Since I can remember, there’s been a conflict in the Middle East. In fact, the conflict in the Middle East surpasses any of our living memories and is engrained in the beautiful, Middle Eastern culture more than I think we, or even those who live there, will ever understand. The conflict between Israel and Palestine is a protracted conflict – meaning the people there only understand violence and retaliatory behavior, as that is what they have always…

Every once in a while, maybe even once in a lifetime, someone comes into your life, unexpectedly, and changes it forever. That happened to me in the Fall of 2001.

By this time, I had already gone back to school with my ultimate destination being theological school. A friend of mine was already in school at Boston University School of Theology and was taking a class with Elie Wiesel. When she told me this I simply asked if I could come and sit in on class with her as a guest.…

Ever been followed in TJ Maxx because you are not white? I have. Ever been told, “You aren’t Mexican, you are too light. You must be Spanish?” I have. Ever have your former in-laws complain about all the “stupid Mexicans” they encounter? I have. Ever have someone tell you, “Well, you are light-skinned, not like those dark-skinned Mexicans coming over the border – for all I care, they can all die out there?” I have.

The racism I have faced took me a while to understand. I first faced…

People think that a high school drop out, drops out because they get pregnant, or they use drugs, or they lack intelligence, or they are lazy. The fact is, that kids drop out of high school for various reasons, but mostly, I believe kids drop out of high school because they lack hope. I know this, because I am a high school drop out.

As a teenager, I was one angry young woman. I had a tumultuous childhood, growing up in an abusive, neglectful home, with a mom who left in seventh…