ISABELA PERUVIAN
“Everywhere you go, kids can be mean.” “In school, classmates openly expressed their opinions about me and made fun of the ‘weird’ way I spoke. Hearing me translate Spanish into English and jumbling phrases into things like ‘house brown’ or ‘car big’ would usually provoke much laughter. After that, I became extremely self-conscious. To this day, I still check myself before I say anything, like, ‘Is this cool to say? Is this going to make me fit in?'” Isabela added, “Embracing my culture. I realized it’s what makes me unique. Embracing who we are is what leads us home.” GL