The Oreo Dilemma

Before eigth grade, an Oreo

was only ever a delicious cream-filled,

chocolate cookie.

The crunchiness of the dark

cookie combined with the smooth vanilla

center was a seesaw in my mouth, perfectly

balanced.

I did not expect that the Oreo

would also become a source of torment

for me, creating a problem that would

forever

sit in my mind. "Oreo.

Someone who's black

on the outside and white

on the inside," my friend stated while

glaring at me and laughing.

But nothing was funny about that cookie.

Nothing about that Oreo felt sweet.

I despised the fact that my classmates

believed speaking properly

and dressing modestly equated to

the cream center of the Oreo cookie,

the same velvety white icing

that people claimed was

"the best part."

Yes, the cream was the best part,

not the dark chocolate cover.

The cream was smooth

and soft and easy to swallow.

The dark, hard, difficult

to deal with cookie, however, was crushed

when put through the pressure

of what the world assumed it to be.

Together the white cream inside

and the dark chocolate outside

creates an Oreo, forever not being black

nor white enough to be placed in a box.