As I entered the open doors of opportunity on my first day at a new school, faces I'd never seen greeted me - different faces from what I was used to. First, they all belonged to girls (something I was definitely not used to). Second, they were all one color, white. At first, it didn't phase me. I just thought, Hey, it's a different building, different teachers and a different schedule. There must be different people, too. But what I didn't grasp was how different these people really were.
I was born and raised in a city on the outskirts of Boston where more than 15 percent live below t…
