with No Pride Though I made tremendous progress, there was always a void and wanting to feel at home somewhere. I didn’t feel with any group, nor do I feel that today at times. The missing ingredient was always shared experiences. Being Liberian-American who could also pass as Black, made it difficult to form bonds on a deeper cultural level. I mean, one of my good friends of 13 years is from the St. Croix Islands in the U.S Virgin Islands but beside him, there was no one else I could say I formed a tight bond with; who accepted me based on cultural merit. I had a few Caucasian friends but only trusted about 3-4. It was the same with my Liberian friends also. Many of these guys would have stories of the games they would play when they were…show more content… Times where their lights were shut off because their mom didn’t have enough money. Stories of how brother and sister fighting other people on their behalf; playing the neighborhood games and learning how to dance. I either didn’t have these experiences or they were severely limited and lacked the substance to relate. My mother and I were homeless for a few months when I was younger. We went a month without electricity and gas. We were transitioning purchasing a car and had to drive in a car that had no heat in the crippling Minnesota winter. What made it different?
We didn’t depend on or ask our communities for assistance nor did we tell anyone that we were experiencing these things. Nobody knew. People would always think we were always in a position of good standing.
It’s like meeting someone who always seems happy and cheery. You would think this person never goes through a shit time. You’re having a rough day or week. You just want somebody to relate to you and say, “I hear you man, I know what that feels like.” You cannot do that with someone who is always happy go lucky because they will more than likely give you a generic response like, “Life is as good as you make it” or “Positivity is the key to everything.” We are aware of this but sometimes, we all need to know we aren’t the only one going through things in
