“I am not my hair. I am not this skin. I am the soul that lives within.” –India Arie Porcelain. Sand. Honey. Olive. Maple. Deep Chocolate. Cinnamon. Mocha. Caramel. Bronze. These are a few of the names used to describe different shades of skin. When buying makeup, recognizing the microscopic gradients in skin color is…
How to Balance Cultural Identity
“We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race” – Kofi Annan How do you answer the question, “Where are you from?” Many respond by naming the place they grew up, or the country their passport is from. We tend to give a bite-sized version of…
Why it’s Important to Talk About Privilege and How it Impacts Us
“What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude.”― Brené Brown Privilege is a relatively new concept to me. On some level, I was aware that a pecking order exists in society based on one’s socio-economic status and physical appearance, but I had no idea how privilege determined the opportunities I had, compared to others. The everyday…
Diversity is Beautiful. Here’s Why.
“Strength lies in differences, not in similarities.” – Stephen Covey When we talk about diversity, we often think of a melting pot – a society where different types of people blend together as one. We see this in countries like the United States where multiculturalism has become the norm. People of different races and ethnic…
5 Ways to Bring Back the Simplicity of Old Times
“Some old-fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat.” – Laura Ingalls Wilder Being part of one of the last generations to enjoy a tech-free childhood, I had the good fortune to experience life without cell phones, the internet, or social media. I spent time playing outdoors with school friends. I played…
Why Healing Ourselves Will Heal Our Planet
“When we heal the Earth, we heal ourselves.” – David Orr Lately, it feels like the world is imploding. The aggressive Coronavirus has been spreading like a ferocious wildfire, leaving a trail of destruction and chaos wherever it goes. As a species, we’re facing a cataclysmic war, not between humans, but between humans and nature….
5 Ladylike Qualities Still Important Today
“The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.” – Audrey Hepburn The idea of femininity has drastically changed over the past century. Women have won their rights and have gained influence in almost every field. They have more opportunities for…
5 Ways to Connect With Your Heritage
“The heritage of the past is the seed that brings forth the harvest of the future”— Wendell Phillips No matter who we are or where we’re from, we have a story to tell. A big part of that story comes from our origins and the history passed down to us through generations. Humans come in…
How to Deal with Culturally Ignorant People
“There is nothing more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity” – Martin Luther King Jr. Have you ever encountered someone who judged or made an assumption about you based on your race, nationality, education, or socio-economic background? It’s certainly happened to me. Many times. I’ve been asked strange questions like if I rode camels…
How to Increase Your Global Fluency and Knowledge
“Local minded people will never understand global minded goals.” One of the first educational toys I received as a child was a world globe. I took great pleasure in spinning it on its axis and admiring the colors of each continent as they floated on the vast blue oceans. As a child, however, I never…
