Diversity and Social Justice 1

Diversity and Social Justice: Butterfly’s Story

Brianna Leith

Seton Hill University

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Abstract

My name is Bri Leith and I am currently a sophomore at Seton Hill University. I am

majoring in social work and minoring in criminal justice. Here are the basic descriptions of who

I am, white, Asain, Roman Catholic, heterosexual, cisgender, and female. I am the oldest child of

two and grew up in a single-parent home with my brother and mother. Our homes were located

in Baltimore city or just outside of the city. I was an overall happy kid and loved having a little

brother who is my best friend and greatest supporter. At ten years old I began taking care of him

and the house so my mama could work multiple jobs and pay the bills. After my parents divorced

my mama asked me to step up and help her, so I did what I had to do and became a butterfly. The

following sections represent me trying to learn and understand myself better these occurred from

ages 10-18 similar to Erik Erikson’s Stages Industry vs. Inferiority and Identity vs. Confusion. I

struggled with who I am and how I was to overcome the challenges I faced. The story of the

butterfly is my own story of how it is possible to fly higher than any challenge.
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Diversity and Social Justice: Butterfly’s Story

There is so much more to my story and the luggage I carry is endless, but somehow

through my resilience, I have been able to create amazing opportunities for myself. In the end, I

became a beautiful butterfly. The best place to start is the birth of my little brother, Nick. I

witnessed his birth, which took place in my house, and I was sent away until my mama and dada

could come home. That event was very traumatic, but I love my brother because following his

birth my parents began arguing more and I needed someone who would be there with me. A few

years passed, and he was diagnosed with severe autism. He became labeled as a nonverbal

autistic boy. Those labels changed the way my family saw him; many members no longer spoke

to us or sent us ‘happy holiday’ cards. Nick became unwanted and unloved by my family, and

being so young I didn’t understand why no one wanted to be around him. All I had wished for

before his birth was a best friend to live with me and then God sent him. I spent every second I

could playing with Nick, we built forts and did arts and crafts. Though Nick was different than

me, I love him just the same.

Our father rejected him. I remember being ‘daddy’s little princess’ for so long that I

never thought of him as unloving before my brother was born. Dada was so hurt; his only son

was different than what he had planned, that he didn’t know how to respond. He worked crazy

hours and was hardly ever home, so when one day he left early I thought nothing different. I

remember that afternoon my mama picked my brother and me up from school and daycare. Then

took us to an apartment and said, “This is our new home.” Being only seven years old I was

excited and looked around my new room and thought ‘where’s my dada?’ I asked Mama which
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room was whose since there were only two rooms instead of three. She told me that Dada was no

longer living with us, and Nick was going to sleep in his crib next to her bed. I honestly don’t

remember much after that. As the years went by, I saw my dad a hand-full of times throughout

the divorce process. It was hard trying to understand why he would no longer spend alone time

with Nick and I. The divorce created more challenges later in my life, and I have dealt with guilt

and anger for even longer.

Learning who I am. I have spent so much of my life taking care of my brother and

trying to understand why people won’t care for him just like any other kid. I believe that every

child is lovable no matter who they are. Many parents expect their children to be flawless, but

the world isn’t a perfect place, and everyone has their luggage or story to share. It has taken me a

very long time to understand that everyone is different, which makes loving everybody even

more challenging. I have received a private catholic school education my entire life and so I have

always grown up going to Mass every Sunday and taking religion classes. In the church, we have

been taught that we must love everyone no matter who they are. It wasn’t until I came to college

and I met so many amazing people that don't believe in the same theology as me. Even

something so foundational as ‘everyone deserves to be loved’ is a difficult concept for people to

grasp. I have been told my whole life that I am loved by many people and that I should also love

many more people so I have stood by this for my whole life that it has become the foundation of

who I am.

The other pieces of me. These pieces have never been a significant problem or have

life-changing stories, but that is something that I am grateful for. I am a white and Asain,
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heterosexual, cisgender, female which has allowed me to fit into any place at almost anytime. I

have faced minor difficulties being a female, but beyond that my family, school and workplaces,

have always accepted who I am and proud of things I have done. These pieces are who I am, and

I have not encountered significant issues because of them; unlike many other people that struggle

every day with who they are and being loved by others.

Understand me. I am proud of where I am and how I got here. I have overcome so many

challenged beyond my family dynamics. Many people that were close to me have passed, I battle

with addiction and I have had many physical injuries and surgeries. There were moments when I

questioned my abilities because life is very difficult to manage sometimes, but one positive thing

that has always pushed me to get better is my brother. Nick is my rock and my best friend, I

would do anything for him and when things get hard I just think of the day when I will be able to

live with and take care of him again. Nick has taught me what it means to love and to be there for

someone no matter what happens. I love him with my whole heart, and I feel as if I wouldn’t be

here today if it wasn’t for him. I was able to change my habits and survive recovery because of

him. There is more in the world than just yourself and Nick is a great example of teaching myself

that.

Don’t go backward. You need to learn from your past and your mistakes, but you cannot

stay there if you want to grow and change. I think of a flower and its roots if it stays underground

no one else will ever see the flower bloom. The flower must grow and move past its roots and

eventually bloom into what it is meant to be. One of my aftercare teachers called butterfly

because of an accident that happened, but after a while, the name stuck and everyone called me
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butterfly. She told me to use my wings to fly higher than she could imagine and being so young

when this happened, I never really thought about it. Then years past and she no longer worked at

aftercare I began to struggle because I was stuck with my autistic brother nobody wanted and my

divorced parents; I felt trapped. I didn’t know where to go or what to do. I knew that staying

where I was and reliving every second I had with Dada and Mama together was hurting me. I

eventually learned that I had to grow like a flower and use my wings to fly like a butterfly, there

was no more time for me to dwell in the past.

Conclusion

I am now a butterfly with heavy and broken wings but, I am still flying high and taking

breaks hoping to repair my wings. I have overcome so much, but I know this is only the

beginning I have so much of my life ahead of me so I hope my wings can continue to carry me. I

want to be able to share my life with my future children and watch them grow into the amazing

people I know they will be. I wish I could thank my aftercare teachers for taking care of me

when my parents couldn’t, and thank my brother for always being my rock. I know that I can fly

even higher someday, but right now in college my wings are resting and watching the flowers

grow around me. Someday I will be able to visit each flower bud and petal, but for now, I will

rest and find joy in my small victories after enduring such a flight.
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References

Ashford, J. (2018). Human behavior in the social environment: A multidimensional approach.

6th edition, 267 and 386-388.