They tell me to be proud,
but not too loud.
To know where I come from,
but still fit in.
My skin walks into a room
before I say a word.
Sometimes I wonder
what people see first.
I carry my family
in the way I speak,
the music I love,
the food I eat,
the stories I know.
I am learning
that I don’t have to choose
between where I come from
and where I’m going.
I can be both.
I can be many things.
And maybe growing up
is learning that
I was never supposed to fit
into only one world.
Kids Help Phone (KHP) is honoured to share creative content submitted by youth from coast to coast to coast as they Feel Out Loud with us. We thank the Feel Out Loud Community Creator of this piece for their contribution to youth mental health and well-being in Canada. For more information on the Feel Out Loud Community Creator Space and / or how you can submit your own creative content for possible publication, you can visit the submission page.
