Being The Minority...

Holy Smokes...it's been 10 days since I blogged. And since my dear friend Carrie has told me that I am letting her down by not writing...here goes.

As to the title of this blog. I know that I don't get a lot of opportunities to experience being a minority. I'm a middle class American white girl who works in a middle class Lutheran church full of white people...which means that most of my days are spent with middle class american white people. But in the past week I have had two experiences where I was in the minority, and it was great.

Last wednesday was my dear Heidi's 21st birthday. For those of you who don't know, Heidi was a foreign exchange student from Germany who lived with my parents for a year while I was in college. She has since moved back to America and is going to college here. So anyway I made the 5 hour drive north for her 21st. Many of her friends gathered together in her dorm room and then we went out for dinner where I was told by many of the young whipper snappers that I was an old lady at my age...I'm 25 people!!! This is when I first experienced being in the minority that evening. I was the only one who could rent a car without being penalized! I wanted to tell them that soon they too would be 25 and old and realize that it's not so bad! Then after dinner there seemed to be a mass exodus so they could all go study. I told Heidi that was no way to spend her 21st birthday and that we had to at least stay out a little longer. I've never been on a college campus where so many people actually studied. It was weird. So Heidi and I went out by ourselves and enjoyed spending a little time together. We were sitting at a bar and the door opened and I heard a girl say, "HEIDI!" There were three college students standing there and after my explaining that it was my german sister's birthday, She introduced me to her friends...all from different countries. Apparently it's only the non-americans who can go out on school nights in Kirksville! So here I am for the second time in the evening, a minority...only this time it's because I was surrounded by (even younger) non-americans. And let me tell you. It was fun. They were funny people and we laughed and talked and closed down the joint. Needless to say I had a pretty good time with people that didn't exactly fit into my demographic!

Then the tables were turned. After I left Kirksville MO, I headed south to the Lake of the Ozarks for the LCMS Missouri District Convention. When I walked in to register, they asked me if I was one of the youth delegates! AHahaHA. I mean I'm not exactly old, but I don't think I necessarily look like a high school student either. I went from being one of the oldest people at a gathering to one of the youngest. Anyway it was good. the conference was great, and if I had time I would talk about the awesome essayist that was there...well at least I liked him, but unfortunately I have to work, so for now I'm signing off!