“Despite this, everyone in the community quickly accepted our little unit for who we were—a young girl and an older woman bonded by fierce love and tragedy.”

“I am grateful for all the lessons I have learned this year, and for being pushed to be the best version of myself possible”

“I consider myself very lucky to have grown up here and, looking back, I appreciate my identity.”

“Taking a leap of faith with others has always given me the most beautiful and meaningful surprises in life.”

If someone comes in and says, “I have never been in a museum before,” I always tell them they have come to the right place.”

“I have dedicated most of my life to the pursuit of education, and that has led to some of my greatest experiences and hardest challenges.”

“I was ready for a change by the time we moved away.”

“Living in the Upper Valley has given me the opportunity to pursue my passion for picking and give other artists a space to share their work.”

“Like others who migrated at an early age, I was not identifying with this culture, nor did I feel safe to identify fully with the culture I came from”

“I am there to provide that environment where they can hear and speak Chinese.”

“Coming here, at first it was like, what am I doing here? I am first-generation college student and queer.”

“I build relationships with people when I paint with them or when they come into Long River Gallery, where I recently became co-owner.”

“Being a Black person at an HBCU, living with the history and passions of your university, snaps you into shape.”

“I have been walking all the town and state roads from end to end every year for 8 years now. “

“I have dedicated my life to organizing against systems that harm all of us.”

“Ever since high school, I was interested in art.”

“As a single parent, I am a model for my children to observe and think about for themselves.”

“The biggest risk I have taken was opening a business in a time of economic uncertainty.”

“My approach to Islam is radical in that it is about unconditional love.”

“The first steps I ever took were onto a dance floor.”

“I’ve learned to use my voice a lot more.”

“When my mom was killed, I was catapulted into a spiritual perspective.”

“I want my son to take good care of himself.”

“It’s crazy how the scariest moments can turn into the best memories.”

“I have always been passionate about theater.”

“The whole time that we have been here I have felt that significance, relevance, and purpose.”

“This is the only reality I’ve ever known.”

“There were a lot of feelings of helplessness, but I also had incredible feelings of hope.”

“The biggest obstacle for me was coming out as gay.”

“It was 25 years ago when I found out that my first child couldn’t hear.”

“We weren’t the kids who got the new bike on Christmas.”