It’s hard to imagine that Michelle Gil ever was anything but the serene, observant and smiling woman she is today.
The 20-year-old looks perfectly polished effortlessly; her hair is pulled back into a dark brown bun with just a few loose wispy tendrils, revealing white flower petal earrings.
Michelle is a stark contrast to herself just a few years ago, when she was in her “emo stage” in high school.
“Everything I wore was black. I went through my emo stage where I listened to scream-o music.” Michelle remembers. “I did the dark make-up, dark eye shadow. I kept to myself.”
Melissa Gil, Michelle’s 17-year-old sister says, “[In high school] Michelle never came out of her shell.”
“I was so bad. I was a rebel child.” Michelle says. “I got into so many fights with my parents. I ran away from home two times and they went out looking for me. It was crazy. “
Today, Michelle’s style has clearly changed. She wears a white sheer crop top over a teal tank, and blue jean leggings that hug her body before disappearing into black laced-up boots. Around her wrist is a yellow, black and red bracelet. The colors of the Colombian flag, Michelle says.
“My mom and dad were both born in Colombia.” Michelle says. “They came here illegally but are now citizens,” Michelle says, pride clear in her velvety voice. Her mother was 17 and left because of Michelle’s grandparents’ choice to find better opportunity. Her father, one of 12 children, emigrated at 21 for the same reasons.
Now, her family calls Valley Stream, Long Island home and her father works at the Empire State Building, while her mother works at an import and export business, doing accounting.
“She did her college degree when she was 35. She was Supermom.” Michelle says. “She had me and my sister, she’d clean the house, she’d cook for us, do our laundry – we were so spoiled.”
“She was a real role model for me.” Michelle says, “I’d always be struggling in school, I wasn’t a straight-A student. She was motivation for me, that she could do all that and take care of the family and be on the Dean’s list. I really look up to her.”
She recalls learning English and Spanish as a child and taking AP Spanish in high school. While being Colombian has always been part of her life, it took time for her to find her passion for Latin America.
“I never thought about it until I came here,” Michelle says. She knew she wanted to pursue journalism but she needed to find a concentration.
After dabbling around in different subjects, Michelle took a Latin American studies class and fell in love. She soon did an internship at the Hispanic Resource Center in Mamaroneck where she interacted with day laborers and other immigrants. “The people there are so nice. It feels homey, since I come from a Hispanic background, I understand. It feels nice to help someone out.”
Embracing her Latin American culture has clearly extended to all areas of Michelle’s life.
“I always say I want to marry a Colombian.” She laughs before shrugging it off, “I love dancing, Spanish food, I love cooking Spanish food, I love traveling to Colombia.”
She’s been to Colombia twice, and her favorite place is a farm in Yumbo owned by her grandparents.
“It’s all the way up this really tall hill. It was the scariest experience to go up that hill in a little tiny bus that kept rocking, and there were no borders.” Michelle says. “You could look right out and see the bottom; it was the scariest thing. But we were all jamming, listening to Spanish tunes, having a good time, but I was like, ‘Oh my god, I am so scared.”
“But it was such a gorgeous view.” She says almost wistfully, describing the gardens and the friendly, laidback atmosphere of Colombia.
“I would love to live there, but I don’t think I’d survive,” Michelle says. She describes New York as always being home, but that doesn’t mean she plans on staying in one place.
“I want to travel all of Latin America,” Michelle says. “I want to go to Peru. I want to see Machu Picchu and the indigenous people. I want to volunteer.”
Her smile lights up her face, revealing deep dimples and a warmth in her brown eyes. She has come a long way from the high school girl, frustrated and without direction.
Her high school friend, Laura Montiel says, “Since I met Michelle she has gradually been changing in a good way. She is open to new things all the time, she is funnier, and more confident in herself.”
Her sister Melissa agrees, “Her personality changed. She’s a different Michelle than she was then,”
“I was a mental case,” Michelle laughs. She seems at peace with herself, her shoulders relaxed, hands on her legs. “I’m a completely changed person now.”