minority and underprivileged students rise to the challenge all the timebut it takes energy. It takes energy to be the only black person in a lecture hall or one of a few nonwhite people trying out for a play or joining an intramural team. It requires effort, an extra level of confidence, to speak in those settings and own your presence in the room. Which is why when my friends and I found one another at dinner each night, it was with some degree of relief. Its why we stayed a long time and laughed as much as we could.

Becoming by Michelle Obama