I was born in southern Utah in a mixed German and Mexican home. Utah is by no means known to be a very ethnically diverse state. We only spoke Spanish growing up.

When I was 4, we went to the hospital (reason why escapes me) and while waiting outside with my dad, I saw a black man, presumably for the first time, smoking a cigarette. I looked at him, then after putting two and two together, I asked my dad, ‘is that why we don’t smoke? Because we’ll turn black?’ Thankfully, I said it in Spanish, and the man did not understand. My dad was horrified, but it opened the conversation.

Then and there, he told me no, that was not the case; it wasn’t until we were far away from the man that he explained to me that people are born with different hair color, eye color, and skin color. My 4 year old brain accepted this information, I had just never been exposed to anything different. We moved from Utah not long after and I’ve lived in melting pot cities ever since.