Jessica Conley,
Las Vegas, NV

Born and raised in westside Detroit, lived in Chicago, Richmond VA and now Las Vegas, those six words followed me all over the country. At 34 years of age and a mom of 2, I still am not sure what it means when people say that to me. Is it a compliment or an insult? I shouldn’t care, but it sticks with me. I rarely fit in, and have grown a liking to that, yet it still hurts when it feels like i’m seen as “awkwardly black” in one crowd or “not black enough” in another.