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Now, I want you all / to take that sticker / that was given to you at the beginning of our session today, / where you wrote down what makes you special, / and I want you to look at it. // If you're watching at home, / take a piece of paper, / and write down / what makes you different. // You may feel guarded when you look at it, / maybe even a little ashamed, / maybe even proud. // But you need to begin to embrace it. // Remember, / it is the first step / in appreciating / what makes others special. // When I went back home to Venezuela, / I began to understand how / these experiences were changing me. // Being able to speak different languages, / to navigate all these different people and places, / it gave me a unique sensibility. // I was finally beginning to understand / the importance / of putting myself in other people's shoes. // And that / is a big part of the reason why / I decided to become a journalist. // Especially being from a part of the world that is often labeled / "the backyard," / "the illegal aliens," / "third-world," / "the others," / I wanted to do something to change that.// It was right around the time, / however, when the Venezuelan government shut down the biggest television station in our country. // Censorship was growing, / and my dad came up to me once again and said, / "How are you going to be a journalist here? // You have to leave." // That's when it hit me. // That's what he had been preparing me for. // That is what the future held for me. // So in 2008, / I packed my bags, / and I came to the United States, / without a return ticket this time. // I was painfully aware / that at 24 years old, / I was becoming / a refugee of sorts, / an immigrant, / the other, / once again, / and now for good. // I was able to come / on a scholarship to study journalism. // And I remember when they gave me my first assignment / to cover the historic election of President Barack Obama. // And I felt so lucky, / so hopeful. // I was, like, "Yes, / this is it. // I've come to post-racial America, / where the notion of us / and them / is being eroded, / and will probably be eradicated in my lifetime." // Boy, / was I wrong, / right? // Why didn't Barack Obama's presidency / alleviate racial tensions in our country? // Why do some people / still feel threatened by immigrants, / LGBTQ, / and minority groups / who are / just trying to find a space / in this United States that should be for all of us? // I didn't have the answers back then, / but on November 8th, / 2016, / when Donald Trump became our president, / it became clear that a large part of the electorate / sees them as "the others." // Some see / people coming to take their jobs, / or potential terrorists who speak a different language. //