Priyanka Chopra Jonas on Racist Bullying in High School

The actor’s first memoir, Unfinished, hits shelves on February 9, and apparently Chopra Jonas details the racist bullying she endured in a high school America – a topic she expanded on in an interview with People.

“I took it very personally. Deep inside me, it’s starting to eat away at you, ”she admitted, discussing the bullying she suffered in an American high school at the age of 15.

The experience was bad enough that Chopra Jonas eventually returned to India to complete her studies.

“I walked into a shell. I thought, ‘Don’t look at me. I just want to be invisible. My self-confidence has been stripped. I’ve always considered myself a confident person, but I wasn’t sure where I was, of who I was. “

According to People, Chopra Jonas details in Unfinished how classmates at her high school in Newton, Massachussetts shouted racist slurs at her as she walked down the hall.

“I don’t even blame the city, honestly,” she brooded. “I just think it’s the girls at this age just wanting to say something that’s going to hurt. Now, on the other side of 35, I can tell it’s probably coming from a place where they don’t. are not safe. But in addition, I took it very personally. “

After “[breaking] with America “, Chopra Jonas found solace in returning to India.” I was so blessed that when I returned to India I was surrounded by so much love and admiration for whom I was. Coming back to India healed me after this high school experience. “

“In America I was trying not to be different. No? I was trying to fit in and wanted to be invisible. When I went to India, I chose to be different.”

By sharing her experience, Chopra Jonas says she hopes to inspire others to come together in the face of sadness or despair. “Insecurity becomes minimal as soon as you talk about it with someone you trust: a therapist, a counselor. I feel like a lot of people spend their time when they’re feeling gloomy. [in isolation]. The worst thing to do is feel sad alone. “

“Sadness is very alluring. It sucks you in and you just want to indulge yourself in it because it’s cozy and warm – and the light is harsh sometimes. [But] you have to look at it, squint your eyes. [The light is] a lot, but it gives you life. It gives you joy.

“We have the choice, most of the time, to come out of the darkness ourselves. The best way I’ve found to do this is to talk to people who care.