“I left my home in East LA to come here for school and new opportunities. It was a big question mark in terms of, would I find people I could connect with? I just had to trust that I would.
Coming here, at first it was like, what am I doing here? I am first-generation college student and queer. I eventually met a crowd of people that helped me feel more comfortable expressing myself. Before we knew it, we were having weekly dinners and talking about what we cooked and where it came from. This network of people who were experiencing similar things began to create a network of mentorship. It kept growing and growing. They became my chosen family.
But my goal is to go back and help my community. We have been exposed to environmental issues that impact our health. We live in a food desert. Our healthcare system works against us. It all takes a toll on our mental health. I am learning about the systems that work against communities like the one I come from.
I am also learning to build movements through my activism in the Upper Valley. I am learning about the alternatives there are for people who resist change by saying, well, it’s always been like this. I think with activism there is a camp of people who do it because it is now Instagram-able, and then there is a camp of people who have no choice other than to be an activist. I feel myself being in the second camp because of where I come from and the people I love.
To me, activism means respecting the people who came before us who were either not able to speak or who spoke and faced serious consequences. It means building confidence in those times that it feels like I am not expert enough. And it means that with every ounce of my being, I can say something that matters.” -Yolanda Huerta
