Name: Danielle Elizabeth Alvarez
Gender: female
Race/Ethnicity: ?
[Home: my family]
I am a very ambitious person. I strive to always be the best version of myself; one who is open to the world around me and embraces all of its abundance. Why? Because we live amongst human beings of all different colors, shapes, and sizes, and too many of us make the mistake in believing our differences make us unequal. Growing up as a girl in an affluent suburban town with a Mexican immigrant father and a mother of Colombian and Irish roots, I have had my fair share of identity crises. And I'm thankful for each one. Without them, I wouldn't be nearly as driven for individual-acceptance and -appreciation.
[Santiago: two members of my Chilean host family, myself, and my mother]
I know few people who would call themselves prejudiced, but as a result of cultural and familial conditioning, we nearly all are. I believe that the best antidote to such evils is human experience. In the past few years, I've been blessed enough to form ties with men and women from all over the world, ultimately finding that we all are the same. We live in a global community of human beings that want to live, and love, and be happy. It is how we go about seeking these needs and desires that makes learning about each other all the more worthwhile. For instance, health is valued everywhere yet viewed differently in almost every region of the world. Intriguing, no?
[Paris: myself, my French sister I hosted, and her two friends]
I say this not to preach but so that you can understand what drives me. I hope that you too will enrich your life with diversity. It's fun, and rewarding. I promise! For a little perspective on how my journey has gone so far, these are places I've visited or lived- North America: Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama. América del Sur: Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay. L'europe: France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, the U.K., Turkey. Asia: Turkey. And there's still so much more ground to cover. We better get going...
