As Told To Zahara Hill

Lillian Corpening-Morgan is a high school sophomore from Columbus, Ohio. Shes passionate about illustration, writing and advocacy. She doesnt know which career path she wants to pursue quite yet. When its all said and done, she just wants to be able to buy all the books her heart desires and live happily.

At first, I felt really bad. Who am I to not be friends with someone because of what they believe?

In the school that I go to now, its very privileged. And while it is somewhat mixed with different ethnicities, it is mostly white. And it gets hard to hear things that feel insensitive, so I struggle to balance relationships outside of my race sometimes.

I think it was right after I saw the George Floyd video, and I was just very emotional and it was really on my mind. And I was discussing that with another Black student, whos my friend, and we were just both very, very upset and emotional. And I remember this other student said, I dont understand what is such a big deal. The police were just doing their job.

And I just couldnt get over that. I was devastated and I was upset and I was just shocked. I find that they care less because its not directly affecting them. Theyve never had to understand the fear.

Its not like were having disagreements over pizza toppings. This is over someones life. And its someone who looks like me, acts like me, has a similar family background. If you cant understand that this is wrong as a person, then Im sorry. I hope you do well, but we cannot be friends.