Maria Chicaia
Jun 7, 20202 min
Updated: Jan 6, 2021
First, I want to say thank you for coming to my website. It is long overdue, but I'm excited that I have my own space that I can write, create, and curate without many limitations. For those that are a new audience, I wanted to give a background about myself.
I was born in Cabinda, Angola. I moved to the United States of America when I was 6. I come from a big family, and I'm the middle child. My first language is Portuguese, and I'm still fluent, thanks to my parents, always speaking to us in Portuguese at home. I am a very family-oriented person. I enjoy shopping, filming videos, taking pictures, hanging out with friends. I have always had a passion for fashion since I was a child. After years of my love of fashion I decided to started making content online in 2016. I recently graduated from university with a major in Retail and Consumer Science. Go Coogs! I'm excited about this journey together on my website.
I am the baby in the middle with white clothes.
I am wearing the blue jean vest in Cabinda, 1999.
First Day in America 2001 in Miami, Florida (I am wearing the blue headband).
I mean this Merriam Webster definition of culture shock; a sense of confusion and uncertainty sometimes with feelings of anxiety that may affect people exposed to an alien culture or environment without adequate preparation. I did not like my first year in America. I barely knew a word of English while my family and I lived in Florida. I wanted to move anywhere they spoke Portuguese i.e. Portugal. I started speaking English when we moved to Houston, TX, where ESL was offered in my elementary school unlike in school in Miami.
A pic of thumbnail my first official YouTube video in November 2016! You should check it out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_PNxhi8wNU
It affects everyone especially me as an African girl living in America being called "Oreo/African Booty Scratcher" most of my school years. This subject is near to my heart because I know the injustice faced in life due to my skin tone because I am dark skinned and African. All I know is that God knows and sees the injustice of racism, education, sickness, and all the struggles we face daily.
I’m hoping for a better tomorrow for the future. I know it how feels to feel left out or being the only black person in the room. God made us in different races, ethnicity, cultures, and etc. I hope we will become a light in a dark world by embracing our human race no matter the circumstance. (Romans 12:19). Here is how we can get involved:
by being more empathetic, compassionate, supporting black businesses, and by possibly the immediate action of donating.
NACCAP
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/naacp-1
ACLU
Black Lives Matter
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019
Minnesota Freedom Fund