I continue hyping myself up with the Defiance until I hear someone behind me interrupt, “What in the Boyz-N-Da-Hood is going on here? Have you forgotten where you are, Negro Brown? Talking to yourself like that in the middle of this snow-white campus? Now I’ve seen it all.” I know who it is, but I don’t turn around. Instead, I roll my eyes and take a deep breath in preparation for dealing with the force of life that is Earnell Jackson. When I finally find the strength to face him, I see that he’s with Kelicia, Keli for short, another close friend. Earnell is a “loud, animated negro” (we playfully call each other negroes to remember our roots) from Atlanta, and Keli is a short, brown-skinned negro from Chicago. We all have similar backgrounds: poor and the first in their family to go to college. We met during first-year orientation. The entire incoming class can probably recognize Earnell’s outrageous laugh, which rang out boisterously across the auditorium as various speakers told jokes while welcoming us. Numerous heads around the room pivoted angrily in our direction—watching—while Earnell unapologetically waved as if he were the president driving down Pennsylvania Avenue on Inauguration Day.

Earnell’s lively spirit is infectious. Keli has more of a brooding nature, similar to mine, but Earnell is always positive, upbeat, and outgoing despite the many obstacles in front of us. If you didn’t know him well you might never be able to tell that he comes from such impoverished and bleak conditions. Keli, Earnell, and I were all-stars in high school but are struggling to catch up here at Dartmouth. Earnell and I were both valedictorians and Keli was third in her class, which Earnell relentlessly teases her about. “We can’t all be number one,” he says, after out-arguing her over something unimportant.

Our high school ranks don’t matter here, however. Now all of our classes are “introductory preparation” courses, which is just a fancy term for remedial. We are competing against students who come from schools with unlimited resources. Catching up is not easy. I’m taking Introductory Calculus, Comprehensive Literature (Comp Lit), Sociology, and American Government as well as a History of Film class.