Hi, I'm Willow Belden and you're listening to Out There, the podcast that explores big questions through intimate stories outdoors.

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And now, on to coming of age stories. Most of us can think back to a time when we found ourselves wondering who we were and where we fit in. We've all had moments where we felt we didn't belong. But what happens when you finally figure it out, only to realize that society doesn't agree with you?

What do you do when you know who you are, but you're still having trouble proving it to yourself and everyone around you?

Victoria Marin brings us the story of one woman whose path to belonging has been especially complicated.

Wendy Vialta has been trying to figure out where she fits in as long as she could remember.

Her biological parents are immigrants.

Her dad came from Mexico, and her mom fled civil war in El Salvador.

They raised Wendy for the first decade of her life.

Until I was 10, I was living in South

L.A. with my biological mother. I don't remember much about South L.A. Very low-income neighborhood.

All minorities, you know, is rough.

I'm from L.A. and can confirm that South L.A. can definitely be a rough place to live.

But I think it's important to note that, other low-income black and brown communities, there are also happy families living good lives there.

Like most places, it's complicated.

For Wendy and her family, things were tough.

Her parents' relationship was often on, and both of them struggled with sobriety, which

made things at home unstable.

She's one of four children, and her parents often didn't have the money they needed to care

...