The time I spent working at a pizzeria as a teen has blurred over the years, but a few memories stand out: learning how to form little balls of dough so they stay round when you roll them out, practicing the “Crank That” dance on a slow day, racing to hide that we were all reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when the boss showed up unexpectedly the day after its midnight release. And I remember the guy who called me a “spic.”⁠ ⁠ He tossed it toward me in that style of casual bigotry that was so commonplace in the aughts, as if his lighthearted chuckle made a racial epithet just another word between friends. I no longer remember my response, but I remember his rebuttal: “Just look at your skin.”⁠ ⁠ Click the link in our bio to read more.⁠ ⁠ Story by Stephanie Aly⁠ @latenightist ⁠ #latinidad #latina #indigenous #ancestry #mexicana #mexicanamerican #bicultural