This piece is a part of a new, anonymous if necessary, student creative writing feature series. If you feel inspired, submit your own work here!
If I were not brown,
maybe people wouldn’t interrupt me when I talk.
If I were not brown,
maybe they wouldn’t ask me to repeat my sentence,
when I know that I have spoken clearly.
If I were not brown,
maybe I wouldn’t be considered a minority.
If I were not brown,
maybe they wouldn’t mistake me for Indian.
If I were not brown,
maybe I could be more.
Because I am brown,
when I talk, my friends can see
the courage.
Because I am brown,
some of my mentors
listen more carefully.
Because I am brown,
I am minoritized.
Because I am brown,
I can pass as —
Mexican, Argentine, Arab, Singaporean, Malaysian, Sri Lankan,
or American.
Because I am brown,
I am both myself, and not myself
and still agitating.
Don’t forget to laugh it off.