Becca

Becca, a 31-year-old Chinese-American woman, recalls the deep depression that overtook her in high school after years of racially motivated bullying that included name-calling and physical attacks. Remembering how she used to lock herself in the bathroom for hours, Becca talks about feeling “insecure about who I was, the way I looked, the color of my skin…The world was so unfair and unjust, and I didn’t know why and I didn’t know how I could stop it.” Today, as a first grade teacher, Becca teaches her students respect and compassion for themselves and each other. Remembering teachers who stood by and did nothing when she was attacked as a young girl, Becca says, “I feel like in some way, I’m standing up for these kids, and I’m also teaching others to stand up for them. I guess I’m reacting in the way that I wish teachers had reacted.  You know, I wish they had stepped in to help me.  So I guess I’m trying to do what they didn’t for me.”