19 years ago today in a Hispanic house hold two parents three siblings and the world to conquer. Screaming, laughing, learning and growing molded this one young lady to overcome all statics .Factors such as birthplace, extracurricular activities and the simple thing she couldn’t control, her origin were deciding factors for where she is present day. New York, the city that never sleeps, a city diverse in all aspects of life, the city where it all started. 18 years growing up in Harlem wasn’t all it was cracked up to be especially for a young Hispanic female. Being surrounded with drugs, violence and public disobedience were some of the easiest of distractions that I encountered every day. As the years went by the number of student who learned …show more content…
New York for Hispanics up on Washington heights was everyone’s second home, that’s were most decedents of the Hispanic race had migrated too. Growing up with practically another Dominican republic just a few blocks away allowed me to reconnect with my origin with actually visiting the mother land. I learned so much in so little time such as the diversity in food different ways to make and serve them, and the interests that everyone had. The union that we called family even if we didn’t know each other we looked out for each other because face it were all we have. Now despite what some people might think, no not because someone is Hispanic in Washington heights doesn’t mean their automatically in a gang or all for violence but when it comes to defending your own its everyone for their people. Even though growing up I didn’t visit Dominican Republic as much as I would have liked to when I did it was an experience that opened my eyes deeper into my culture. Learning to read and speak Spanish in “El barrio” alongside of my abuela and other family members it helped me progress because I now had more doors open to me in my future due to my ability to fluently speak both …show more content…
I was amazed at the many opportunities present such as Latin dance, fencing, softball and the chance to have a second home. The opportunity’s that sparked my eye the most was fencing. To feel the power of your arm wining down as the blade of the sword swiftly runs through your opponent’s suit was a feeling that compared to nothing else. From getting kicked down because I was the only girl to the basics of advancing to retreat. To the warm ups with music, the white armor, the different sword and learning about their past everything amazed me about the sport, movement and history I knew it would be something I would eventually love to do. Fencing went from being a sport to evolving as part of my life style. I took as many changes as I could to be in the fencing class and stay distracted from anything that life may throw at me. It was my distraction, my focus and my
Furthermore, residential segregation and lack of resources contribute to the youth in unrepresented communities, to attend neglected schools and without a high-quality education, they are left with slim opportunities. As Latinos/as continue to endure the consequences of public policies and policymakers that place them on the bottom of their priorities, Latino/a groups will continue to battle against each other in competition over limited resources and
It’s been almost 49 years since the start of artist’s migrating to Barrio Logan began, expressing their pride and joy for their race hoping to unite their community. Although I don’t think that they really thought that their passion for art would go so far beyond what they had expected. See I am a Mexican coffee shop owner and I have here been for the past 20 years. My business is good, although sometimes I wish it could be better.
Los Angeles, California is home to nearly ten percent of the United States immigrant population. After Donald Trump became the president of the United States many immigrant communities in Los Angeles became more concerned about their future. On may 8th 2017 in the local education section of the Los Angeles times the article “What it’s like to be a teen in L.A. with a parent in the U.S. Illegally” by Sonali Kohli was presented. In this article, she elaborates how the immigrant communities in Los Angeles are continuing to be marginalized, but this misfortune has expanded to the sons and daughters of immigrant parents (Kohli, 2017). Kohli focuses her article in three different High School students from near neighborhoods of inner LA: Maria Garcia, Lupe, and Daniel Garcia.
Joining the lacrosse team, supplemented by joining the wrestling team and moving away for my first year of college, has helped to me recognize who I am as a person and where I want to be in my life. I wish to become the best version of myself that I possibly can be, and when I
That week was where a lot of things about myself began to make sense. I understood why I was a spirited introvert, why I valued family so much, and why I was so in touch with my heritage. I was raised hearing mixtures of English and Spanish all around my house, seeing Dominican flags adorning bedroom walls and miniature American ones stuffed inside cabinets. Admittedly, I spent most of my childhood trying to balance two cultures that were both out of my grasp. My life has always been in the city, but there was a whole other world on a little island in the Caribbean, one that I made sure to bring back home with
Growing up as a first-generation Mexican American was a huge advantage for me in that it allowed me to grow up in a culturally diverse community. I learned how to work well with people of all backgrounds and empathize with people from all walks of life. However, while being the first in my family to go to college was a momentous accomplishment, the lack of instruction and guidance lead me to commit many mistakes that could have been easily avoided during my first years at college. My timidity and downright arrogance lead me to believe that I did not need anyone’s assistance and thus I found myself denial that there was a problem in terms of my grades during my first semesters. I have since addressed this issue and have worked diligently to
From as early as I could remember I noticed I was not like the others kids. I had an interest for things most kids would not be interested in. I liked interacting with people, knowing about people and their life stories; I wanted to help in anyway that I could when I would hear everyone’s problems. I thought outside the box throughout my whole childhood and I wanted to make the most out of my knowledge. I told myself that I was going to dedicate my life to helping my community.
Moreover, Anzaldúa presents a contrast of the oppression and how the oppression has affected Chicanos. For instance, “Yet, at the same time, we’re afraid the other will think we’re agringadas because we don’t speak Chicano Spanish. We oppress each other trying to out-Chicano each other, vying to be the real Chicanas, to speak like Chicanos.” The situation at hand is cause and effect since Chicanos are afraid what everyone around them will think they exert themselves to someone they may not be. This is not what Anzaldúa wants wants a person to do, but to fight against oppression and fight for our native tongues.
In the midst of the pain, I found myself closer to my Oak Cliff community because they understood our struggle, as their very own struggle. Along with solidarity that came with just one look, our neighbors would knock at my door and bring us Pozole or Tamales anything they had cooked and we returned the favor vice versa, sending Gorditas or Enchiladas. Dancing in the parking lot, made it seem that we didn’t have any worries but as soon as the mailman brought the bills the smiles would be hidden till the next weekend when cumbias would blast. In one of these “nightly meetings”, I realized people in my “barrio” were full of life even if their bank accounts were mutually dead. Through the darkness, mi “gente” taught me that the torch must be passed along to keep the flame burning bright.
Wrestling changed my life by showing me that if you work hard enough for your goals you will achieve them. In middle school I needed a sport to play in the winter so I tried wrestling. When I started I enjoyed the sport a lot. We had a coach that was also our middle school gym teacher.
It has always been important to me to learn more about my culture. As a Latina American I take so much pride in my roots. I decided to read Latino Americans: the 500 year that shaped the Nation by Ray Suarez because I wanted to learn more about my culture and educate myself with our history. As a Puerto Rican/ Cuban young girl growing up in the South Bronx I learned that Latino’s value family and traditions. Growing up I identified more with my Puerto Rican culture.
Many stories embody the cultural aspects of Mexican-Americans and their struggles with living in a discriminatory society. Stories like With
The article “The Life of Carlos, an Undocumented New Yorker” exposes the dehumanizing atmosphere Honduras reveals to the population at a young age, causing many teenagers such as Carlos to be in search of a new life in the United States while losing their innocence along the journey to survive. Carlos makes it to the United States, but quickly is thrown to an adult detention center, but temporarily released to be with his U.S. citizen Grandmother. Alexandra Starr’s article is coupled with Edward Keating’s photography of Carlos. Starr’s writing focuses on the story of Carlos which vividly includes many experiences an average person will never experience in their lifetime expect Carlos experienced this all before the age of 20. Carlos’s court
It was early in the morning when I had gotten up to go do my chores. Mother was already cooking Tortilla Hispaniola, something she never did unless there was a special occasion. I went outside and felt the light crisp breeze hit my face and could smell the special dish my mother was preparing. I washed the clothes , mopped what little of a “house” we had, and was getting prepared to go out to the market to see if I could bargain something so we could have another weeks supply of food. I was lacing up my old, rugged boots when mother called me into the back room.
The Life of Immigrants When i first arrived to the United States , i was forced to attend a school i didn’t want to be at .Most of the time i was unpleasant and complained about the society i was in. My life was different from other students, i began to wonder where my happiness would come from. I was troubled , lost , and terrorized. I i didn’t have anyone except a strangers around me, from this i learned that what it’s like to be an immigrants, not being able to communicate to other people. Imagine for the rest of your life without a single friend, that’s when i begun to practice my english day and day, everyone was looking down on me