I change myself, I change the world.

Gloria Anzaldúa was a Chicana poet and feminist theorist whose work often centered on intersectional identities. Born to a family of field workers on the Texas-Mexico border, Anzaldúa worked hard to earn a master’s degree in English and became a professor, simultaneously working with political groups such as farm worker collectives and feminist organizations. Anzaldúa’s writing often grapples with identity, and how it can shape not only our place in a community, but also our outlook on the world. The words above, from her 1987 book “Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza,” are a reminder that working on our own personal development is the first step to shifting the world around us. In breaking down our own barriers, we make ourselves more effective vessels for change.