Us vs. Them Kaitlin McMillan

Describe the world you come from - for example, your family, community or school - and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.

I am a 'them'. In the 'us vs. them' mentality, I have been the 'them' to most people throughout my life. I am a minority, in almost every way a person can be a minority. I am a multi-racial female who has always lived with a lesbian parent. I believe that this has shaped me to be the person I am today, a unique person with a unique view of the world.

When I was seven years old, my family moved from California to Florida. Before we did, my mother drove us up to a hill overlooking our hometown of Long Beach just as the sun was setting. I can still feel the cool breeze on my face and the warmth of my mother’s right arm around me as we stood in the reflective silence that can only come when one knows that their whole world is about to change.

“This will be a new adventure,” she said, squeezing her arms around my brother and me in a gesture of comfort, “but no matter what happens, we will always be a family.”

At first, as with all younger children, I didn’t notice the difference between my family and anyone else’s. If a friend’s parent asked me if I was adopted, I...