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A time in which I was treated as an outsider was when I was in high school I had joined the junior varsity volleyball team in high school. I had felt like an outsider because the high school I attended was predominantly white people school. Being a Mexican I knew I was a minority and that fitting in wasn’t so easy. I had a diverse group of friends in the school but the team was mostly made up of tall white girls. They were always with each other in a group and I had initially joined the team with one of my best friends who was Puerto Rican but she had quit. It was difficult fitting in at times though they were nice to me they wouldn’t include me in events outside of the team while the rest of the team was invited. Eventually I made friends with other people who also were not in their group. Patricia Hill Collins in her essay “Learning from the Outsiders Within” states how these oppressive experiences can give us a lot to learn from. If we look at these experiences in a new light we can learn how by being exposed to this sort of treatments make us stronger and help us find ways of dealing and fighting against these forms of oppression. Instead of giving in and changing our habits in order to avoid the stereotypes, we should embrace it and use it to our advantage. Collins gives an example of this by using the stereotype that is targeted against black women about them being too assertive and not feminine enough. These statements are often used to oppress them but Collin says how instead black women should use their assertiveness to get what they need. By embracing these stereotypes that are meant to put us down we can gain confidence, learn how to deal with these issues, and learn to value oneself.