Danielle Wlodarek, Post 1

Though not both of my parents are entirely, my sister and I consider ourselves to be Polish. We don't take part in any other ethnic traditions around the holidays. We've both been raised to embrace the Polish culture, as were my cousins on my dads side. The holidays, the slang talk, it all reflects a Polish culture for as long as I remember even though my mother isn't entirely Polish.
Racially I guess I've just considered myself to be white, Caucasian. Neither of my parents are anything but, so neither am I. The majority of the people who I live near or in my town are white, it wasn't until I moved out of Mayville that I ever was exposed to different races in great depth.
I always knew there were people out and about who looked differently than I did. I learned from my teachers at school, just like everyone does, about segregation and the struggle we've all gone through to be equals. My parents got more in to depth, shared with me what my teachers might not have. My dad was a corrections officer at the time, he spoke with experience. He always used to tell me it didn't matter what color anyone I might date was, as long as they didn't have a record he could trace. He just didn't like me having any boys around, he wasn't picky! My mom agreed. She really taught me a lot about the rest of the world when I was growing up. She had a way of conveying messages, she made things I hadn't experienced understandable. She was honest with me, she told me how wonderfully diverse this world was in places outside of Mayville. She always did (and still does) hope that I make my way into an area that isn't as simple as home. I didn't necessarily agree at that point, I had no experience with it. But I did understand.
Of course learning and hearing things from parents, peers, teachers, isn't nearly as impacting as experiencing them for yourself. My views on race have expanded over time, not really changed. But i never got to experience anyone different until after high school. I got recruited to play soccer at a junior college in Olean. Olean is where I first really experienced any diversity. Olean is where I learned some of the most important lessons in my life thus far. Olean was so wonderfully different from Mayville. People from all sorts of walks of lives seem to function together there with ease.
It was in Olean that I met Miguel Lantigua, a guy who changed my life. He was Spanish, Dominican. He moved to Olean from East New York, Brooklyn. We came from totally different paths but somehow were SO similar to each other. Meeting him solidified it for me, it didn't matter what race or ethnicity someone was. We dated for the majority of the time that I lived in Olean, I visited Brooklyn (something I never thought I'd do), I met friends of his and family. Another solidifier was when one of my closest friends, Aaron Moe, passed away. He was an Olean friend too, he even rode five hours away with me so I could watch a game I had gotten kicked out of playing in! But when he passed away last year I realized that loss means loss, it didn't matter that he wasn't white. I still lost one of my best friends.
I never dealt with racism either until Olean, Oleans downfall and beauty is it's diversity. Some people just don't understand that it doesn't matter what race or ethnicity people are. I used to wait at certain restaurants for a good 20 minutes to be seated when I'd go out to eat with Miguel. I work in a restaurant, have for years, and know there wasn't reason to be waiting that long. People used to just stare at us sometimes, like it was unthinkable that we'd be paired together. It's sad to see something like that actually take place. It's worse to be a part of it. It gave me only a glimpse of what some people may go through, it's discouraging to say the least.