Black Lives Matter means that I’m not forgotten as just another person with skin that is not even black it’s brown. It means that if I’m ever wrongfully killed or become victim to a tragedy that it’s not written off as just another mistake just because I am what I am. I grew up in Hartford and have always been taught that I was different from first grade and on. I do believe that racism is taught and that the happenings that have been put into a spotlight over the last 10 years, starting with Trayvon Martin, are that of wrong teachings. I walked into school with my hoodie on in the 5th grade and was told that I was brave for wearing that. I had no idea what even happened, and I did not understand the situation until I was much older. A ten-year-old walking to school with what he normally wears being told he is brave just for being himself; and then learning that a person who looked like me died the night before for no apparent reason other than unjust hatred for being born black. The trial happens and the guy who kills him gets let off scot-free. My life, and the lives of people who look like me, do not seem to matter enough in todays world to be given the proper justice if we were to be murdered. The first thing I think about when I see a police officer is how I may die today, even though I’ve done nothing wrong. Why? Because a cop could kill me and say that I was aggressive towards him and that’s the end of the discussion. Black Lives Matter means that I’m treated as a human and not just another black person because my life matters as much as the next person.