Describe My Neighborhood

Quiet, small, and white. These are the three words that immediately rush to mind when describing my neighborhood. I grew up in a rather small town named Schaumburg, it is one of the many northwestern suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. Like the other towns in this area they are rather meager in size and mostly populated by Caucasians. When speaking to my parents about the deciding factor on choosing this neighborhood they pointed to the size of the home, the area, and schools. When referencing both the area and the school district they were both known for being safe. This was key for them to raising a new family. Growing up in this neighborhood was quite simple for my family it since many of the families resembled our own. I attended a catholic

It was very similar to Schaumburg, it was a newer subdivision that was safe and had a highly-regarded school district as well. This new area came with a slightly more diverse group of neighbors, constructed mainly individuals of Asian and European heritage. My parents strongly encouraged me to attend the public high school in our district, Lake Park, after being involved in summer camp athletics for the high school I grew comfortable and familiar with many people. About a month before high school started we received a notice stating that our home was not in the district for Lake Park, this went against what we were told when we first moved into the neighborhood. This was a turning point for me and my family. I had two options attending the ‘correct’ public high school or opting for a catholic high school. My issue was I didn’t know anyone from either of schools so trying to adapt in either setting would be initially difficult. My parents and I both agree that opting to attend the catholic high school would be beneficial for my education and my personal interests. It was at this point in my life when I began questioning my white privilege. My high school, St. Francis, was mostly populated by wealthier upper-middle class families of Caucasian and Asian heritage. It was considerably understandable why it wasn’t that diverse, the surrounding communities weren’t that diverse and it was

What my final three schools came down to Purdue, Miami (FL), and Marquette. When viewing each school, I remember making pros and cons of what I like and disliked about the school, Miami and Marquette were similar highly regarded institutions that were both similar in size, prestige, and demographic with the only obvious difference being location. When it came to Purdue it was also a highly-accredited institution and much larger than the other two under consideration, however I was quickly turned off by my experience visiting their campus. When applying to these schools I marked Hispanic on all the applications because that’s what I truly was, I was invited to Purdue’s multicultural day and there was something about it that bothered me, I felt out of place throughout their tour and the events that preceded them. and that quickly jettisoned my consideration of Purdue. When touring Marquette, I felt more at home and comfortable I first attributed this to its respective location from my home and class size, but I believe there was another factor that I didn’t openly boast. The demographic matched to what I was used to in my previous years of schooling did years of whiteness really become engrained in me? After reflecting on this for some time I would answer yes. It’s easy to blame oneself for this tunnel vision, however this sameness has been