EasternPennPoints Journeys: This piece was submitted by Eastern PA SCBWI member Veronica Jorge to share a part of her publishing journey with other members of our region. If you’d like to share part of your creative journey, click here for submission details.
The Many Colors of Me
By Veronica Jorge
Most people are a combination of various cultures, though I think their ancestors tended to confine their marriages and unions to one continent. Mine didn’t. Like an everything bagel, I’m a combo of Nicaraguan, Dominican, Middle-Eastern, French, Chinese, and African. (Hope I didn’t miss anyone). And born in Brooklyn, New York. “How sweet it is!”
This ethnic mix probably explains my preferred genres: Kid-Lit, because I am always looking for someone like me in children’s books, and Historical Fiction, because, like working on a jigsaw puzzle, I travel the globe, mostly through books, in search of all of the pieces of me that, once united, will make me whole.
This quest has made me an avid multicultural reader. In every reading exploration I discover something about myself. Everything I write contains a key to who I am that reveals an aspect of my essence. It’s an awesome journey.
And while I seem to connect with everyone, I don’t really fit in anywhere, yet I love the empathy toward others that these various cultures have generated in me because it leads to a deeper kind of listening and understanding, which in turn informs and directs my writing.
I’m always learning, and changing, and growing, and I often have so much to say that I don’t know where to begin, or how to put it all together . . . like now.
So, thank you, ancestors, for being willing and unwilling globe-hoppers. I am wonderfully made, and you have given me much to think of and write about.
Manager, educator, and former high school social studies teacher, Veronica Jorge credits her love of books to the potpourri of cultures that make up her own life and to her upbringing in diverse Brooklyn, New York. Her genres of choice are historical fiction, where she always makes new discoveries, literary works because she loves beautiful writing, and children’s picture books because there are so many wonderful worlds yet to be imagined and visited. She currently resides in Macungie, PA, but she’s still a Brooklyn girl at heart.
“The Many Colors of Me” was originally posted in Veronica Jorge’s column, Write From the Heart, on the blog https://www.asliceoforange.net/author/veronica-jorge/. Used with permission.
EasternPennPoints 
Wow, I love it! So beautifully expressed by such a beautiful person.
Thank you for inviting us on your magical journey around the globe.
Thanks for your comment, Robert and for the lovely compliment.
Veronica- thank you for sharing what makes you YOU. Your voice and stories are so important for kids to hear, whether they have a similar background or don’t. I want my kids to read and connect with characters from different backgrounds and see that they still share so many of the same feelings and journeys, yet know that the path of others may be more winding, diverse, challenging, special… all of it. That will help grow little people into more empathetic and kind big people, which the world needs more of. I apologize if I’m rambling! Thank you for sharing! ❤️
Hi Melissa,
I love your words, “That will help grow little people into more empathetic and kind big people, which the world needs more of.” Thanks for writing and sharing a part of you!