Dunning, John Yajaira "Jay" Chaires From author(s): "Growing up in Mexico, feeling like an outcast, was one of the hardest things in my life. As I got older, I realized I was different- I liked girls, but I was terrified to admit it and I became homophobic. Years later my mom and I moved to America. This was difficult because I left everything I knew behind. It was also the best thing that could ever happen to me. Being surrounded by friends from many backgrounds and diverse cultures gave me the strength to come out at the age of 16, even though I feared rejection. At first my family thought it was “a phase”, but they have come to realize being gay is not just a part of me, it is who I am. Una de las cosas más difíciles en mi vida fue crecer en México sintiéndome una marginada. A medida que fui creciendo, me di cuenta de que era diferente- me gustaban las mujeres, pero estaba aterrada de admitirlo y me hice homofóbica. Años después, mi mamá y yo nos mudamos a Estados Unidos. Esto fue difícil porque dejé atrás todo lo que conocía. También fue lo mejor que me pudo pasar, estar rodeada de amigos de varios orígenes y diversas culturas me dio la fuerza para salir del closet a la edad de 16 años, a pesar de tener miedo al rechazo. Al principio mi familia pensó que era “una fase”, pero se han entendido que ser gay no es sólo una parte de mí, es quien soy." Jay is a junior majoring in biology. UA22.10.01.03 59968 2439 2016 eng still image photographs Sexual minority community North Carolina Greenville East Carolina University Students Gay college students North Carolina Greenville United States North Carolina Pitt County (N.C.) Greenville (N.C.) Chaires, Yajaira This item has been made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Researchers are responsible for using these materials in accordance with Title 17 of the United States Code and any other applicable statutes. If you are the creator or copyright holder of this item and would like it removed, please contact us at als_digitalcollections@ecu.edu. http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/ True Colors truecolors ECU History ecuhistory Yajaira "Jay" Chaires From author(s): "Growing up in Mexico, feeling like an outcast, was one of the hardest things in my life. As I got older, I realized I was different- I liked girls, but I was terrified to admit it and I became homophobic. Years later my mom and I moved to America. This was difficult because I left everything I knew behind. It was also the best thing that could ever happen to me. Being surrounded by friends from many backgrounds and diverse cultures gave me the strength to come out at the age of 16, even though I feared rejection. At first my family thought it was “a phase”, but they have come to realize being gay is not just a part of me, it is who I am. Una de las cosas más difíciles en mi vida fue crecer en México sintiéndome una marginada. A medida que fui creciendo, me di cuenta de que era diferente- me gustaban las mujeres, pero estaba aterrada de admitirlo y me hice homofóbica. Años después, mi mamá y yo nos mudamos a Estados Unidos. Esto fue difícil porque dejé atrás todo lo que conocía. También fue lo mejor que me pudo pasar, estar rodeada de amigos de varios orígenes y diversas culturas me dio la fuerza para salir del closet a la edad de 16 años, a pesar de tener miedo al rechazo. Al principio mi familia pensó que era “una fase”, pero se han entendido que ser gay no es sólo una parte de mí, es quien soy." Jay is a junior majoring in biology. Sexual minority community--North Carolina--Greenville 2016 StillImage photographs J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University eng 59968 http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/ East Carolina University--Students Gay college students--North Carolina--Greenville United States--North Carolina--Pitt County (N.C.)--Greenville (N.C.) Chaires, Yajaira local, filename 59968.0001 129636164 image/jpeg 6.0 PRONOM PUID: fmt/10 big endian uncompressed MD5 3fd90a473348b1d521619d9f0981f10a ecu:digital_collections 6000 7200 RGB mm mm 20160730 object plane in. 300 1 300 1 8 integer 3 internal