Dear Melanin,

We’ve had a long history together. We entered the world in unison some 28 years ago, where you were faint and barely visible. I soon realized that we were members of a family where your cousins were also present in varying amounts. As we grew older together, you made your visibility as a friend more pronounced.

While I was too young in the beginning to understand the implications of our long-term friendship, I always knew that we both stood for something in life: Understanding. I know that your presence means no harm to my life. In fact, you are probably my best friend in the Summer, because you protect me from the Sun. You’re always there to shield me against the harmful UV rays radiating through space and our atmosphere.

Unfortunately, Melanin, you don’t shield me from ignorance. Why not? If you can protect me from the harshest element of life, why not people? You always seem to attract these outlandish assumptions to our friendship. You often even give me a bad name, and as much as I wish you didn’t, there never seems to be anything I can do about it.

Why do you attract people who think badly of us? Why do you attract women who’ve dated nothing but gang bangers and thugs? Why do you attract women who speak poor English? Or those with babies? Why does your presence always seem to come with so many liabilities? Again, I know you mean no harm, but why?

Why do you keep certain people that I want to meet at bay, Melanin? Sure, I keep my distance at times from people, too, but only because I know those people aren’t good for us. You see, I’ve always wanted the best for us. Always. But, for whatever reason, many people always seem to have an issue with our friendship. Why?

Is it fair, Melanin, that I should suffer in life because of my friendship with you? Why can’t people take the time to learn about us and who we are? Why do they assume our friendship is something bad and harmful? We’ve never done any harm to anyone. We’ve always done our very best. We’ve always been very accommodating and welcoming.

Still, Melanin, you sometimes give us a bad name and for no apparent reason at all. You’ve always been my most protective friend. I wish everyone else could see the same.

I am seeking a mentor who’s versed in ‘social constructs’ — Specifically, one who opposes the self-confinement of categories and the idea (and irrelevance) of race in general. I realize I am not quite prepared to tell the world: “Race doesn’t truly matter, and here’s why,” because I’ve yet to design the proper vehicle to deliver the message in a way that most people will understand. When I take the national stage to carry forth this message, I want to feel confident in the delivery of my vision for a “race-free society.”

Perhaps this mentor is an anthropologist or sociologist — I’m not sure. However, I could use some guidance to help craft and deliver a hodgepodge of knowledge and understanding in ways which make sense to others. Truly, it’s a matter of better articulating the thoughts, ideas and observations I’ve cultivated over the years of challenging the concept of race and other social conventions to everyday people.

I believe there’s an opportunity to impact mass proportions with my knowledge and understanding — I simply require some help to prepare myself for the road ahead.

Please contact me if this is you.

Note: As much as I wish for every post to be bright and cheery, I too am human and this is my primary outlet for releasing my thoughts into the universe.

Everyday, I carry a heavy burden upon my shoulders: The knowledge of knowing how life could be. For years, I have sought out individuals who might understand the hodgepodge of details floating around my brain, but so far, I haven’t. What I’ve so long desired is an outlet of understanding and an opportunity to be understood.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve never lived a simple life: It was filled with complex and uncommon thoughts. I analyzed a lot of things, asked myself a lot of questions and attempted to understand my surroundings and the behavior of human beings. There were many things I observed, witnessed and experienced over the years which led to my desperate pursuit of understanding.

Unfortunately, due to a lack of understanding in others, I’ve felt largely isolated for many years. There’s no one in my life that I can speak to about the social issues which trouble me most. And, when I attempt to speak about them, people either draw a blank stare — or are literally ready to fight me.

There are times I daydream about disappearing from society and taking a hiatus for a few months to rejuvenate and regress my frustration — Which seems to occur more frequently these days. It pains me to see the things I do on a daily basis, such as a society which accepts knowledge that has been passed on from generation to generation.

Let it be known that I have no desire to participate in this warped perception of life. There are times where I don’t want to leave home, simply because I don’t always enjoy subjecting myself to a world that’s controlled from the “top down.” However, I have to live, do the things I enjoy and find ways to suppress my frustration with the world at large — It’s not always easy.

While I do not expect a perfect world, I do believe we can achieve much more as human beings if we tried hard enough. We don’t have to love everyone, but we can at least evolve to a level of understanding and enlightenment from which we all can benefit. I continue to dream about this new world, and if there’s ever another life beyond the present, I might eventually have the chance to experience it.

Perhaps one day, I’ll meet someone that will be my equal in thought. I look forward to the conversation.