My Culture Doesn't Define Me: You Can't Wall Me Out

Model: Katherine Arteaga

Photography: Victoria Righthand

Editing: Katherine Arteaga

I have been too angry, too sad, and too heartbroken. "Preservation of one's own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures" - Cesar Chavez. We are a nation of immigrants. We are a people of many skin colors, cultures and backgrounds. Too often Mexican Americans have been stuck straddling a line between being too Mexican to the Americans and too American to the Mexicans. Now they want to build a wall to keep our families apart; to keep us from going back; to keep others from following our path and our dreams. A wall that wishes to divide us further: from each other and also from our past. This wall is not only symbolic of a physical divide on the border, but also the wall that white America refuses to acknowledge: the wall that has kept Mexican immigrants from climbing the social, economical, and political ladders. The wall that has prevented Mexican people from being accepted as Americans, as deserving of the American dream as all the past white immigrants have been. This wall will not stand! It will not keep the spirit of Mexican immigrants out!

Model: Carla Theophile

Photography: Nicole Mazza

Editing: Victoria Righthand

Too often we concentrate on the outside instead of the inside. We judge, scrutinize, and control people because of stereotypes and preconceived ideas about what it means to be different. Racism is alive in our country and it is heartbreaking and infuriating. Beauty and compassion don't come from the color of your skin, they come from words and actions

Model: Hillary Cope

Photography: Katherine Arteaga

Editing: Victoria Righthand

For hundreds of years, we have slaughtered, oppressed, and shoved aside the Native American communities. We have treated them like less than second class citizens and continually ignored their struggles. We have misrepresented them, we have misappropriated their culture, and we have mocked their lifestyles. The Water Protectors peacefully protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline have been met with violence at every turn from those of whom were supposed to protect them. From tear gas, to shooting freezing water at them, and even firing rubber bullets at them, they've continued to protest this injustice and keep their heads held high. "The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it" - Chief Joseph. I stand with you, Standing Rock

Model: Kim Rhodes

Photography: Katherine Arteaga

Human trafficking. Prostitution. Rape. Are these just words to you? What is left of the woman before you after men have taken everything? Every time you make a joke at a woman's expense, look into her eyes. Every time you allow rape culture to thrive, look into her eyes. Every time you ignore women's rights and pretend it is not your battle, look into her eyes. "People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used" - John Green. These women are daughters, sisters, mothers, cousins, aunts. Do they not deserve the same love and respect? Are we not all deserving of love and respect? "If you consider a woman less pure after you've touched her, maybe you should take a look at your hands?" - Kaija Sabbah

Model: Michaela Chelsea

Photography: Richard Righthand

Editing: Victoria Righthand & Katherine Arteaga

"The rate of suicide attempts is 4 times greater for LGBTQ youth than that of straight youth" - Department of Health and Human Services.

There's a kid out there who is alone, who has no relatives, friends, or idols to look to who can help. They're desperate for answers as to why they were born this way. They don't want to be an outcast. They don't want to be made fun of, beaten, ostracized; but mostly, they don't want to be rejected from their loved ones. They just want to be accepted. They just want to be loved. But everyone out there keeps telling them they're wrong, they're not part of God's plan, they're going to hell. This kid needs us. This kid needs something to hold onto and this kid needs a future. There isn't enough support to find the help and tolerance needed. Children all over see no way out and as a result have taken their own lives rather than face the idea of coming out. We are not forgiving, we are not tolerant, we are not accepting. Just because someone is LGBTQ does not mean they are not deserving of love, respect, and acceptance. Just because I am LGBTQ does not mean I am not worthy of love, respect, and acceptance. I am here for you, kid. Always.

Models: Katherine Arteaga and Hillary Cope

 Photography:  Victoria Righthand

"The environment is in us, not outside of us. The trees are our lungs, the rivers our bloodstream. We are all interconnected, and what you do to the environment, ultimately you do to yourself" - Ian Somerhalder
We don't get a redo, this is our home, our planet, don't treat it like there aren't consequences for your actions. Like the earth beneath our feet, we are all connected; all interlinked in a beautiful spiders web of creatures and lands. "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached the the rest of the world" - John Muir. Pay attention to the scientists, the environmentalists, the activists, and allow yourself to learn, allow yourself to grow and maybe if we all learned a little bit, we could make real change. Small actions from all of us can move mountains.

Model: Kirsten Schwarz 
Photography: Victoria Righthand

"We're all in the same game just different levels dealing with the same Hell just different Devils" - Jadakiss

Just because you're sick on the inside does not mean your illness is any less valid than, say, someone with cancer or someone with a broken leg. Just because people cannot see your problems does not mean they are not there. Mental Health stigmas are still one of the most commonly ignored and mistreated of all human issues. We are here for you; trust me, you have allies, you have people with compassion, understanding, and love for you. You fight every day, and that is incredibly powerful. You are the bravest of us all. Never give up, never give in. Do not let your illness define you. "I will breathe. I will think of solutions. I will not let my worry control me. I will not let my stress level break me. I will simply breathe. And it will be ok. Because I do not quit" - Shayne McClendon