I joined Michigan in Color as an eager freshman trying to find my community and place at the University of Michigan. For much of high school I was always known as the outspoken, political feminist girl, and that is still an identity I hold closely today. Michigan in Color quickly became an amazing outlet for me to voice my opinions, philosophies and concerns with the world as an Asian -American bisexual woman. Reading entries that other students wrote for the section inspired me to write many of my own articles when I started out as a columnist.
I have grown and matured from the young, eager 18 year old I was when I started college., of course— I’ve learned to make mistakes and grow from them. I’ve also learned that complex social issues aren’t always so easily fixable and black and white, which is why being part of an organization like MIC has helped me grapple with my own identities and connect emotionally with readers of the publication. When I was a freshman, I posted a link to a piece I wrote for the Valentine’s Day collaboration with Statement on Facebook. The feedback I got from my writing was so overwhelmingly positive, with people commenting that it was very refreshing and important for issues like fetishization in dating and bisexuality in the Asian community to be written about so candidly in a university newspaper. Even as I grew older, my values for social justice and writing have never changed. I want to be a part of something that amplifies the voices of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ people, and I have always valued journalism as providing a means for truth to be heard. I believe that newspaper publications should be a place where people can speak out for those who have not had a chance to be heard, and to carry on a legacy of knowledge, education, and different opinions. I think Michigan in Color is definitely a section of the Daily in which people can have their radical, unapologetic voices heard —– and my peers always continue to amaze me with every article they publish. I am still in MiC because it inspires me to change the world for the better.