Ginann Part 1

“I’m Lebanese born in Canada. I don’t speak Arabic well, language isn’t something that has come easy to me. Even learning French in high school was a stretch. Yea I’ve gotten called white washed but that’s not true. I’ve been active quite literally my whole life. I would come from school and go outside, so it was normal as a kid. As I grew up I didn’t have the luxury financially to join competitive teams.I’m an athlete at heart. When grade 12 came to I wanted to play rugby and that’s where the issue started for my parents. To them basketball and soccer were fine because they weren’t “manly” sports in my parents eyes.I started powerlifting because I could train on my own time, I could drive myself and afford to compete because I was working two jobs, I didn’t have anything challenging me EXCEPT cultural stuff. Nobody knew about me training until I was like “you know what I’m going to post this on Instagram even though I have family on insta.” And this was my way of slowly coming out and saying yep I power-lift. The way it was received well it was mixed reactions.”

Andrea Part 1

"From grade 5-7 I had a lot of self-esteem issues. All my friends were predominantly white and had straight hair even my sisters had naturally straight hair, we actually have different dads. I thought my hair was gross and I hated it. In grade 7, I hated my hair so much that I kept it in a bun for the entire year. I actually had to chop off the bun eventually because it became a knot. It was HORRIBLE,I remember crying to my older sister saying that I hate myself, I hate my hair , I hate my face. I looked different from everyone else. I have bigger lips, curly hair, darker skin. My older sister though told me " I honestly would kill to have your hair and would pay thousands to be able to have your hair, and you don't even like it." In grade 8 I slowly began liking it. My mom had realized that I really needed help and had to learn how to take care of my hair.."

Srikesh Part 1

"Growing up, home and school were really separated I mean like it was like having two different lives. I grew up on hip-hop/rap, DMX, OH and Fresh Prince of Bel-Air raised me! But when you come home it's a different life in a way. As I child I'd have to sing and do Poojas. But to me it just seemed like I was a puppet to all the older adults, something for them to feel proud about.But they never stopped to think,if I understood what I was singing. Yes we could pronouce everything correctly in the language but there was a disconnect. If I could go back in time and do it all over again, I would say I'd still want to learn it but would want the explanation of the storyline and the meaning.But it's ironic.. since it's in Sanskrit my parents didn't fully get the meaning either, but for them it's that sense of belief, which again could be my own disconnect.."

Rachel Part 2

"When my grandpa was actually here, the government took away the cultural aspect of things, when they had the Japanese Internment camps. So he had his farm and livelihood and everything taken away in BC. He came to Hamilton and had to rebuild his life essentially but they had the United church to keep that cultural aspect. My grandpa was a sweet man and I loved hanging out with him, so I never really brought up that particular part of his life because he had gone through so much. Being biracial or a mixed child has made me more open and more accepting, because I have lived my whole life with the two cultures. I feel that has allowed me to be way more open in listening to others about things like their ethnicity, culture or religion."

Sharon Part 1

Arriving to a new country at the age of 5, surely aided in this whole ongoing identity crisis portion of my life. The exact moment I realized things were different was when I went back to visit my grandparents in Kerala for the first time at the age of 12. We were shopping...obviously. To my surprise without even speaking a word the sales rep knew I wasn't from there. Keep in mind I didn't even open my mouth to speak the native language which would've given it away since I had an English accent while trying to speak it.I questioned that assumption because even though I looked Indian, and was born there, to the sales rep I was not from there. It was probably at that moment I realized I was somewhere in the middle of a cultural gradient; because to me I'm Canadian but also Indian."