The Hard Way is What Saves You
In middle school, Yamini Rajan dealt with bullying, isolation, and a sick parent. Her mental health suffered, and destructive habits and self-harm nearly ended her life.
Category: Identity
Standing Firm Against Persecution
For as long as she can remember, her Asian features had made Hadia Sadiqi a target for ostracism in her native Afghanistan. Anyone who saw her knew instantly
A Rabbi After All: Fulfilling a Calling
By the time he was seven, Eliezer Schwartz had already learned that if he ran fast enough and threw a lot of stones, he could protect himself from the schoolyard […]
Finding Courage in the Unfamiliar
When Japhety Ngabireyimana landed in the United States at age nine, he thought he was seeing ghosts. “I was surrounded by a bunch of white people at the airport,”
From Conflict to Confidence
At just six years old, Heriberto Bolanos raised his hand to cross the border from Mexico into the United States under the powerful jets
Reconstructing How the Eyes See
Yukiyo Kawano’s art is all about space and the embodiment of intention, and how her worldview changes as she does. Kawano was born in Hiroshima, Japan in 1974.
Confronting Fear, Confronting Identity
Petrona Dominguez remembers being featured in her new school’s newspaper as one of the first Hispanics to enroll there. At the time,
Lighting the Way with Journalism
Super Typhoon Soudelor hit Saipan on Aug. 2, 2015, and the island went dark. At the time, Rachel Ramirez was studying at the University of Portland in Oregon.
From Homeless to a Grammy Award Win
For Denzel Mendoza, music has been what ties his life together. Mendoza was born in Singapore in 1996 and the family moved to the U.S. a few years later for […]
Writing Your Way Toward Who You Are
“That was when I became myself,” says Ramiza Koya, remembering the backpacking trip she took in India when she was 25 years old.
The Power of Working Together
“Being an immigrant is part of my identity,” says Fiona McCann. “Even though I am aware of my good fortune at passing as part of the dominant culture, I’m most
Finding Peace Within Identity
Until 2018, female drivers were banned in Saudi Arabia. “I had never been in the front seat of a car,” says Shereen Khoja. But when she went home in January […]
Assimilation and Nostalgia
When Deepak Kaul immigrated from his native Kashmir — territory disputed by India and Pakistan — to New Jersey at age 10, his family lived across the street from Annin […]
What Gives Us Power
“Sometimes it’s what we are most afraid of — or wish were different — in ourselves that gives us our power,” says young adult (YA) author Abdi Nazemian, describing the […]
Creating New Narratives
When Naskah Zada immigrated from Iraq to the U.S. in the fall of 1997, she was expecting to eat pizza in front of a big-screen television in either a mansion […]