Voices

From DIGITIZE (by Aferata) – People compliment my hair texture or tell me I’m “pretty for a Black girl,” as if being Black automatically means being less attractive. It’s a strange position to be in, being praised for features that others in my community are made to feel ashamed of. As a mentor of mine put it, “’Good hair’ and ‘pretty eyes’ were anything but what I am.”

From DIGITIZE (by Tsion) – Immigrant. It’s a word that has followed my family and I through airports, job applications, hospital waiting rooms. It has clung to documents, our accents, our silences.

From DIGITIZE (by Smyah) – I’ve always carried a sense of pride in my identity, or at least part of my identity. There was a time when I ran away from my heritage, from the parts of me that I didn’t understand or couldn’t accept. I denied the features that were passed down through generations: my angular eyebrows, the shape of my eyes, and the tip of my nose, all of which hold a genetic story I was uncomfortable claiming.

Read the pieces from 2024’s Story Gathering Sandbox!

From DIGITIZE (by Tenzin Lodoe) – A fun fact about me is that my sister and I share the same first name. We share this name with monks who came before and after us. We share this name with our cousins and our fellow Tibetans.

With just my name I could share with you the stories of the countless Tenzins who have embarked on a significant trajectory in the Free Tibet Movement.

From DIGITIZE (by Mateo Acuña) – On the first day of my History of Peru class, my professor passed out color pictures of a Spanish colonial era painting done in Peru. He told us that the image would no doubt appear baffling, but to get into small groups and generate theories about what it could mean.

From DIGITIZE (by Sonam Sherpa) – I live a good life, a life that some might envy. I have never struggled with anything—my parents made sure that I wouldn’t have to. My biggest concerns most days are studying for exams or deciding what to do with my free time. My life has been smooth sailing—no currents, no tides, no waves.

The same cannot be said of my parents.

From DIGITIZE (by Brenda Rodriguez) – Curanderos in my household are known as healers. My family opened me up to people with this gift. It wasn’t until I became older that I realized the concept wasn’t as familiar to the world around me.