Dear Students,
If you are considering post-secondary education after high school you should know that college is not for the weak. I’m not saying that if you choose not to go to college you are a weak individual. My point is that it takes a certain kind of individual to withstand the mental and emotional strain that comes with being a college student.
For instance, when you come to college, especially a PWI like the one I attend, you have to work really hard to feel like you belong. This might look like joining an affinity group (i.e Black Student Alliance) to meet more people like you and potentially form a close-knit friend group. However, this can be very difficult because as I have quickly learned attending a Predominantly White Institution (PWI). I also learned how real the saying, “all skin folk ain't kinfolk” is. There are Black people that are self-hating because of internalized anti-blackness. And if you are anything like me… you love being Black and are proud to be Black, they will hate you too.
If you choose to attend a PWI, you’ll have to deal with Black folk that won’t like you because you are not the stereotypical archetype of a Black person (i.e. you’re not Christian) in addition to the endless amount of racism you’ll receive from white people.
Then there is also a racial class difference, so there is a ton of classism as well. The moment you step on campus and you see freshmen driving brand new Audi’s, Mercedes-Benz', etc. you will realize just how poor you are and it sucks. But you’ll have to learn to sit with and process those feelings, cause it is a recurring thing. My point is college is extremely confusing and difficult to navigate, so when you finally find your friend group they might not look like you and that’s ok. That’s just the social scene, we haven’t talked about academic standards and expectations yet. Stay tuned.
Subscribe to The Educators Voice here (insert website link) and check out more of this conversation on March 16th at 6:00 p.m. for the fourth episode of Speak Black Man podcast and the Students for Equity group.
View Speak Black Man live on educational entities FB page or our YouTube Channel.