So, who are you?

VIEWPOINT OF A TEXAS CHALLENGE ACADEMY CADET

Everybody has problems. Some have trauma or demons that they live with. Some have problems they won’t talk about. Until I came to Texas ChalleNGe Academy in July, I never really considered this. Everyone has a different background or a different story, but I feel like what the world doesn’t see is that our differences aren’t as big as what we think they are.

I have realized that there are a lot of people in this world that judge others just because of their differences. “Oh, she dresses weird,” or “he has a high-pitched voice”. I have learned that sometimes people will even judge you because you’re doing better than they are.

I finally had to see that no matter how nice you are, there will always be someone who is waiting for you to fail. And yes, I might just be a 16-yearold girl who hasn’t lived long enough to know what life is and how hard it is. But you haven’t been sent to Texas Challenge Academy to live with 28 girls in one bay like I have. It really let me see how unique people are, but how similar we are as well.

Our cadre supervisor Belvin tells us that there’s no reason that I should judge the person in front of me, behind me, or to the left or the right of me. It is not my job, and not judging others makes life easier.

I have learned a lot from being at TCA, but I believe that learning how to respect and value others and be less judgmental is one of the best lessons I have learned that I will take with me when I graduate.