My lecturer was a female Caucasian Australian.

One day her five-year-old daughter came home from school and told her that she had made a friend.

Her daughter asked her,''Can she sleep over on the weekend?''

My lecturer was pleased she had made a friend.

''Of course she can,'' she said.

But her daughter's body language quickly changed and my lecturer noticed that she looked unhappy.

She asked her young child what was wrong.

''She's different,'' her daughter said.

Her mother assured her daughter that being different wasn't a bad thing and that it was okay to be different.

But days leading up to her daughter's friend sleeping over, she kept telling her that her friend was different.

Her mother did not understand but kept assuring that it would be okay.

The Saturday came and her daughter's friend came over.

She was a beautiful young girl of black-South African descent.

Finally, her mother thought she understood her daughter's concerns.

That night, when her daughter's friend was tucked away and asleep, her daughter came to her mother quietly.

''See mummy, I told you she was different,'' she whispered.

Before her mother could respond, her daughter continued.

''She wears glasses.''