Where you grew up and your background can often have surprising effects on our lives and careers. We’ve asked folks from the community to tell us about how their background has affected them.

Patricia Stables | Photographer, Retoucher and Lingerie Designer

I am from little old hamlet called Evansburg, Alberta. I grew up on an acreage with horses, quading and snowmobiing every season, typical Canadian playing hockey, but also loved fashion and dressing up. I was the girl who wore pleather pants and glittery platform sneakers, fur coats, mesh and rhinestones. Read more>>

A.J. Flick | Writer, editor and author

I was born in Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C. My family moved to the Philippines when I was 6, after my father got a job with the Civil Service and became base engineer at Clark Air Base. We also lived for a year in the mountains at John Hay Air Base. While we were overseas, we traveled around the Philippine Islands and across Southeast Asia, at a time when not many Americans were tourists. We traveled to Tokyo, saw Mt. Fuji and explored Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand. Read more>>

Ana Ita | Cosmetologist & Business Owner

I’m first generation, American born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. My family is originally from Baghdad, Iraq. From a young age, I saw how hard my parents hustled to create a new life filled with opportunities for my siblings and I. Read more>>

Thirza Wilson | Dutch Baker

I started my bakery, Zoet+Sweet Dutch Bakery, in May of last year. I specialize in Dutch baked goods including a deep dish Dutch Apple Tart, Stroopwafels and much more. I was born and raised in the Netherlands and moved to New York in 1999 with my (American) husband. Read more>>

Colter Olmstead | Filmmaker

I’m from Montana and growing up in a smaller populated area, community has always been a big part of my life. At this point in my career, I’m fortunate enough to be able to have some decision on which jobs I take, and a big factor in my decisions are how does this job impact my community directly. I’m trying to use the tools I’ve built to help build a stronger community, and I’ve been lucky enough to be able to do that with my film career thus far. Read more>>

Marcy Alvarez | Arizona Couples & Family Photographer

I was born in the Dominican Republic, and my Parents moved to New York when I was just two years old. New York was home for most of my life and it shaped me and left me with the most beautiful memories. Being a New Yorker, people-watching was something I inevitably did while being at the park, or riding the subway. Read more>>

Truck Da Comedian | Artist/Comedian

Home is always going to be Baltimore City but in my life I’ve lived in 8 states Baltimore, Wyoming, Colorado, Maine, California, Tennessee and Currently Arizona (Mostly college football related) I say I’m from a lot of places because all the experiences I’ve had have made me who I am today.  Read more>>

Kelsea Rakotz | Photographer & Business Owner

I am originally from Oklahoma. I grew up in a small town outside of Oklahoma City. Being from a small town comes with a level of comfort, which allowed me to be true to who I was and allowed me to explore my creativity early in life. Read more>>