None of us are perfect. No matter how young or old we are, there’s always room to grow and learn. Whether it’s a morality issue or becoming more aware of social injustices, we each can acknowledge our pasts and try to be better versions of ourselves for the future and for generations to come.

United Way of the National Capital Area compiled a list of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) terms and quizzed over 1,000 Americans on their knowledge. The 5 terms Americans were least familiar with were model minority myth, oppression, gender nonconforming, colorblind and gender binary. Here are their definitions:

Model minority myth – Systems or behaviors that disadvantage groups or individuals through formal institutions or informal attitudes.

Oppression – The unfair or prejudicial treatment of people and groups based on characteristics such as race, gender, age or sexual orientation.

Gender nonconforming – A behavior or gender expression by a person who does not match masculine and feminine gender norms.

Colorblind – “It doesn’t matter if you’re Black, White, or Green. All of my students are the same: I don’t see color.” This statement is an example of being colorblind.

Gender binary – A social construction of gender in which there are two distinct and opposite genders: male/masculine/men and female/feminine/women.