Diana Patino
Armorless I have never been harassed for my ethnicity in my life. I look into the mirror every morning during my daily routine. No one would ever know I am Hispanic from a glance. My pale face and straight hair deceive many. Not until I open my mouth and trill my R’s do people even realize I am an “other.” I can hide amongst the crowd. I do not want to hide amongst the crowd. You could say I’m lucky. My sister is just a few shades darker than me, and she and her friends get stopped by the police, but I don’t. She gets recognized by other Hispanics as a friend and gets spoken to in Spanish. I don’t. You could say I’m unlucky that way. This morning, I focused my attention away from my European-looking features and went back to deciding my outfit for the day. I settled on a plain black shirt, a floor-length red skirt with white accents, and an eye-catching white scarf with red accents, which I tied to my waist. I took two red ribbons and braided them into my hair in two pigtails. To match my armor, I applied red lipstick as my war paint. I refuse to hide amongst the crowd.
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