COCONUT Written By: Arturo Rodriquez What made me a “coconut?”... I remember when I was younger, a friend of mine once described as a “coconut.” It was weird for me to be called such a thing because, at first, I didn’t understand what he was trying to say. I wasn’t sure if that was an insult, or some sort of joke. If you ‘ve never been called such a thing, allow me to elaborate. When looking at a coconut, you will see a fruit covered by a hard brown outer shell. Within the coconut lies a fibrous white layer of meat called the copra. To put it simply, the coconut is brown on the outside, and white on the inside. I wasn’t sure what to make of the analogy at first. Should I be insulted? Looking back, I probably should have been at the time. However, I laughed and agreed with my friend that I am a “coconut.” That was my first big mistake. What made me a “coconut?” I am the son of Mexican immigrants. I was born in the small Chicago suburb, Winfield, Illinois., and spent most of childhood growing up in a small town called Warrenville. I went to mostly White high schools in the nearby area. Most of my childhood, I spoke mostly English rather than Spanish as I saw the former Part 2
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