One thing that gets me riled up is when people refuse to think of any other race in regards to racism. Racism is a very touchy subject, and BIPOC have experienced lots of it, and don't get me wrong, these essays aren't just going to be about Muslims and their experience, or racism that the Chinese experience, but, in this personal essay, that's what I'll be focusing on. My two friends who live in Canada, one Muslim, the other Chinese, have gratefully given me their personal experiences on racism, and thanks to them, I wouldn't have been able to write this essay.

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Let's start this off simple, hating Muslims because of ISIS is stupid. The fact that some people automatically assume that they're up to no good is idiotic, it's disappointing to have to say that not all Muslims are bad or in ISIS. Teaching your third-grade students about ISIS is not bad, don't get me wrong, but teaching them about ISIS and then pushing your own thoughts is terrible. My friend, Tasneem (Taz), has experienced this.

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When she was in third grade, there was going to be a new classroom being built in her school. Due to her high grades, she was able to move (she points out that there was no reason to move her) to a different class. Taz was able to move to Mr. Chris's class, and everything was normal for a good while. It wasn't until he showed the class a video about ISIS. Right after, he started rambling, rambling on, and on about how all Muslims are evil people. "He started talking about how all Muslims were bad, to avoid them, they should burn in hell,” Tasneem told me. Taz ended up telling her mother, who complained to the school. Mr. Chris didn't take too kindly to that. He began to give her lower test scores when she didn't deserve them and didn't tell students off when they pulled off her hijab.

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Hijabs are important to female Muslims. They're a symbol of modesty and pureness, and having one torn off is basically the same as losing all of your self-worth and dignity. To put it simply, they are very important for female Muslims, and having one ripped off is one of the most offensive things you can do to female Muslims.

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Taz is important to me, though. While gathering the information for her section, she told me this: "Try to find a positive light in whatever situation you're in!” out of the good amount of things she told me during that conversation, that is one of the things that really stuck with me. That, and the fact that she had two concussions in the same five-day range.

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What she was basically saying to me, was that she knew that I was going to experience racism in my life. As a black teen, there was no denying it, and even I said that I was surprised that I haven't experienced any racism that I knew of. I'll admit it, I've probably had a lot of racist encounters, but blocked them out. Either way, what she was saying is important to everyone. Looking for the light at the end of the tunnel is not childish, it's not a stupid thing to do. It's a good mentality to have in life.

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On the other hand, my other friend, Tyler, has experienced racism too. Unlike Taz, who is Muslim, Tyler is a Chinese-Canadian. Due to the recent virus that has been going around the entire world, Tyler has experienced a lot more racism than usual. Since the Coronavirus appeared in China, some people think that all Chinese people have the virus. Which is simply preposterous.

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While he didn't talk about his experience with the virus in great detail, he did give me a lot of points about it. While he was at Walmart, he got stares due to coughing. People have stared at him due to him being Chinese. It's important to note that he looks visibly East Asian. Tyler also said, and I quote: "I'd say most of the people who did it were white, although there were some POC.”

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There were a few other instances too. The ones that are considered 'normal', even though children should not be doing those types of things. Pulling the sides of your eyes, things like that. Making fun of their foods, harmful stereotypes. Just the works. There were a few other examples, but Tyler didn't want me to add those in.

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Unlike Taz, he told me the facts and that's all he said, which is fine.

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In reality, racism is not just centered around BIPOC, most likely, almost everyone has experienced it at least once in their life. Stereotypes are centered around small, stupid things that don't make sense. Muslims are discriminated against all over the world for one terrorist organization. No one deserves to be called sub-par simply because they don't look like you. Racism is prevalent in youths, in Tyler's case when his own classmates continued to bash his culture. Racism is prevalent in adults, in Tasneem's case, her teacher is the main player.