Grace Langeland
Hamilton High School
“Unity in Diversity”
Almost 8 billion of us
share this planet
breathe the same air
look up at the same moon
get warmed by the same sun
But we are not the same.
We tend to get caught up
on our differences,
The way we
create
express
vote
worship
look
talk
think.
Watching the news lately
you might get the impression
that differences are all we know.
Are the things that separate us
greater than those that hold us together?
We’ve been taught
to live with tolerance.
Tolerance?
I have tolerance for
flies at a picnic
singing off key
wet socks
long check-out lines
But from each other
we need more.
Tolerance is not enough.
Last month
my friends and I
got tickets for our favorite band
P1Harmony
playing downtown Chicago
on a Sunday night.
A very different setting
from my usual small-town life.
Lights blaring and music blasting,
we waited in line for hours
at the Chicago Theater.
The crowd grew
with anxious anticipation,
the strangers beside us
also eager to get in.
Initially, it was easy to spot
the differences between us.
The differences in the way we talked
The way we dressed
The color of our skin
It may have seemed
Like the only common thread between us
Was that we were in the same place
at the same time.
At first, it felt kind of isolating.
People anxiously looking from side to side
searching for something
to anchor them in the midst of chaos
My friends and myself included.
Then a girl glanced our way
And simply said “I like your pants.”
From there the talk went to
favorite songs
best dancers
other concerts
Instagram handles
and where I bought my pants.
In that small moment
on a crowded sidewalk in Chicago
a connection was formed.
Groups came together
regardless of differences
and enjoyed a moment
of commonality.
Through this unity,
complete strangers
bonded together by shared interests.
Poet Audre Lorde
said it best:
“It is not our differences
that divide us.
It is our inability to
recognize, accept,
and celebrate
those differences.”
Yes, differences are everywhere,
thank God.
Can you imagine
what it would be like
if we were all the same?
We can embrace our differences,
celebrate them,
and learn from each other.
We can find joy in the fact that
we are not the same.
And then we can understand
that which we have in common
is actually much more powerful:
Our desire to be
loved
respected
heard
understood.
Our humanity connected by
the traits that we share.
I want more moments
like the one on the sidewalk
In Chicago.
More for me
and for everyone.
But we don’t have to look that far
to find chances to unite.
Keep your heart and mind open
and opportunities will present themselves.
This is our chance.
Now is our time.
All 8 billion of us
Let’s celebrate our diversity,
Let’s appreciate our uniqueness,
Let’s love those around us for our differences.
Then we will truly achieve
Unity in Diversity
