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without gifted placement I could never have reached the academic classes necessary for
5
an Ivy League school. Without that first opportunity given to me by Ms. Weiland, my entire
educational trajectory would have changed.
The philosopher Seneca said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets
opportunity.” But in the United States, too often people work hard every day, and yet never
receive the opportunities that I did — an opportunity as simple as a teacher advocating on
their behalf. Statistically, students of color remain consistently undiscovered by teachers
who often, intentionally or not, choose mostly white, high-income students to enter
Redefining America
advanced or “gifted” programs, regardless of their qualifications. . . .
Research has proved that these inconsistencies in opportunity exist in almost every
aspect of American life. Your race can determine whether you interact with police, whether
you are allowed to buy a house, and even whether your doctor believes you are really in
pain. Your gender can determine whether you receive funding for your startup or whether
your attempts at professional networking are effective. Your “foreign-sounding” name can
determine whether someone considers you qualified for a job. Your family’s income can
determine the quality of your public school or your odds that your entrepreneurial project
succeeds.
These opportunities make a difference. They have created a society where most every 10
American is working hard and yet only a small segment are actually moving forward.
Knowing all this, I am no longer naive enough to believe the American dream is possible for
everyone who attempts it. The United States doesn’t lack people trying. What it lacks is an
equal playing field of opportunity.

2) Accomplishing the American dream can be socially alienating.
Throughout my life, my family and I knew this uncomfortable truth: To better our future,
we would have to enter spaces that felt culturally and racially unfamiliar to us. When I was
4 years old, my parents moved our family to a predominantly white part of town, so I could
attend the county’s best public schools. . . .
So many times throughout my life, I’ve come home from classes, sleepovers, dinner
parties, and happy hours feeling the heaviness of this exchange. I’ve had to Google cultural
symbols I hadn’t understood in these conversations (What is “Harper’s”? What is “après-
ski”?). At the same time, I remember using academia jargon my family couldn’t understand
either. At a Christmas party, a friend called me out for using “those big Ivy League words” in
a conversation. My parents had trouble understanding how independent my lifestyle had
become and kept remarking on how much I had changed. . . .
An official from Brown told the Boston Globe that similar dynamics existed with many
first-generation college students she worked with: “Often, [these students] come to college
thinking that they want to return home to their communities. But an Ivy League education
puts them in a different place — their language is different, their appearance is different, and
they don’t fit in at home anymore, either.” . . .
We don’t acknowledge that too often, achievement in the United States means this 15
gradual isolation from the people we love most. By simply striving toward American success,
many feel forced to make to make that choice.

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