Sophomore | Major: General Science | Minor: Spanish

Growing up biracial, I always had a hard time feeling secure in my own appearance because my curly, voluminous hair and slanted eyes never fit into the typical beauty standards. I felt alienated for looking different from everyone, and often I would try to mold myself into the unrealistic standards of beauty. Once I accepted my own beauty, I realized that looking and being different from everyone didn't have to be a bad thing. It's boring to look like everyone else! I am proud to celebrate my Black and Filipino background, and that my features don't resemble anybody else's but my own. I don't feel pressured to fit into this "box" of what beauty should look like, and I know that I am beautiful because I am unique.

Photograph by Jasmine Jackson