“I would advise my past self to love who you are and appreciate where you came from. My past self struggled a lot with identity, but more so with the groups I fit in with since I’m mixed and come from different backgrounds. I never felt like I fit in [with those groups], so I tried to fit in in other places. When I was younger I felt ashamed of being Hispanic because when I was by my family, that’s all they would point out. Most of my family is either just black or black and white, and I’m like four other things. I just felt like I didn’t fit in with being Hispanic. You know, I didn’t know anything about it [being Hispanic]. I just wanted to be seen as black, but I wasn’t seen as that either, so it was hard for me. I would just tell my younger self that it doesn’t really matter what race you are. What matters is who you are as a person,” Sr. Julia Calel Jones.
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Riley Zuniga • June 7, 2024
More than just a day This topic is sensitive to many, and the only reason I would ever post a story like this is to spread awareness. It's...
![Members of the high school PALs class volunteered at the color run.](https://thewestottawan.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/color.png)
As a crowd of Harbor Lights middle schoolers sprint past Jr. Ashlyn Stonick, she tosses pink, purple, and yellow powder into the air, motivating...
![A talent show was great for me in elementary school. Lets do it again in high school.](https://thewestottawan.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/av-talent.png)
Annemarie Vargas • June 6, 2024
As the stage lights dimmed and the murmurs of side conversations faded, all eyes were fixed on the girl standing at the center of the stage....
Humans of West Ottawa: The challenges of “fitting in”
February 22, 2024
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