Represent Magazine

• Learning From My Mistakes

  by Leroy Chen

  On my first day of elementary school, my mother dressed me and gave me a warning. “Be careful who you hang out with. Especially brown and Black people. They’re not known for good things. They do bad things in the streets.”

• Breaking Free of My Mom to Be My Real Self

  by Miles Dale

  I first realized that my mom’s violence wasn’t normal one day when I was 7. My mom got drunk, which I’d seen before. I’d seen her physically attack people too, but this time was worse. She pulled me out from underneath the couch by my ponytails.

• Making Family Where You Find It

  by Leroy Chen

  When Covid shut down New York City in March 2020, I lost my home. I was part of the FCSI/Dorm Project, a program that lets college students in care stay in dorms year-round. Most of us suddenly left the dorms, and I moved in with a new foster family.

• I’m Ready to Move Into My Adult Life

  by Anonymous

  Since I came to the United States, I’ve been pushed off track from my goal of studying at a college over and over. I had already graduated high school back in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) before I had to flee political violence without my family.

• To Protect My Foster Dad, To Get Back in the Classroom, To See My Friends’ Faces Again: Why I Got the Vaccine

  by Vinay Hinduja

  Until the pandemic, I never realized how important it was to see faces. Having to wear masks leaves us in a weird spot where we can’t tell what people are feeling, which makes me feel disconnected. I also miss hanging out with friends without having to worry about our health.

• Almost Derailed by the Pandemic

  by Vinay Hinduja

  Last year I was in the spring semester of my junior year at Queens College when COVID-19 shut school down. At first, I was excited that I wouldn’t have to wake up early for class anymore. Then I found out I was getting kicked out of the dorm—which was my home.