Becoming A Woman Between Two Worlds

I never got mail.

So, when my mother handed me the legal-sized white envelope right before I took another bite of my bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich, I was confused. I wondered who’d sent me something so early on a Saturday morning. Perhaps my school had mailed out the eighth-grade promotion ceremony information. I dismissed the thought when I realized that it was only mid-January. It was too early.

As she was busy sifting through the rest of the mail, I quickly wiped the grease off my fingertips with the backside of the place mat. She hated when I did that. I picked up the envelope, walked into the living room, and plopped down on the dark green couch. When I noticed the familiar burgundy and white emblem on the front of the envelope, I sighed.

By the time my mother walked into the living room, she found my long, thin body slouched in between two pillows.

‘What is it?’, she asked me.

I pulled out a glossy magazine, a stack of papers, and a burgundy and white lanyard. Then, I pulled out a thin brochure. I tried to browse through it, but my sweaty hands wouldn’t let me. So, I just stared at the cover. The faces of the smiling white and Asian teenagers looked nothing like mine. Not a single Black teenager. Some were dressed in perfectly tailored burgundy blazers, holding shiny…