The Things We Say
I believe that words have power. Growing up, I loved to read. I loved how books made words come alive off the page. I was an only child of a military family. Meeting new people ever 2 years or so until I reached middle school. My relationship with words was consistent. With people….not so much. I saw each move as an opportunity to start anew, rarely retaining any of the relationships in my previous location. Despite being introverted and shy, I was able to meet new people fairly easily until I reached 6 th grade. I went from being the only Black student in the 5 th grade on Guam to being one of the least “Black” students in a predominately Black school in Florida. Things were very different there – not just the people and the place but also the words. In the afternoons, students gathered for lunch around cafeteria tables to “rank” on one another. Basically, to “rank” on someone was to insult them in the most original and hurtful way possible. Hurling the wittiest insult