I was drawn to Target's book aisle and moved toward the Young Adult section while holding my younger sister's hand. As I read the blurb for Shadow and Bone, I heard two older women laughing as they passed, one of whom said, "I wonder which one is adopted," just loud enough for me to hear. I was shocked. From the outside, my sister appears Hispanic, just like my mom, but I look like your average white girl with fair skin and green eyes. I was aware that because I'm half Colombian and half Israeli, my family is very different from others. I learned at a young age that we had distinct traditions, rules, and ways of thinking; but it wasn't until that day that I understood that most people base their judgments on what they see from the outside. As I grew older, I started to understand that other people share the same lack of cultural sensitivity as the two women at Target. In the weeks and months after that incident, I often thought back to that moment and other similar experiences. I couldn’t help but feel ashamed of my heritage and how I looked—even within my own family. When I visited my family in Colombia, they would call me a gringa because I look like an American, but even though I went along with the joke, I never found it funny. My self-esteem suffered and I felt like I didn’t belong. When I was given the opportunity to join the ethnic studies committee in my city as a sophomore, I applied right away. I wanted to change things at my school and help other kids who have faced microaggressions or discrimination by educating students about other cultures. I wanted to do my best to help because combating cultural ignorance can help to eliminate prejudice and biases towards minority groups. As a committee member, I helped create a curriculum that highlights the history and traditions of the different minority groups within our community. We made sure to include the Shoshone tribe, who originally inhabited the area that is now the city of Glendora in our curriculum. In this course, students will not only be learning the history of their city, but will also get to learn about their traditions through hands-on projects like creating models of their tipis. Now, due to my efforts, this will be a required curriculum at my high school starting in the 25-26 school year. During my time in the committee I've learned a lot about all the diverse people and cultures that exist within my community. As the only student who applied for this committee, I get to work with people from all ages and all backgrounds. We often engage in discussions about microaggressions we have faced, why being part of the curriculum-making process was important to us, pitch curriculum ideas, and as the student liaison I would share student opinions from our high school with the people on the committee. I don't want anyone else to feel the same way I did at Target. I know that being a part of this committee is a small but significant step for me to relate to and support members of disadvantaged groups. I can make sure that those who are different from me have their opinions heard and their rights upheld by actively listening to and learning from them. By promoting equal access to justice, fighting structural prejudice, and working to build a more just society, I aim to combat the racial biases, not only in my community, but in the world around me.

I was drawn to Target's book aisle and moved toward the Young Adult section while holding my younger sister's hand. As I read the blurb for Shadow and Bone, I heard two older women laughing as they passed, one of whom said, "I wonder which one is adopted," just loud enough for me to hear. I was shocked. From the outside, my sister appears Hispanic, just like my mom, but I look like your average white girl with fair skin and green eyes. I was aware that because I'm half Colombian and half Israeli, my family is very different from others. I learned at a young age that we had distinct traditions, rules, and ways of thinking; but it wasn't until that day that I understood that most people base their judgments on what they see from the outside. As I grew older, I started to understand that other people share the same lack of cultural sensitivity as the two women at Target. In the weeks and months after that incident, I often thought back to that moment and other similar experiences. I couldn’t help but feel ashamed of my heritage and how I looked—even within my own family. When I visited my family in Colombia, they would call me a gringa because I look like an American, but even though I went along with the joke, I never found it funny. My self-esteem suffered and I felt like I didn’t belong. When I was given the opportunity to join the ethnic studies committee in my city as a sophomore, I applied right away. I wanted to change things at my school and help other kids who have faced microaggressions or discrimination by educating students about other cultures. I wanted to do my best to help because combating cultural ignorance can help to eliminate prejudice and biases towards minority groups. As a committee member, I helped create a curriculum that highlights the history and traditions of the different minority groups within our community. We made sure to include the Shoshone tribe, who originally inhabited the area that is now the city of Glendora in our curriculum. In this course, students will not only be learning the history of their city, but will also get to learn about their traditions through hands-on projects like creating models of their tipis. Now, due to my efforts, this will be a required curriculum at my high school starting in the 25-26 school year. During my time in the committee I've learned a lot about all the diverse people and cultures that exist within my community. As the only student who applied for this committee, I get to work with people from all ages and all backgrounds. We often engage in discussions about microaggressions we have faced, why being part of the curriculum-making process was important to us, pitch curriculum ideas, and as the student liaison I would share student opinions from our high school with the people on the committee. I don't want anyone else to feel the same way I did at Target. I know that being a part of this committee is a small but significant step for me to relate to and support members of disadvantaged groups. I can make sure that those who are different from me have their opinions heard and their rights upheld by actively listening to and learning from them. By promoting equal access to justice, fighting structural prejudice, and working to build a more just society, I aim to combat the racial biases, not only in my community, but in the world around me.