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I did the red, white and blue because I was born in the U.S.A and I have a lot of family in the military! I put the Italian flag because I am Italian, and it was a big part of me when now and when I was growing up. I have a group of people in the corner because I have a big family, and they helped me become the person I am today. I have the quote in the corner " She believes she could change the world, so she became a teacher" because this quote motivated me since I was younger to be a teacher, and it still does. I have an apple because I want to be a teacher since I was younger. I have the little stairs with me on top. The stairs say " dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia because they have been may challenge I have had to climb my whole life to get where I am now.

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I chose to model my flag after the American Flag because I am a proud American. I wrote my name at the top because I am proud of who I am. The next like I have the ESPN logo for two reason. One, its headquarters are in CT, and I am from CT. Secondly, I enjoy sport. They have been a huge part of my life ever since I was little. The next line I have a football and my favorite college (Ohio State)/NFL team(Giants). Football has have huge impact on my life and I wouldn't be who I am today without it. Next I have my two professions, Coaching Football, and aspiring to be a teacher. Then I have have all the schools I have attended, Quinnipaic, Franklin Pierce University, and Seymour High School. Lastly, I ended with quote that means always strive, never be afraid to fail .

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I took the CT emblem from the CT state flag . I have lived in CT most of my life. Not born here but moved here when I was just 3, raised here, moved away for a few years and returned in my late 20s. Now I have raised my family here and truly consider it my home and part of my identity. I added my own motto. Those who know me hear me say all the time "Be kind, everyone has stuff". I just mean that everyone has a story, a history and something going on that is not showing on the outside. You just never know what someone is going through. My three hearts are symbols for community, peace and family. These are my pillars, I guess. When i was done, i looked at it and thought it looked kind of like a cat, which is funny, because i love cats! So i added some whiskers and ears at the top!

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I first decided to make the background yellow because it's always been a color I think represents my personality, it's been my favorite color. The color of my room, various articles of clothing, things I buy etc. In the corners of my flag I have the four mascots that have really shaped me into the person I am today. In the top left I have a panther which represents my highschool. The top right and bottom left are my colleges (UVM catamounts, and QU Bobcats). Then on the bottom right I have a bear named Cubby which is the mascot of the child care center where i first realized I wanted to become a teacher. I still work there when I'm home to remind myself what I've done, and what I strive to be in the future. In the heart of it all, is my family who really keep my heart beating. They are my motivation to be my best self. Some other photos I have are traditions both old and new I participate in like family like taking our dog with us to the tree farm during Christmas, going to UVM hockey games, and camping. (My flag is a google doc with the link below- I thought it would be interesting to do it virtually.)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K9SAWc-bQjITTloWEcoS5UG_ohFZO4VtZ6oWdkzngTY/edit?usp=sharing

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I divided my flag into 3 sections. The top left section, symbolizes where I grew up, Hamden, CT, all my life. I listed the schools that I attended in Hamden, that helped shape me to be the person I am today, academically and socially. I listed our slogan, Land of the Sleeping Giant, because though I do not like hiking or being out in the woods, that is a major part of Hamden's history and a major attraction for our town. #HamdenStrong is our latest hashtag in support of us coming out on top of things, during this crazy and uncertain time we are in right now. To the right of that, are three important symbols, one is the apple, because I am passionate about teaching and that is well known symbol for teachers. I probably should've colored it green because I don't like red apples but red is also my favorite color. The next symbol in that block is the New York Giants logo, for my love of football. Though they are not always a team to bet on, they are my team and I bleed blue and white for them. Finally in that block is the HBCU logo, which represents the 101 Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands. While I did not finish my undergrad at an HBCU, I did start my collegiate years at, The Tennessee State University, in Nashville, TN, which presented me with an abundant amount of opportunities, while also showing me a new side of life. I will forever be grateful for my time spent there and all of the doors that institution continues to open up for me today. Finally, the last block, which is the biggest block, represents family. To me family is everything and it is the strongest support system that I have ever encountered. My mother has over 25 brothers and sisters, which makes for a large amount of extended family members that I have, but more intimately, my family consists of my mother, Sylvia; my brother, Kieyshon; and my niece Kieyshona. They mean more than anything to me and I would do whatever it takes to make sure they are safe and happy.

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I choose to make my flag more focused on the people and experiences that have shaped who I am. Each flower is a tattoo that I have, they are a birth flower for the months of my family members. Mom, Dad, both brothers, nephew, aunt and grandma are all represented with these four flowers. These are important to me not only because they are tattooed on my body but because family has always been a key part of my life. I also included the gym, referee stripes and my two best friends. These to me are all key aspects of my life, that include interests that have shaped who I am today.!

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My flag has people holding hands at the top because when I think of who I am I think of the people in my life who are supportive of me, such as my friends and family. It also has a picture of music because music has always been a big part of my life. Everyone in my family is a musician and we spend a lot of time making music together. I also put a pencil and paper to reflect the importance of learning and teaching in my life. I am an environmentalist, so I put the Earth on my flag as well. Finally, I have a garden in the center because I love getting outside and growing things. I think gardens are a great way be creative, build community, learn, and take care of the Earth, so it really brings all four of the things in the corners together.

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I decided to make my flag very personalized to how I grew up vs. what my values are as an adult. On the bottom, you can see the white picket fence on my head — showing that I was raised in a very traditional American family setting. My family is very close minded (though, I do give them credit for opening their mind as time goes on) and religious. They think that time matters in the sense that you must get married and have kids by a certain age. They have the traditional mindset that men are the moneymaking powerhouses in the family. My parents also think that every couple should have children, and are EXTREMELY confused when couples don’t have children. They often refer to them as “dumb millennials” when they have liberal views like that or with equality. Something else I put a picture of is that everyone is the same. Everyone goes to work, comes home, has dinner and goes to bed. There’s nothing new. Everyone is the same and “that’s just how life is.”

As I’ve grown older, I’ve always been the outcast in my family who believed in equal rights between the LGBTQ+ community, men and women and every culture. I’m not one to follow the crowd and have learned to think for myself, rather than letting others think for me. I have a boyfriend and we talk quite often how we do not want children. We are happy with our relationship and don’t need to have children. I’m extremely open minded and love to hear new ideas from everyone and everything to change my perspective on things. I love to travel to new places and have been to Thailand, France and Spain. My family goes on their typical Caribbean vacation every year and are afraid to go anywhere other than the US because they don’t know how to deal with the culture shock.

I LOVE my family more than anything in this world, and am so insanely grateful I was raised the way I was raised because I wouldn’t think the way I do now if I wasn’t.

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I started with a rainbow background for my flag, because my identity with the LGBT+ community is the biggest part of my cultural identity; it shapes a lot of my relationships and serves as a frame for how I look at things. In the middle, I have a picture of my family from last Christmas, because they are the most important part of my life; it's as many of us as I could find in one picture. It's been nice being out of undergrad and back closer to where I can see them more often!
I added the town seal for Hamden, where I grew up, because even though I don't live there anymore, I still consider it home. On the left, I included the Portuguese, Italian, and Irish flags, because there's a lot of debate in my family about which one is the most important and relevant. Along the bottom are little representatives of all of the pets in my immediate family (Henry the dog, Luke and Leia the cats, Hummus and Olive the rats, and Pepsi the fish, in that order).
In the top right hand corner, I added the husky from UConn, because I just graduated, so it still feels like part of my identity. I added some music notes and a violin/viola because music was a big piece of my schooling experience. I had to put in an iced coffee because it didn't feel right if I didn't (haha).
All of these little pieces make up what I feel like represents me and my family. I think, because my family doesn't have one culture that we feel super connected to, picking out these little things helped form more of an idea of what my identity might be made up of.

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One of my favorite numbers is the number three, so I decided to do three groups of three things that have created who I am today.

The first group of three is a group of three cities.  The furthest left is Syracuse, New York.  I spent 16 years of my life there and it is where I consider my "Hometown" to be, even if my parents no longer live there.  It is where I have all of my childhood memories and where I have so many close family and friends that I miss regularly.  It is one of the few places that I want to travel to on a regular basis for no other reason than to see family.  The middle city is New York City where I went through some of the hardest times of my life there.  I am grateful for the time that I spent there, even if I did not want to be there when I was.  If I hadn't moved there in my teenage years, I would have not had the experiences necessary to get me to Boston.  I created some of my deepest relationships in my five years there and of course met my husband and where our relationship really started.

My next group of three is a group of three quotes that inspire me every day.  The first is part of a Bible scripture that I try to stick to, and the other two follow along the same lines.  I struggle with anxiety and so sometimes need to be reminded of the strong person that I am .

My final group of three is three people who inspire me and have shaped my life. The first one is my mom (and my dad, but my picture with my mom fit better). My parents have given up so much that I know about and so much that I don't know about in order to let me have the life that I have today and I couldn't be more grateful for it. The middle picture is my best friend since diapers. We were actually 16 months old when we met for the first time and we've been inseperable for the most part since that first day. We have gone through a lot together and the experiences we shared really opened my eyes and made me reshape my beliefs and motivations. The last picture is of my husband who managed to turn me into a romantic who understands life a lot better now that I have another person to share it with.

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For my flag, I drew images that make me happy and that represent me. I drew water with a boat because I grew on a lake. I have lived here my whole life and it is a big part of me. The next images I drew is a flower and the sun. I love being outside when the sun is shining and spending time with my family outdoors. I drew the flower because every since I was a kid, my mom and I would always work outside to make our front yard landscape beautiful. Flowers  also symbolize love and happiness and those are two big parts of my life. I drew a big W because that is my school logo, I grew up in Wolcott and have lived here every since. Wolcott is my home. Finally, I drew an Italian flag to show that my family comes from an Italian background and we follow many of the traditions and values that an Italian family follows.

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In the middle of my flag is the latin quote "Esse Quam Videri," which was the motto of my sorority. It means "To be, rather than to seem to be." It means that you should always be your most authentic self, and to actually be about what you're talking about.
In the left corner, there is a picture of Marie from the Disney movie the Aristocats, and her famous quote "Because I'm a lady, that's why." Disney is one of my favorite things in the world, and Marie is one of my favorite characters. To me, this quote is deeper than face value. I like to use this quote because women often get judged for anything they do. Women are constantly criticized for their choices and no matter what they do there's a label for it. Being "basic" or "not like other girls," being "too thin" or "too big," women can really never win. So I like to use this quote whenever someone questions my choices, I do it because "I'm a lady, that's why." I have eyelashes next to this quote because I love girly things (because I'm a lady, thats why ;)

Underneath that picture, is a picture that says "be a good human" which is something that I say a lot. I always think that people should try to live every day just being a good human and asking themselves "what would a good human do?" I have teacups next to that because I love tea and antique looking teacups.
Next to that is a picture of the constellation Scorpius, because I'm really into astrology (and I'm a scorpio) and spirituality in that way.
I have books because I really love to read and to learn and classic literature has really shaped a lot of my philosophies about life, especially Camus' "The Stranger."
Next to that I have a quote from the Fleetwood Mac song "Rhiannon," that really just talks about doing what you want in your life and living your life with conviction. I have pointe shoes next to it because I was a dancer for 15 years!
Above that picture I have a symbol of intersectional feminism, which is something that I have been passionate about for a long time.

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My flag a representation of three important parts of me. It has a red heart because I am both Italian and Polish, and red is from both of those nations' flags. I take pride in my heritages because my grandparents brought over the culture with them and it is how we celebrate almost every day now as a family. The next symbol is a paw print, because I love animals and have a fur baby of my own. His needs are my first priority. The last image is an apple orchard, because I grew up in a farm town with apple orchards and growing up in this town is a huge part of my identity. Everyone in it is part of my community and my past.

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My parents were both born in Portugal and moved here when they were about 18 years old to work and start a family. When people ask me what I am I always say 100% Portuguese. My family means everything to me and we've been extremely close our entire life. As the cousins grow older, we started living and doing things on our own but still remain close to each other at heart. Family outings are the best. Friends also mean a lot to me, both family friends and my friends. I'd do absolutely anything for the ones I love. I have a very caring personality in general, but my friends and family are my top priority. Portuguese food is the best and my mom was really good at making it growing up. We always ate so much food and I've been to Portugal so many times to know it's even better when I eat it there. Soccer is the biggest sport in Portugal and I was the only one of three sisters who played it all the way through High School. It was a huge part of my life and my family bonded over it too.I chose to add a picture of me and the newest addition to the family, my nephew Cameron. He is my world. I never thought I could love someone so much. He teaches me so much everyday since I get the honor of living with their growing family. Lastly, I added working out cause it's something that helps me a lot with some of mental health concerns and I think it can represent work ethic too. Portuguese people are known as "hard workers" and I strive to be just that.

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I included a book in the flag because I enjoyed reading fantasy novels for fun during my free time. I think it’s very interesting and entertaining to explore the new worlds and the new lives described by different authors.
I had a variety of colors in the background because I want to make it look colorful.
I left a white hole in the middle of the flag because I think it’s important to be open minded. Be ready to listen to what other people have to say and be ready to take views/culture from other people’s perspectives into consideration. This way people will be able to understand each other better and avoid some conflicts caused by the misunderstandings.

I included a picture of two people holding hands because I think I can never get this far without the support other people gave me. I really appreciated what other people have done for me and valued the connections I have with them.

I included a heart in the flag because I think it’s really important to be caring and empathetic. Everyone has a time when they are feeling down. Sometimes a caring/supportive message can make a big difference in other people’s lives.

Lastly, I included a rubber band in the flag because I think it’s important to be flexible like the rubber band. Life can be difficult from time to time so we need to make ourselves flexible to better adjust to whatever that comes at us.

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For my flag I decided to use an image from a recent family Zoom we had. I felt this was a good representation because one of the most important things in my life is my strong ties with my family. For this Zoom we all got together for a glass of wine which mirrors a lot of what we do when we get together in person and connect over wine and food. My grandparents (shown in this photo trying to take a picture of the zoom meeting on their phone) were born and raised in Italy, and so there are strong influences on all of us and on how we interact because of that. Additionally, I added a cross stitch pattern background for a little flair of my own individuality because that is one of my passions and something I have gotten the opportunity to do more of since being home.

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My flag is a hodgepodge of things that have positively influenced me.

First, I included the word family because they have always been there for me for matter what!  I am so lucky to have them as the biggest support system in my life.  Along with the word family, I included my two pups Harper & Lee (no I did not name them after To Kill A Mockingbird ).  They have truly shown me a whole new level of responsibility that I never had.  I chose to include the Polish flag.  Although I am only Polish on my mothers side, we follow many of their traditions.

Next, My flag also includes my sorority, Alpha Sigma Tau, because I found that I really broke out of my "shell" after joining.  They helped me become the women I am today and I am forever grateful for the friendships I made.  I also decided to include my JWU undergrad crest and whisk because I originally went to school for baking & pastry arts.  Next to that I included my Wedding Wire Couples Choice Awards from 2018-2019.  I was extremely proud of receiving these awards and found joy planning weddings.  I enjoyed planning weddings and getting to know couples, I can definitely say I LOVED being around LOVE!

Lastly, I chose to put the words Diversity and Inclusion on my flag. Both of these words are extremely powerful to me and represent how I want to be as a future educator. I am passionate for making everyone feel represented and included.