My First Experience

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Difference is something that can be hard to pin-point especially, I think, in hindsight. The first encounter with something unfamiliar can easily be remembered in the context of what was learned following the meeting. To some extent this is true of my first conscious experience of meeting someone who was different from me. When I look back and consider my age, my mindset at the time and the way the meeting was treated by those closest to me; it is not surprising to find that the experience feels incredibly normal. The first time I remember encountering someone who was different from myself was when I was in Kindergarten. My family had just moved from Snoqualmie Washington to Raymond Washington. Not a drastic change really, still within the …show more content…

I remember them telling me that: “Things were bad at home, so we left.” It made sense to me, and it made sense to them when I told them that my Grandfather had gotten a new job, so we moved. I don’t remember the majority of our conversation, I do remember that they asked me some questions about English and I told them that their language sounded really pretty. One or both of these girls were my classmates for the next eight years and we were always on friendly terms, so I would say that the encounter was a positive one. The reaction from my family, was also …show more content…

These kids were just kids to me, and as we grew up, they were just people. I would say that my first encounter with someone different from me and what my mom told me did leave me with the engrained idea that I didn’t need understand someone’s situation perfectly, and my imperfect understanding didn’t give me license to ask probing questions. All I had to do was treat everyone I met, no matter where they came from, what they looked like or what language they spoke,

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