Proud to be the "other"

On tuesday I recognized something different about myself compared to the rest of my classmates in relation to the statements that we analyzed in class. I am an "other". Well, at least I was in class. I wasn't afraid to be singled out and stand up for something that no one else believed in, and that was empowering to me. It all of a sudden clicked when I got home from class, many of the most influential people in history were labeled as "others". From different ethnic groups like jews and african americans, to individuals like martin luther king, ghandi, rosa parks, even groups like gays and lesbians in today's society are labeled as "others". People unwilling to compromise their beliefs and convictions at the cost of be discriminated against by society and its standards. These "others" have created more change for this world than any other person who felt like they had to compromise to be accepted. They demanded respect and through many struggles took it. This is by far the most difficult, and stressful way to get what you want out of society but it calls for the most change. In the athletic world it takes "others" like billy jean king and the rower from the movie that we watched in class to get things done, not people like anna kornikova or serena williams, and they used this label to their advantage. It empowered them to be the best at their craft and to stand up for injustice and not to compromise their integrity.While being an "other" does have its moments of anxiety, I think that it empowers people more to prove themselves and show just how amazing and talented they really are.

Ashley Cole