You don’t stay out too late; parents always know where you are; never be unreachable; always have someone walk with you; do not speak to strangers; stay within the neighborhood limits; always tuck your pockets; never have the tongue of your shoe looking like it is choking; the front door stays closed when home alone; especially never let the cats outside; I would never, the cars would destroy them; don’t talk back to your elders; don’t defend yourself, you’re wrong, they’re right; you are a Christian, you do not watch Harry Potter, you do not listen to secular music, you don’t dress up for Halloween, you don’t celebrate Christmas; Christmas.. is a Christian holiday, no?; we have to impress Grandma; don’t be gay; attend Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday service, if they are preaching, you should listen; go to church camp gleefully; if you get in trouble, you read the bible and reflect; I’m not even Christian though; you clean your room; you clean our parents’ room; you clean the kitchen; you clean the car; this is how you sweep, this is how you mop, this is how you wash a dish and don’t miss a single spot; remember to wipe down the sink and counters; absolutely never forget to defrost the meat when mom tells you too; this is how you brown the meat; this is how you reheat the leftovers; this is how you make ramen; this is how you make ramen again; this is how to take care of yourself; this is how to avoid a whooping; this is how to recover after a whooping; this is how to hide your tears; this is how to fight back; this is how to hide the fact that you’re being bullied; this is how you pretend to be sick; this is where you hide; this is how you sneak out; always hide the fact that you have a boyfriend or girlfriend, we do not date under their roof; always clean before guests arrive, you do not want to embarrass yourself; never do anything embarrassing, it will haunt you for years; this is how to dress; this is how to smell good all day long; this is how to seem tough; this is how to be vulnerable, don’t do it; this is how to depend more on your friends than you do your own family for support; this is how you beg for therapy; this is how you befriend nonblack people; this is how you fit in; do not be too pro black and make the others uncomfortable; this is how to embrace your culture; this is how to act how they expect you to act; this is how to act when they don’t want you to act that way; never wear your hood up; never have the windows in the car all the way rolled down, they’ll think you stole it; It’s mine though; never leave a store empty handed, always buy something no matter how small, they’ll think you stole something; never put your hands in your pockets, they’ll think you stole something; never look lost, you’ll look suspicious, they’ll think you’re stealing something; this is how to put on a pad; this is how to put on mascara; this is how to choose the right bra; this is how to move out and away as soon as you’re able to; Just like how you did?; just like how I did.
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