seriously or because they have things you don’t have, which makes you way out of their league, is inappropriate.

Stand up for it is right, move on, and don’t let discrimination hold you back; it should push you to become better instead.

About the writer

see below