I am half Hispanic, part Native American, and part German yet I do not have a dark complexion. Most people at first glance can’t tell that I am a minority because of my skin color. I remember to this day the first time I realized my peers had stereotyped me. I was around five years old and a group of boys that I spent time around had asked me to take them to the store to go shopping. I said that I couldn’t and that I was just as broke as they were. One of the boys said to me “why not? You an American and you people always have money.”

I was then cast aside and ostracized for pretending to not have money. The truth was I was just as poor as they were and I was just as hungry every night when I went to bed. I was hurt by what was said and how they treated but I kept on going. When I moved back to the United States I felt the hurt once more. I had only learned Spanish as my first language. So I was ridiculed once more for not fitting in. I had now been labeled as an outsider and I hated the fact I didn’t fit in. From the ages of 6-18 I tried to fit in and gain acceptance in any way I could. I would do things I knew were wrong and things that were against the law in order to gain respect and acceptance from my peers.

It’s interesting to know now what I was willing to do to gain acceptance from my peers. The final truth came when I was involved in a robbery gone terribly wrong. There was a person whose life was taken in the process. I was an accomplice to a crime due to my inability to say no. It was easier to go along than it was to say no. I was more conscious of my potential acceptance than my own choice. I made choices to commit a crime instead of stopping it at all.

I was then sentenced to 25 years to life for my involvement. I took responsibility for the tragedy I had done. I then experienced a long couple of years where I was still searching for acceptance but now in a different setting, prison. I have realized now I was raised around stereotypes. People looked down on me for who I was but they never really saw me for me. I couldn’t change their beliefs or judgments about me or how I looked. They only judged me on face value.

I never knew why societies in the world had created labels, categories and prejudices for even the smallest reasons. I then came to make a choice to stop searching and enjoy the person I am. I focused on being accountable to myself and my family. I focused on gaining an education to break the mold. I am dedicated to success.

I encourage people not to judge on stereotypes alone. Gain knowledge before resentment towards another human being. I’ve spent most of my life trying to fit in, now I am living to not fit in. I am outside the box of others’ perception. I am striving to help eliminate stereotypes and start working towards race, gender and class equality.

Nestor