As the sun set on a recent evening at City Hall, a co-worker of mine asked me a rather intriguing question.

We had just met each other only a few minutes earlier and we had just begun to engage in small talk. He told me about his wife and toddler, and I told him about my hobbies and what I wanted to be later in life. It was basic, normal chatter.

That was until, of course, he posed one of the most fundamentally challenging questions that I have ever had to answer. As I told him that I go to The Overlake School, he asked, “Are you the only African-American there? What’s that like?”

I was surprised, yet eager to answer his question. But in a half-second I knew that I would not be able to do so, at least, not in the way that I wanted.

My co-worker’s question, I think, is part of a greater question that many Caucasians quietly ponder. That question is “what is it like to be a minority?”

I realized that I could not possibly summarize life as a minority in a few elegant words, or even a set of long sentences. Instead, although trying to omit some insight, I settled with, “It’s alright, I guess. To be honest, I try not to think about it.”

However, the fact of the matter is, I do think about it — my race — quite a bit actually. In fact, I think a lot of minorities do, especially when they are the only one. It is a burden that consumes too much energy. For example, when I am my school, which largely consists of upper class Caucasians, I find myself perpetually considering what my peers might think of my actions, my appearance, and my words. I always try to remain agreeable to as many people as possible. I often feel that I must be soft, quiet, and humble when I would rather speak my mind and embody my own beliefs and thoughts.

Being the sole minority poses a variety of challenges. I was so grateful to my co-worker that day; I was grateful that someone would be willing to speak up.

Although I was not ready for it, it opened up a new discussion about race that was in no way negative or painful. In fact, I was relieved after having only muttered only a few words. By continuing the conversation for interracial understanding through tough, honest questions in the workplace or school yard, we can finally answer the questions that we have about each other.

Teen Talk is a regular column in the Redmond Reporter written by Redmond teenagers. Miles Mitchell will be a junior at The Overlake School in Redmond.