It is often said, “the first step to fixing a problem is admitting that there is one.” It is probable that this phrase is most commonly told to addicts who seek rehabilitation or couples seeking marriage counseling.

However, if this is the first step in the finding a solution to a problem, whether it is a physical, mental, or social one, then why do we as Americans still deny the existence of racism and white privilege?

White privilege, in my opinion, must be acknowledged before we can eliminate racism towards other cultures. After all, if you cannot see the difference in how whites are treated compared to people with different cultural backgrounds, how can you create true equality?

As a white female with a middle class background, I too was once blinded to white privilege. In fact, there were times where the phrase “white privilege” made me cringe; I dared feel offended if someone referred to me a “privileged” individual because of my skin color because, in my mind, I had been through my fair share of hardships in life.

I’ve struggled financially, been discriminated against in the workplace (people still don’t hire you because of tattoos?), and have had to deal with a laundry list full of struggles related to my family and friends.

I realize now that those hardships are not enough for me to say that I am not “privileged” as a white person. There are things that my peers will experience because of their skin color and background that I will not.

This wake up call occurred to me while I was at John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK). My friend and I arrived at JFK sometime in the early morning to catch a flight to San Diego. My previous travels abroad have made me accustomed to packing light and traveling with only carry-on luggage, therefore all of my toiletries-including an entire bag of medication from Ambien to Dramamine-were packed away in my standard-sized duffle bag.

We checked in at the counter and made our way to the TSA line, giddy to catch up with our friend from high school who we were going to visit. There was a heavy-set, dark-haired security guard and a security dog waiting at the beginning of the line. We handed over our licenses and boarding passes and proceeded through the zigzag isles that lead to the metal detectors and security check.

As we were passing the guard and his golden retriever, now directly on the opposite side of the fabric panels that divide the lines, I noticed a Middle Eastern family behind us. The dog sniffed around the area and the security guard immediately stopped the family in line with a harsh tone in his voice. The urgency in his voice made my friend and I stop in line, right next to the family. That is when I looked down to notice that the dog had his nose on my duffle bag, presumably where my medicine bag was located inside.

The security guard was so fixated on the family because of their cultural descent that he ignored the fact that the dog was actually alerting him to my own bag. He shouted an order at my friend and I to keep moving down the security line.

That was the moment that it hit me: he had ignored the warning signs of the security dog because I’m white. In his determination to racially profile the oncoming passengers, he had let me go and blamed the incident on a seemingly innocent family.

There are so many things wrong with white privilege and discrimination. Not only is it morally wrong and unjust, but it is also downright dangerous. What if I had something more in my bag than just a prescription for sleeping pills to get me through my flight and some over-the-counter pills to avoid nausea? In a hypothetical situation, if I had been carrying recreational drugs or something actually dangerous, the TSA guard would have just have let me go through the rest of the airport because I am white.

I wish I could say that I had been brave enough to tell the TSA guard that he had made a mistake and that his dog was, in fact, sniffing my bag and to leave that poor family alone. Instead I stood frozen and shocked after continuing down the line, and gave silent relief when he let the family continue down the line without making a bigger scene.

White privilege is real. It is not about the struggles that all humans encounter throughout life. It is about the extra hardships that innocent non-whites must face, like getting “randomly” stopped on a TSA line for no apparent reason.

We as a human race must all recognize this problem. You cannot deny that white privilege exists, to do so would be naïve. The sooner we recognize that inequality exists in America, the sooner we can truly become equals.