Target Identities

Growing up I always thought my issues and problems that were insurmountable, but that couldn't have been more wrong. I'm a white male, and I took that for granted for more than half of my life. I was never bullied for my skin color, or face challenges that others may have faced because of my gender. I can't even begin to comprehend how growing up with either of these target identities being different would change the person I am today. Nihal's story in class was very interesting to me, and made me think about how lucky I am to be born with the opportunities I had. Being born the way I am allowed me many opportunities that I may not have had I been born with either a different skin color, and/or different gender. Just by looking at me, the majority of people will have no preconceived notions of who I am, unlike they may have for others. However, this isn't always an advantage. One of the non-target identities I identify with deals with my father abandoning my mother and I shortly after my birth. Because of this, I faced many other challenges that most of my peers did not. While I consider this to be one of my defining traits, nobody can tell this just by looking at me. I struggled growing up because of it, which is a struggle nobody can know unless I tell them about it. I guess that it just shows how you can never really know somebody without taking time to learn about them.