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I landed in New Jersey, where I could barely speak English, and I had to figure out what a short brown kid was going to do in this big white world.
Maria Ressa
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects the struggle of navigating a new environment and the challenges of identity and belonging.

Maria Ressa illustrates her profound experience of arriving in a new place where she felt alienated due to language barriers and racial differences. Her words capture the essence of overcoming challenges in a society that may not readily accept or understand you, highlighting the courage it takes to forge one's path in unfamiliar territory.

Themes

IdentityCourageBelongingStruggleImmigration

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a speech about the immigrant experience in America.

More from Maria Ressa

The social media platforms have taken over the distribution of news globally. They treat a lie the same way you would treat a fact.
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The difference between Rappler and other newsgroups in the Philippines is that journalists control Rappler both editorially and commercially. We make decisions that are bad for business but protect the public sphere.
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If you want to rip the heart out of a democracy, you go after the facts. That's what modern authoritarians do. You lie. All the time. Then, you say it's your opponents and the journalists who lie.
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Embrace your fear. Imagine what you're most afraid of, touch it and hold it so that you rob it of its power.
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Let me go back to a fundamental thing we all used to agree on: information is power. That's why we became journalists in the first place.
Maria RessaRead
Technology enabled Rappler's fast growth starting in 2012, but we were also among the first victims when social media was weaponized in 2016.
Maria RessaRead

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