TOW #24

Born Bright by C. Nicole Mason is the story of an impoverished young lady made of her life. Having to deal with the disadvantages and oppression that life gave her, she was able to persevere and work hard. Being that most people do not understand the true struggle of the poor, C. Nicole Mason hopes to enlighten many with her story. She begins the story telling of the time when she attempted to be real with her audience of “do-gooders, social workers, politicians, and policy advocates” that did not really know the people they claim to help. Then throughout the story, she writes of the disadvantages she’s faced in her life. Once, when she was at a college fair trying to seize her opportunity, she was hit with the harsh realization that she hadn’t been afforded them from the beginning. “The school representatives… grew annoyed with my lack of understanding of the process and my seemingly rudimentary questions. I did not know what a major was…”. Students who go to college fairs are often expected to know the basics about college and they usually do because of where they were raised. Unfortunately, because the girl was raised, she did not have the necessary background knowledge to easily traverse the fair. Additionally, Mason details the racial tensions she experienced, especially in the classroom. When she started her school’s version of the gifted program, she felt the expectation for her not to do well. “...Black and Latino kids… were tracked out, meaning they were sent back to a remedial or otherwise less challenging learning cluster.” She saw that even though Black and Latino students were admitted into the program, they were slowly teased out. They didn’t have a chance; there was hostile environment against them. Despite this, she was able to continue to work hard a become the successful woman she is today. She turned her lemons into lemonade.