I'm A POC But I Have White Privilege Because I Look The Part | The Odyssey Online
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I'm A POC, But I Know I Have White Privilege Because I Look The Part

My lack of oppression definitely has to do with the color of my skin.

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I'm A POC, But I Know I Have White Privilege Because I Look The Part
Cecilia Flick

I was born to a Mexican mother and an American father, but just by looking at me you would just assume that I am fully American.

My mom was the first in her family to be born in America, and my father's family has been here for years. I was raised in a primarily white and wealthy neighborhood in Missouri. I was very fortunate to go to one of the top rated public schools in my city, but even more fortunate to have the opportunity (if I had wanted) to go to a private school.

I know I have white privilege even if I'm technically a person of color.

Hell, most people don't even know I'm a POC. I've never actually identified with my Mexican culture or heritage. I don't speak Spanish, and when I try I sound American, the closest you can get me to my heritage is a quesadilla.

Here's a story from the first time I was recognized as a person of color and how wrong I felt for being there:

I was a freshman in high school, and one day, I got a pass to go to the counseling office during my study hall.

When I got there, I was told it was a class to help with getting scholarships and writing essays for college applications that would meet once a month every year of high school.

Every single person in that room was a POC, and I automatically felt like i didn't belong. As I said previously, I felt as though I was fully white because I had never been in a situation where I was oppressed. I was always your “basic white west county girl."

I was also uncomfortable because I always got what I wanted. I was always friendly with the principals, cops and teachers.

I had never been in trouble, and I knew that if I was ever in any trouble my parents would be there to bail me out and there wouldn't be any problem because to everyone else, I was white too.

I never went back. I never applied for any scholarships that had to do with being a person of color simply because I knew in my heart that there were other people out there who didn't have the safety net of having a white parent or the money to go to college, and they were definitely people who have actually been oppressed or have been bullied because of the color of their skin.

I am just a Mexican American girl with a light olive complexion that no one knows is actually Mexican.

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