Morphing into a rainbow of people and cultures

• Published date: 27 June 2022
• Publication title: Shanghai Daily

Seven years ago, I stepped into a place I now call my second home, with people I now call my own -- Shanghai American School. Despite its name only mentioning two countries, I have met and befriended people parading dozens of shapes, sizes, ethnicities and beliefs, all of whom have become a small part of me.

When I first landed in this foreign land, I was still tanned from four years on the beach of Ipanema, and I bore a head of long, silky hair, draping like silky tassels down to my hips.

But as my bronze coat began to wear off, a new identity sought its way into me. I was no longer just a Chinese girl tinted by the salty, boisterous air of Brazil -- I allowed myself to be soaked in all sorts of colorful cultures, from friends with ethnicities ranging from India to...