This story was written by Ly Phuong from VIETNAM. I am Phuong and I come from Vietnam. I have dark skin and I am growing up in a society where lighter skin is considered to be the standard of beauty. I used to become miserable about my skin color. But now, I love my skin more than anything because I no longer allow other people to tell me what to think about my skin. I write this story for myself as well as for all the girls out there who are struggling with the color of thei

This story was written by Vyshakh from INDIA. There is a playground near my house, where all the kids in the neighborhood come to play in the afternoon. I often go sit there and watch them; because of that, they know me pretty well. Once when I went there, I noticed that many of the kids were not there. But they were still playing with the ones present. I knew they always got into fights when selecting teams. So I asked them how they had chosen the teams today and one little

This story was written by Tram Vo from VIETNAM. I am Tram Vo from Vietnam. I got a chance to study a Bachelors degree in Business Administration in Finland, the best country for education. I have lived here for around three and a half years so there have been many many great experiences, but also challenges that I did not get whilst living in Vietnam. I would like to share my story about language and cultural barriers. When we grow up in our homelands, we are affected by beha

This story was written by Zain from PAKISTAN. Having been born in the slums of Pakistan in a poor Christian family, a challenging fate awaited me. Being the eldest among my siblings, I was expected to work and contribute to the family income as my father, who was a cleaner at the district hospital, was the sole breadwinner and we were a big family. Every morning before the sunrise I set out along with father to go to the hospital, where I would start helping my father in clea

This story was written by an Anonymous Contributor from PAKISTAN. I was born in a traditional family, where my mother stayed orientated among her in-laws for quite sometime after me and my twin sister were born. She was harassed by her mother-in-law for not having much education. In Pakistan, a girl gets married after her A-levels, as though that is the maximum level of education she can obtain. My mother was among those women. She wanted to pursue her career but the societia

This story was written by Trang Vu Hong from VIETNAM. I was studying Italian culture in Perugia, Italy when the junior Eurovision – the most renowned pan-European song contest – took place. Vincenzo Cantiello, a talented flamboyant Italian boy who performed his own love-filled song, “Tu primo grande amore” (You are my great first love), came out as the winner. Below is the English translation of what he sang daringly, passionately and triumphantly: It's all changed now that y

This story was written by Debayani Panja from INDIA. While growing up in a metropolitan city, I had learnt the nuances of always dressing up in style. I never wore anything too revealing and my choice of clothes never pricked my family’s eyes. This helped me to develop a carefree attitude to what people gossiped, about how I dressed. I never cared what people said, how they talked about me or the way they looked at me. I always made fun of it saying, “How would you know that

This story was written by Nargues from AFGHANISTAN. This is who I am. As an Afghan girl, growing up in America has had its difficulties. Trying to balance where I am from and where I live required courage, and I did not have that at the age of ten. Unfortunately I dealt with what is called ‘ethnic shaming’, and to tell you the truth it was not dandy. The problems began when I started school, even at the early age of six. I remember it was Eid one summer, a celebration general

This story was written by Isil from TURKEY. I have had a wondrous weekend with the ones that I am in love with. We wandered around days and nights smoothly in a beautiful world, then closed the door and slept together feeling secure. Monday morning I learnt that during the weekend the head of the Diyarbakır (Amed) Bar Association Tahir Elçi, a lawyer of Kurdish origin, a human rights activist was shot dead in Turkey. He has been receiving death threats and he was facing a pri

This story was written by Mara Agolleti from ITALY. Where I live all young girls are told how to act and dress properly. Lots of spoken and unspoken rules are surrounding how girls should avoid provoking unwanted reactions from men. I was told what to wear, where to go and the people I went out with were subject to close scrutiny. Don’t misunderstand me, I know those are the concerns of a loving family which has always guarded my health and well-being. However, I have recentl