Growing up in a predominantly white area, going to a predominantly white school, and participating in predominantly white activities, it took Josephine a moment to recognize and understand the concept of diversity. Her parents worked as hard as they could, but the financial status and lack of free time made it difficult for them and their daughter to explore the world and culture around them. The family was surrounded by and would continue to be surrounded by the same types of people, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but when Josephine was old enough, around 10 years old, to try out for an AAU sports team, she and her family realized the beauty and power of diversity.
The try out for the team was downtown, Josephine nor her parents did not know a soul, but they were there for the sport, just like everyone else. Her parents went to sit in the bleachers amongst the other parents, who became quieter as they approached, but extended a hand when her parents walked up the bleachers. Josephine turned to get a ball out of the ball bag when she almost smacked directly into another girl. “I am so sorry,” Josephine rushes the words out as she looks the girl over. She looks different from the people she usually was around, but would that have mattered if Josephine had had some interaction with people different from herself beforehand? The girl shrugs her shoulders and said, “you’re good,” before dribbling away.
When the whistle blew to alert that the try-out had begun, the gym became less chatty and more tense. The girls remained in focus and in competition with each other for the two hours, but in between for water breaks, most of the girls would gather around together, except for Josephine. She stood off to the side, taking sips of her gatorade and watching the groups of girls joke, laugh, and dance amongst each other. Their behavior and interactions with each other were different from what Josephine was used to, but that did not stop a smile from tugging at her lips or the muffled sound of a laugh trying to escape. Perhaps the tactics were different, but the results were the same, a group of girls giggling and smiling with each other, just another form of joy. When Josephine’s mother asked how she felt the try-out went, Josephine merely replied, “I hope I make the team”.
Josephine did make the team, and she played with them for three years. At first, she felt strange, like an outsider. A lot of jokes or references went over her head, she was not talked to as much, she felt like she was stuck in the image of all the people that surrounded her before. Then, one day, before a big game, the coach felt the girls needed to “get loose” and decided that a dance circle would be best. The team started singing a popular song, shoving Josephine in the middle of the circle, as she exclaimed, “I don’t know this! I can’t dance!” The team laughed and responded with, “we know!” This hurt Josephine at first, as her cheeks grew red with embarrassment, until they said, “we can teach you” and all the girls jumped in with her, screaming what to move and how. The warm up dance circle ended in a pile of laughing girls, but they got up from the floor a little bit more connected. They played as a team better than they ever had, despite being different from one another, they all shared the same goal, play their best and win. They did win the game, it was a blow out.
Within those three years, the girls on the team became some of her best friends. They had all joked, cried, ranted, yelled, laughed, and comforted each other, all together, like a team for years. There were many carpools in Josephine’s mom’s minivan, where they would cram into the back and rip their vocal cords singing along to Adele. One night the team gathered around Josephine and put more than a dozen small braids into her hair. The girls shared favorite restaurants with each other during road trips to tournaments and had intense girl-hood conversations at night as the whole team gathered on the two queen beds in hotel rooms. They swapped boy horror stories, put each other onto music and movies, offered advice for on and off the court, and although their experiences and tastes may have differed, the fundamental principles were the same, they were just girls living in the world.
While it took awhile for Josephine to be exposed to diversity, whenever she was, the relationships and experiences she made allowed her to think.
- The Matches in our Differences – by Jolie McGann - April 6, 2024