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My Mother's side of the family is of Irish and Italian descent. My grandfather, who recently passed away, was Italian, and my grandmother, also from my mother's side, is Irish. My Dad's side of the family is Hispanic. We are a huge family. On my Dad's side, I have over 100 cousins. My grandmother, one of the matriarchs on my Father's side, was born in Nicaragua. However, the interesting thing is that my grandmother's maiden name is German, Fleusch. Her grandfather immigrated from Germany to Nicaragua, married my great-great-grandmother in Nicaragua, and became a clockmaker.

Even though I come from a long line of immigrants, I know I am very privileged because I am mostly white. Right now, in our political climate, I find that saying that you come from immigrants, you can either be met with admiration or disgust. I am proud of the fact that my family was so courageous and escaped their homeland to ensure that their children and grandchildren could have better lives. However, I know there is a lot of animosity towards immigrants in this country, and I will continue to be an advocate for immigration.

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Ever since I was a child, I have had an attraction to both men and women. Men were the stereotypical expectation, so I have always had crushes on men. However, I noticed as I was growing up that I have always felt more comfortable around women. I started having crushes on women around the time I entered high school, and I began to discover that there was another option for love beyond the stereotypical expectations. It also helped that I was being introduced to the LGBTQIA+ community at my fairly liberal-leaning high school. This part of my life helped me realize that my sexuality doesn't have to be put in a box, and I don't need to be afraid to love freely.

Bisexuality hasn't always been widely accepted. Even my mother, at one point in my life, said things like "I think bisexuality is just confusion." This can be very frustrating because people think that there is only black and white and nothing in between. Still, just like there are grey areas and moments of mixture in opinion, there are also grey areas and moments of mixture in sexuality. There is more to sexuality than the boxes we create. Some people can get specific and say they are gay or a lesbian, or they can be as vague as saying they are queer. Something I have found in my journey through my sexuality is that there is belonging in the labels as well as a lack of labels.

In this community, I find that I am privileged because I can at least partially fit the stereotypical mold, whereas others cannot. I also know that I am incredibly privileged because I am a white woman in this community and cannot begin to understand what it must be like to not only be in a minority sexually but also culturally.

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I still remember the day my psychiatrist told me I have Bipolar Disorder. Bipolar Disorder, by the Google definition, is "a mental health condition characterized by extreme mood swings between periods of mania (elevated mood) and depression." And the day that my psychiatrist explained it to me, I realized that it was able to encapsulate my mental health journey fully. I have moments of extreme anxiety and extreme depression, and I have never understood why. Why does my mind sabotage itself? Why can't I be normal? But I learned that it isn't my fault, and the only thing I can do is control how I treat it and how I move forward from my obstacles.

There is a massive stigma around Bipolar Disorder, and many people believe that it is a much more drastic switch between mania and depression. There were many people in my life who thought that Bipolar meant that I would have extreme anger as well as overly dramatic depressive episodes. But the truth is that Bipolar Disorder looks so different in every person. I am privileged because I can afford treatment, both therapeutic and pharmacological. Still, there are many people in this world suffering from this disease due to either 1. lack of knowledge, or 2. lack of financial ability, or both. I am fortunate that my family is very open about treating my mental health and that we have the means to support my treatment, but not everyone has that luxury.

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I was diagnosed with ADHD two years after I got my bipolar diagnosis. My whole life, my teachers would tell my mom that I should get tested for ADHD, but my family refused because my grades and understanding of material were advanced, and they didn't want to put me through such a drastic change. And for a while, I wasn't affected by it grade-wise. However, when I moved away to college, I had a hard time keeping up with my work and focusing in class. My psychiatrist finally decided to test me, and then I was diagnosed. The treatment helped me tremendously with productivity and motivation, and I finally felt like a good student.

Again, I am very privileged because my family is very supportive of my treatment, and they are also financially able to support me, but this isn't the case for everyone. However, as a woman, I experienced a relative lack of privilege because my doctors didn't feel that women could have ADHD, so I went through most of my adolescent life wondering why it was so hard for me to focus and get my work done before 2 am.

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Since the age of ten, I have always been bigger than everyone else. My parents were on me about my weight from a very young age, so I have always been very self-conscious. I now know, after a few years of therapy, that my size does not define me, and I should be accepting of every stage my body goes through. I have been on a weight loss journey for years now because when I was 21, my bloodwork showed that I had a fatty liver, which is incredibly dangerous. After all, it could lead to needing to get a liver transplant. Since then, I have been following a strict diet and an exercise plan to manage it, and I can say that my bloodwork has been clean for several years now. Because of this scare with my weight and body, I have had a hard time accepting the term plus-sized to describe myself, because I am actively trying to change my body, but again, I am learning to love my body in every stage that it is in.

I am very fortunate that when I was diagnosed with fatty liver disease, my family had the means to support me in getting me a gym membership and putting me on GLP-1. We can also afford healthier food. I know this is not the case with people who are not as financially able to support this. I am lacking privilege sometimes because my size always deems me the unattractive fat girl. I have also been diagnosed with PCOS, so it is tough for me to lose weight. When people say things like "it's easy to lose weight, just commit," I get very frustrated because my body doesn't work the same as everyone else's.

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My sex has always been something that I am proud of. I have never faltered in knowing that I am a woman and am pleased to be one. Not only am I a female, but I am also a feminist. I stand up for women's rights to their bodies, the ability to vote, and the ability to do anything they set their minds to.

I understand that this feeling of certainty in my sex is not something everyone has the privilege to have. Many people in this world are born as men but identify as women, and I will never begin to understand the feeling of not being in the right body. I lack privilege in the sense that many men who, unfortunately, govern the world, believe that women should only strive to marry and have children. Which is something I will always fight against. My freedom as a woman and as a feminist is very important to me, and I hope that one day the world will recognize that including women in the equation will only strengthen their cause.

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I grew up very Christian. I attended church on Sundays and went to Bible camp every summer. However, as I have matured, I have realized that Christianity is not something I mesh with, and I prefer a spiritual practice that includes more metaphysical aspects. I only recently started identifying myself as a witch, but I have never been happier with my incense and crystals.

Thankfully, my immediate family is very supportive of my decision to start dabbling in witchcraft. However, I have been told many times by my parents that I can't say to my grandparents or other family members because they see witchcraft as the devil's work. It's very frustrating because I want to share my practice on social media, but I am unable to do it in case one of my family members finds the account and then leads the conversation with "I'll pray for you." Which, trust me, is nowhere near as supportive as people think it is.