Stories of Resilience
UNBREAKABLE
Photo and prose by Favor Enoyhama, age 19
My 'Nigerianness ' makes me strong because it is a reminder of who I am. It's a beacon of hope, a reminder that I am who I am. Nigerians have main character syndrome. If you ask our West African neighbors in Ghana, Togo, and Benin they will tell you that Nigerians are too proud and that we are full of ourselves. In a lot of ways, we are. As a collective, we think we are the salt of the earth, the light of the world, and the pillar on which the world rests.
But there is a strength in that pride
There is a strength that Nigerians feel in proclaiming our identity as Nigerians. We are very proud of our rich culture, hustle, and our ability to make anything out of nothing.
Nigerians are fighters, the harsh conditions of Nigeria make it so that we have no choice but to fight. Nigeria as a place serves as a physical conception of who I am and why I have become. My civic mission revolves around my conception of Nigeria as a place that is home but a home that brings me pain.
I am part of the Soro Soko generation, I speak up, I fight, and I am unbreakable.
My 'Nigerianness' makes me strong because it is a reminder of all the people rooting for me; a community of fighters that are ready for change.
EXPECTATIONS
Photo and poem by ZL, age 18
My womanhood makes me strong because… everyone expects different things from me and I constantly am trying to
fulfill all of them.
Being a mother, being independent, being in love, being comfortable alone,
being successful, not abandoning my true womanhood.
And as I said, everyone expects
something different out of my womanhood but at the end of the day
it's mine.
I can express my femininity how
I want.
Doubt creeps in,
can I really?
The wage gap misogyny, the
rate of sexual harassment.
I can be who I want,
so can anyone.
But not without fear.
What could happen to me if I
simply defy the expectations of
one man or woman?
It could hurt me, it could educate me, it could make me strong.
BEWARE, A SMART WOMAN IS CLOSER THAN SHE SEEMS
Photo and prose by Madelawit Takele, age 16
My blackness makes me strong because it’s me. It’s who I am. It defines me but I also define it. Who says I can’t be strong, emotional, smart, and hardheaded? I am black and it defines me. “Wait how is she here? Is she lost; this is an honors class?” I define it. I am here top of my class, all A’s, I cry and am vulnerable while also being confident and loud. Who am I? I am so many things, but I am also black. Beware, a smart woman is closer than she seems … Who I am makes me who I am, a concept it took me awhile to grasp.
RESILIENCE
Photo and prose by CTD, age 19
My Blackness makes me strong because it has taught me resilience. It is not easy being Black in America, being Black in a country that was built on the enslavement of people who look like me. It isn’t easy being Black in a country with racism so deeply embedded in everything it has to “offer.” Ever since I was younger, I feel like I have known about racism, known about the ugly truths that this country often tries to hide from students. Coming from a pre-k that was established by the NAACP, I knew about racism. I knew about segregation, I knew about Martin Luther King Jr., I knew about Rosa Parks… the basics. Coming from an elementary school that was not predominantly Black, I knew what it was like to experience racism from a young age.
SURVIVABILITY
Photo and prose by Alejandro Recio, age 19
Being Hispanic means I am hard-working and never give up. I grew up with stories of my family undergoing immense hardships, with nothing going for them. However, they never let the pressure get to them and eventually achieved their goals. This to me represents the biggest strength my people have, survivability: the ability to endure anything and make your dreams a reality. As the newest generation of my family, I hold these attributes as well.