♪ [theme music playing] (Narrator) Chromebook presents
Michaela Jaé on “The Adulthood,” a series about finding your
way in the modern world. (Michaela Jaé) It’s Michaela
Jaé here on “The Adulthood.” Today we're talking about
real representation in storytelling and why lifting up different voices
is so important. Alrighty, let's do it.
[reflective music playing] So as a kid, I was always the one
to shine very bright in a dark room. I was always considered different,
quirky, or just out of place. My mind always geared towards female.
Always. And with expressing that, came backlash.
That sparked a fire under me [glass breaking]
to be rebellious and keep being me. I would encourage the next generation
to just walk with their heads held high, to live out loud.
I had to take some time to grow into my identity as a trans individual,
who is a woman, and as a person who is of color [light shining]
who is intersectional with all of those. [static flipping through channels]
And being that there weren't a lot of representation of trans people,
I looked to stories. [upbeat music plays]
So for instance, Cinderella. My mother never treated me like the stepchild,
but I felt like the world treated me like a stepchild.
[sparkling sounds] Cinderella finally got in that glass slipper
to have a fairy godmother come along and say, “Here's this dress—you're going to the ball.”
And I said, “I'm gonna be the princess [horses trotting]
that no one would ever see coming.” And she came through.
This ball that I'm partaking in, it's the world. [horse neighs]
I would tell any younger individual, who's coming up in a time
where they don't have a clue how to be their own representation,
write your own stories. That is what I had to bring to Blanca
to bring her and the story of Pose to life. I loved curating that, taking pieces of my life
as far as my mother, as far as the trans women that were in my life in the ballroom scene,
as far as myself, and making sure that I gave the best example
of how we as women, of African-American and Latina descent,
who so happen to be trans, are. Storytelling can really change the narrative,
especially if you tell a story that is rooted in realism
with a little bit of glitter added on top of it.
[message bloops] That’s what technology
is doing for all of us today; it’s amplifying our voices
and it's making us more confident in our voices. I would tell young people,
make sure that you're using it to amplify the voices
of people who don't have a voice to be amplified. You have to get the stories from
the source itself. [indistinct talking]
It opens minds and it opens hearts. And you see the light that is just beaming
in each and every one of those people. I look at each and every last one
[stars twinkling] of the humans on this earth as stars.
Some people like to be regular stars. [disco music plays]
And then you have supernova stars, [supernova bursts]
the ones that are like, ‘I’m gonna shine until I can’t shine no more child, I gotta burst.”
[stars shining] And then they just release
another bed of opportunities for birthing of more stars.
Younger people can channel that inner star in any form they can.
Lead with heart, soul, and mind. You have to pump through
with some stardust on your heels, baby, you have to shine.
Mhmmm!