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I was born a little over a year after 9/11 and the tragedy of what happened was always something that was present throughout my life. Although I wasn't alive and was a little removed form the events that happened, the gravity of the violence and the hate that came afterwards engrained itself on how I saw violence in the world
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I was young when my little brother was born but my parent were quick to set boundaries of me vs them in regards to what they wanted me to do and like (princesses, pink, dolls, etc) and what my brother brothers were encouraged to like (baseball/basketball, cars, blue, etc). Being surrounded by the rejection of feminine things because of the increase of boys in the house made me start to think that I should also reject feminine things
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I was officially old enough to start taking care of myself more and along with the birth of another kids in the family, my parents thought that putting more responsibility on me to take care of my siblings (specifically the baby). I was taught to take care of others like a mother and found myself feeling responsible for my siblings despite the fact that I was still a kid myself.
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I was only introduced into something that i was passionate about but i knew hat it was something that i wanted to be a part of my life forever. opportunities to perform in my middle school were very small and restricted to the 7th and 8th because of funding so I tried out everything I could in an attempt to get more experience with something that I cared about.
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my middle school's theater club went to perform at a teaching convention where our superintendent talked about Lawrence compared to the other public school districts around it and to advocate for more funding towards the arts. This was my first time comparing myself to the white communities around Lawrence and found myself feeling insecure about where I came from
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I have always lived in a community full of Dominicans and Puerto Ricans and never stayed in a community where I was the minority. This new environment would lead me to learning about important parts of my own identity and how to advocate for myself and my community when we were ignored.
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This was also my first time going to a school where money for different programs wasn't a problem and opportunities to try new things were everywhere. Most of the students were wealthy and came from communities that had a lot of money. They often acted as if my family also had the benefits of the generational wealth they were able to experience because of theirs. I come from a middle class family and was often thought to have been on full scholarship with some of the other students of color.
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This was my first time being surrounded by other women of color while performing and creating an inclusive and accepting space. I met amazing mentors and learned about activism through theater. I was never in a space that talked about the experiences of women of color and how to make change but also acted a a way to heal. This show started a spiritual journey where I would reflect and eventually consider rejecting what I took granted and accepted as truth because of my upbringing.
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although it was my first time directing a short play, I wanted it to mean something important to me and decided to direct a play about a heterosexual couple and cast them as a lesbian couple instead. some people were uncomfortable but i wanted to put a relationship onstage that I knew that i could relate to. Having people react in a way that rejected what I directed was really disheartening but pushed me towards wanting to direct more shows about characters that are marginalized.
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an epidemic spreads quickly throughout the world but the US refuses to take proactive measure to protect the lives of its citizens and acknowledge how the governing and capitalistic system that it relies on is unsustainable. with the presidential election coming up and bigotry becoming more transparent in politics, America starts to have more and more people speaking out about change and how to go about it