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Submit Your Story

Do you have experience with migration or multilingualism? We invite submissions of personal essays of 500-1000 words on a rolling basis for publication on this website under Stories of Multilingualism and Migration.

Not sure what to write? Visit Stories of Multilingualism and Migration on our site to read submissions by fellow Michiganders, or use the writing prompts below. Bilingual or multilingual submissions are welcome.

Would you like to present your story in a different format? Email us about your ideas. We welcome poetry, visual representations, and more.

Send your submission with up to two images to translatingmichigan@umich.edu.

If your submission is selected, we will contact you regarding permission to include it on the website.

+ Use the following questions to begin generating ideas for your own story (click to read):

  • When did you migrate, and where did you come from? 

  • Why did you or your family choose to come here as opposed to somewhere else? 

  • What were your own, and/or your family’s hopes for your life in a new place? 

  • Who did you migrate with? Which friends or family members do you miss the most? 

  • What were you able to bring with you? Did you have to leave anything behind? 

  • What were the most difficult, but also the most surprising aspects of your journey and your arrival? 

  • What was it like when you first arrived? Did you know anyone in your new destination? Was it easy or difficult for you to make new friends?

  • Did you or your family speak English before you arrived? Was it easy for you and your parents to communicate once you were here? 

  • Do you still speak another language at home? Are there specific words or phrases in this language that hold special meaning for you, or that are difficult to express in English?

  • Have you experienced any stereotypes or discrimination here? Or have you made any dear new friends? 

  • What do you miss the most?

  • How has your own, or your family’s experience with migration changed you? 

  • Do you ever find yourself “translating” between languages and cultures? For example, do you interpret for your parents or others in your community? Do you explain cultural practices to friends? Or do you yourself move between languages and cultural norms depending on the situation? 

  • Where do you consider “home”? Can a person have more than one home? If so, how?