It hurts, that you judge

But you’ll never know

I keep it inside

Buried below

All my pain,

And my pride,

I push aside

Just to make you like me better.

 

But the truth is

I work just as hard as you

Just as hard as she,

 Just as hard as he.

But all you’ll do is skim

Because you think of me collectively

Not of my accomplishments, individually.

 

The amount of times I’ve heard them say

“She’s not good enough”

They look the other way

And you’ll never imagine how much it hurts

To feel insubstantial, weightless, a piece of dirt.

 

No matter how hard I try

You’ll never even think to rely

On my thoughts, on my reasoning, on my plans

Because of this, you don’t understand

That your opinionated looks

Have words all of their own,

There’s no need to explain

You’ve made it well known

 

So is it ‘cause I’m Latina?

Well you know what I’m proud

But it shouldn’t affect how you see me

Because I stand out from the crowd.

 

Don’t you know,

We’re really all the same

I mean, I’m sure you’ve heard,

What matters is within.

 

I’m on this quest you see

To change your perception of me;

Really of any human being

That deserves to be seen

For who they are

And what they do.

 

‘Cause now it seems people are born someway

Or forced to live with doubts

It shouldn’t be that way,

We all deserve a way out.

 

We all deserve to see truth

A part from our youth

We deserve to aspire

To all that we desire

Why should we be limited?

Because of where we’re from?

Or what we have?

Or who we love?

 

When I think of joy

And when I think of peace

I think of us in uniformity

Living together humbly.

 

It’s too much to ask

Or so it seems

Not to judge people

Based on their teams?

 

But imagine a world where we are all one,

That will be the day when my journey is done.