Dear Yari,
I feel very supportive about your post. One sentence that really stood out to me was, “San Francisco and Oakland are so close together that they should have the same offering of help, but Oakland just doesn’t have enough programs.” This stood out to me because after you mentioned this, you didn’t mention a way that you or the Oakland community could advocate for more transgender health clinics or even places that help support transgender youth. I feel if you added this to your article it can be be more strong and it can make some people even step up and take action. However I disagree in a way because even though there aren’t places that have signs that say they support transgender there is places that are transgender friendly. Often than not there are a lot of places such as schools and afterschool programs that support transgender folk. Thank you for writing this article. I am excited to see what you write in the future.

Dear Yari,

I Think your post was great! because i really like how you want to help support the LGBTQ comunity most people won’t even like to help them because they are homophobic, But I find the LGBTQ people are regular people that we meet. I want to meet someone who is gay or transgender because I want to know what are some people that supported them throughout their change. A line that stood out for me was “Oakland, in the other hand, can be very supportive to the LGBTQ community.” This stood out for me because people in Oakland are supportive to the LGBTQ community and we can help them more if we have ask them what are some flaws that Oakland has about the LGBTQ community so we can fix them to make Oakland more comfortable for them. I agree with the point about Being unsupportive to the LGBTQ comunity because if we are unsupportive Oakland can be unsafe for the LGBTQ people. Thanks for writing and keep it up because I think you can even be a novelist and be a famous writer.

Hello! I am a freshman at San Jose State University. I find it very inspiring that being the only girl in the family has helped you become more independent, have more respect for yourself, and has helped you know your worth. Out of curiosity, how do you know that your last name is so unique that only those who have it are in your family? I also admire how family is really important to you and how it has shaped you into who you are today. I really enjoyed reading your shadow box!

Hello Yaritza. My name is Jayme, and I am a student at San Jose State University. I wanted to say that I really enjoyed your work. It was really awkward to hear about how proud you are of your culture and background. It was also nice to know how empowered you are of your gender. That’s inspiring. One question I do have is about the sentence, ” I am also the only daughter out of the 3 of my brothers.” I was curious to know if you are the oldest or youngest. Just to better understand how you were able to grow away as an independent female from your brothers, and push away from the common, but outdated, stereotypes of females. I really enjoyed your piece. Keep up the good work.