"I am white. I think." Carly Shaia's poem, "I Am White," in the January issue of Teen Ink, expresses the issue many people struggle with, being limited to their race. Often, when we look at other people, the first thing we see and process is their race. "At least that's what all the other girls say." She continues. "That's what my makeup brand says, Porcelain." Why are we limiting ourselves to the colors of our skin? Why are we placing ourselves in categories just because one person has more melanin in their skin than another? Carly transformed a strong point and issue into a beautiful poem that describes the way many people feel in many parts of the world.

Before reading Carly's poem, I'd never thought about race in the way she explained it. "I am multicultural." I'd say. "Korean, Nigerian, and French." That was it. I wasn't anything more than that. "I am not limited to such a description." She says. "It doesn't do me justice." In just twenty lines, Carly helped me understand that I am more than just multicultural. I am someone so much more than that, just like she is so much more than just white. It is not our races that define who we are, but our actions and personalities. Carly has enlightened me and shown me the truth in an elegant, artistic way, and I can only hope that her writing will spread to all who felt the same way I did, before reading her words.