JT

For me the project spoke to what it meant to be of mixed ethnicity in America. From the moment I arrived in this country at five years old, I was teased relentlessly for not knowing English and having a foreign name. Growing up I was always connected to being Nicaraguan, being Japanese, being black, connected to these cultures equally but often I was put in a box.
I couldn't be all of these. I had to choose or the choice would be made for me. Most of the time I was just a “Spanish” kid or a “Black” kid. I suppose my physical traits aren't overwhelmingly Asian. I've grown up dealing with racial stereotyping and racial slurs. I've grown up living the black experience while simultaneously living the brown experience. all while feeling equally Asian.
I feel that society has tried to make me choose a side, a culture, and even if I were to do so, I would never be accepted because I wasn't Hispanic enough or black enough or Asian enough. What I have learned, though, is I am enough, I am enough of everything I am to be accepted, my people who love me and as much as society wants me to choose, I will never. I will continue to represent every part of me., and I will continue to break out of every box I am put in until they see me for who I am.