I was born in Southern Los Angeles and lived in a conserved community of predominantly hispanic immigrants seeking socioeconomic prosperity for their families and an adequate education for their children. My family was a part of this community and as such, I was always met with a high standard for education and was taught to fully appreciate the benefits that followed it. I would constantly be reminded of these benefits when I would continuously witness not only my own family struggle, but when neighbors and friends also struggled to provide essential payments for their utilities, food, or rent. These financial struggles stubbornly persisted to haunt my family and in 2008 we were in no position to maintain our home and consequently lost it. This drastically strained family
It is almost two in the morning, and we still have not been able to see her. Five days have passed by, and the presence of my mother was non-existent. School is out for the weekend; time to have fun and mess around and the sight of her brings a smile to our faces. The days fly by fast, and she goes missing once again.
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
I identify as a Latina. I have always considered myself as a Latina, but throughout time, I believe that I have assimilated more into a white individual because of the privilege that I hold and because I have lived in the US most of my life. I have received mostly negative messages from those who are not from my ethnicity. My peers and I were told we wouldn’t graduate high school and be laborers for the rest of our lives. With the current politics, I believe that this still holds true where some people still hold stereotypes and give oppressing messages to Latinos. This exposed me to certain microaggressions, such as If I was really born here and if I speak English. I have received a mix of positive and negative messages from those who are of my same
I grew up in a two-parent household with my parents being married before they had children. My father has always been the one that provides finically, while my mother was the one who took care of my siblings and I throughout my childhood. Being that both of my parents were born in Mexico, I consider myself Mexican American. I am proud to be Mexican American. Culture plays a huge role in shaping your identity. A person’s beliefs and morals are made up by culture and remain throughout your entire life. Culture is what made you the person you are today and also determines who or what you choose to associate yourself with. My identity would not exist if it were not for my own culture and the values I have carried from it along the years.
My parents moved from Colombia to the United States before I was born. I am apart of the first generation in my family that was born here. My parents moved with the single hope of giving me a better life with more opportunities. Having this background has definitely impacted my life in both trivial and meaningful ways. For instance, my father not being able to break through the language barrier has been an integral part of my lifestyle. He has been living in this country for a while now, but has never picked up English fluently. This led me to become his translator for as long as I can remember. Even today I accompany him to his workplace to help close deals and talk to contractors. This was but one of many examples of how my Hispanic background
I believe the term, hispanic, itself does not define who I am. I define who I am and who I want to become. However, I do come from a Mexican heritage. Coming from a Mexican heritage has influenced and deeply impacted my life. My heritage has taught me a lot. I have learned growing up to value my identity, values, faith, and family.
I’m the first generation of my family to be Mexican -American, but I have been introduced to the Mexican culture since I was born. I appreciate the difficulties my parents have faced to make me the person that I am today even though I wasn’t born in Mexico my parents have taught me the language and the culture which I’m so proud of being part of. For others being Hispanic is actually being born in any Latin American countries which is not true at all. Being Hispanic is much more than my cultural background it actually describes how much I appreciate my culture and how I get to experience things other people don’t. I fit into the Hispanic community through the experiencing the culture first hand ,participating in traditions and planning to include my culture in my future.
I am a first-generation Hispanic-American. Being born and spending my childhood in south Florida made my Hispanic culture so accessible that I would think in Spanish instead of English. In my home, Spanish was the first language spoken since my father and mother are from Panama and Peru respectively, and most of my family did not speak English. I was so immersed in my family’s culture that I even learned the “Peruvian dance”-Marinera. I loved walking into my home and smelling the fresh Peruvian dish my mom was cooking. That was all about to change. In 2009, Florida was struggling with unemployment and real estate issues. We moved to a small town near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania called Cranberry Township. We moved because my father’s job transferred
If you don?t know about Mexican culture then I will tell you. I?m going to talk about my culture and that is Mexican culture.Yes,I?m Mexican. I am proud to be Mexican.What I am going to tell you about my culture is my religion,food,events,
I come from an authentic Hispanic family, who is traditional in plenty distinct aspects. We treasure all the memories that have occurred to all of us and we laugh about the embarrassing moments we all had. We hold traditional customs and we accept new traditions as well. All of us are over protective of each and every family member, meaning that if anyone in the family has a problem we will not stop until it is fixed. To every family member, family is always first.
As a member of a working class community, my life has been a struggle between resources and opportunities available for me. Having sparse resources has lead me to the constant push of working towards the things I’ve achieved. Social identities have become a guidance for my future goals and abilities. Being working class Latina, raised in a Catholic family has created many barriers and pathways into the future I wish to hold. Furthermore, taking all the social identities I have grew into have become the bases for my educational goals and identity.
I am not white, but I am not Mexican either. I am, however, a first generation Mexican American with parents from San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Perhaps I do not know what it is like to cross the border that refrains me from being Mexican, or the color of my skin that refrains me from being white, but my own personal experiences make me the Mexican American that I am today.
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.
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. To me it 's not about expecting something in return or a prize; it 's about the sense of Fulfillment which overtakes you when you realize that such a small gesture can change someone 's day or life.