Americanization's Double Standards

In History today we were talking about the Americanization of immigrants, how we wanted them to be like us. It was then I remembered, Americans have so many double standards. We say we accept other people as they are and yet we strive to mold them to our liking. If you’re not from the same religion, race, sex, or class you’re not good enough and you must change. Who came up with that? You can’t accept someone as they are if you try to change them. It doesn’t work like that. I grew up in the shadow of racial, religious, and social prejudice. So what if I didn’t have money for my entire wardrobe to be comprised of Hollister and Coach? So what if I was the only Hispanic in the school? Does that make me different? Yes. Do you have a problem with that? Well you shouldn’t. I grew up hating people. I always wanted to fit in but I couldn’t. I wanted to be normal, American. But no, normal doesn’t exist. This society lives off the blood of people. Too good or not good enough. Ever since the beginning. No one can ever please anyone. And these poor children are taught to be racist and to be sexist and to look down on others. They grow up and pass it on. If you weren’t welcome to change, why’d you let it in? I was the smartest kid in class. No one cared. They say my clothes and my hair and my race and every single fault that poor ten-year-old girl had. People look at me now and think, “How could anyone bully you? How?! You’re so perfect!” I wasn’t always like that. So I may be pretty and smart and popular now. Wasn’t back then and the feelings attached to it scarred me inside. I could be the prettiest girl on the planet and still feel like I look like dirt. I could be a genius or the most famous woman ever and still feel bad about myself. No one notices the effects! No one ever stops to think, how is my bullying this person for situations out of their control going to affect them in the future? No one thinks of that. Don’t try to change people because they’ll only end up hating you to pieces. They’ll want to suck your insides out and rip them apart. Don’t try to make people perfect to your standards because it’ll never work.