Before:

In gym class, she was always slower than her classmates during the Pacer test. In gymnastics class, her cartwheels never looked quite the same as the other kids. And a small push from her…

Disclaimer:

Due to identity protection, Portrait has granted anonymity to some individuals in this story, whose names have been replaced with fake ones in order to tell the story authentically….

As the daughter of two accomplished basketball players, Ariyana was immersed in the game from an early age. Her father played professionally overseas while her mother played at the collegiate level…

They don’t really know how to describe it.

It’s like a mispronunciation, being called the wrong name, but it’s not. It’s an achy feeling. It’s gross like a layer of sweat that you want to…