“White girl”

yes I am  white
and I am a girl but,   
what do these words really mean?

Do I have to order a pumpkin spice latte
at starbucks
but say “hold the pumpkin, hold the spice and hold the latte”
to act what I look like to other people?

Do I have to only listen to pop music,
not rock or soul
and do I have to say all the boys are cute
and twirl my hair around my finger every time I see them?

Do I have to tan at the beach
and wear bikinis
and scream every time
I break a nail?

Do I have to walk around New York City
in crop tops and ripped jeans
or chew gum loudly
as an obnoxious attempt for attention?

Do I have to constantly quote “Mean Girls”?
and sing the Pretty Little Liars theme song,
just because I am a white girl,
not because I watch the shows?

Do I have to act all pissed
when starbucks spells my name wrong
and then do I have to post a picture
on instagram saying “get it right?”

Do I have to be totally phone obsessed
and have everyone say that I love my phone
even more than my parents?

No. I don’t.
But that is how society sees me. 
That’s how I am seen.

Yes, I am white
and I am a girl
but “white girl” alone is not how you can define me
I am more than that.

Being a ‘white girl’ to me
is accepting who I am
and accepting the fact
that I am lucky

I never have to worry about getting stopped on the street by cops
or being labeled a terrorist

I am not a victim of police brutality
and I don’t have store owners look at me suspiciously
and them watching my every move
if I decided to go in

I don’t have to worry about being looked at
mysteriously on the street
or being asked certain questions
to see if I am qualified for a job

Being a white girl
is accepting the fact that I am lucky
and understanding that our society
is so messed up

But of course,
being a white girl to me is
occasionally going to starbucks
I just won’t order pumpkin spice lattes