Personal Narrative: My Stereotypes Of Being African

I was born with a label that I did not want to accept. At a young age negative names would be thrown my way and I would constantly be embarrassed as each one hit me. Growing up I constantly wished I was someone else. I am a Nigerian student who formely believed that things would never change.
I never felt upset about who I was until I attended elementary school. Every day I constantly drifted away from the other students as I became more of an outcast. Many of my classmates believed in the negative stereotypes about Africans; consequently, they would make fun of who I was in various ways. It is widely known that there is an abundant amount of children in Africa whom are living in poverty; for this reason, kids would accuse me of being poor and starving. Additional, they mocked my culture by performing preposterous dances that resembled the movement of a monkey. I never verbally expressed to my classmates how I felt in these situations; however, my body language showed that I was ashamed of myself but at the same time, furious. “Why me?” I would ask myself. “Why did I have to be African? Why couldn’t I just be a Black American?” These were crazy thoughts that went through my mind at such a young age.
At my house there are days when my father teaches me, my two brothers, and my sister how to speak Igbo, which is a

Currently, at Texas Tech University, I continuously strive to spread the amount of diversity within the student body. By being a member of the African Student Organization at Texas Tech, I represent a group of individuals who seek to educate the Lubbock community about the richness and diverse cultures that Africa presents. I believe that it is essential that students of all nationalities feel welcomed because they will then be motivated to embrace their identity and in turn, help contribute to the diversity of the