Diversity- what is it? Merriam-Webster would tell you that it is “the condition of having or being composed of differing elements,” but I would tell you otherwise. I would say: “take a stroll between 6:55 and 7:20 on any given weekday morning through the halls of AHS.” Yes, in the technical sense, Merriam-Webster correctly defined this term. I, however, believe this term can truly be appreciated only when it is material. More importantly, however, I believe that it is something that should be appreciated.

This is no joke. It is truly disheartening to witness a peer making a punch line out of the color of someone else. Many students are guilty of this; you yourself might have synthesized such an attempt at humor. However, this does not mean you cannot redeem yourself. Keep in mind that diversity is not synonymous solely with race. An institution can be socially diverse, economically diverse, or both! Here is my proposal to you: next time you hear this form of ignorance, speak up. I know this may sound redundant (in the sense that we’ve always been told to “stand up” to bullying), or even implausible (in the sense that doing such a thing is doing so at the risk of being “uncool”), but let me tell you why you should.

When thinking about this subject, I often find myself picturing the person I was three years ago. Writing about such thoughts might relate to you why appreciating what AHS has to offer is so important. I was a rising freshman coming from Poe MS, and I had not witnessed true diversity until I attended AHS. Those of you who attended Poe, or worked at Poe, might beg to differ. Certainly, Poe is representative of scores of languages and every ethnicity known to man! However, not to the fault of any curriculum, teacher, or administrator there (many of whom I still am eager to talk with), I didn’t appreciate the diversity it had to offer. I saw the diversity, I could read its definition, but I couldn’t comprehend its magnitude. This was because of one reason: until I attended AHS, I never had to.

This epiphany came to me during a Socratic seminar that was being held in Noelle Davis’s ninth grade pre-IB English class. We were addressing a student’s question about a book, and next thing I knew, we were analyzing racial stereotypes. While listening to my peers speak about how upsetting the utilization of certain stereotypes was to them, I understood why I should appreciate this foreign idea of diversity. It was when I completely comprehended that I could not really participate in such a discussion about one’s experience unless I understood such a person’s background, that it “hit me.” I understood that 25 or so ninth graders might have been sitting in the same room in one instance of their lives, but I, by no means, could really appreciate what they had to offer. That is, unless I was open to doing so and to appreciating the diversity that was abound in the room.

So, I implore you to do the same. As you commence a new year at AHS (or, for some of you, a new career), try to, if you haven’t already, appreciate what makes these halls so unique. How might you go about such a daunting task? Make a new friend, talk to someone you might not normally speak with, start a discussion in class about such a topic; you might even want to start a club! This school boasts a worldly population, and unless you are willing to learn from your peers, you might have to degrade yourself to attempting to explain diversity through the words of a definition.