Identity Crisis
At first glance most would never think I am Mexican-American. Every person only finds out I am a Latina, when they read my name. Even though people think I am some Spanish girl, they do not realize I am actually a Mexican-American. Growing up I was never told that my ethnicity would ever have an effect on me. The term Latino and Mexican-American were the only terms I grew up knowing. Hispanic was a term that was forbidden in my house. It was viewed as a term that was meant to cause segregation within the community. I didn’t grow up in the “ghetto”. My hometown is a white suburban area. When I was in elementary school there was a total of about 10 students from kindergarten to sixth grade that were Latino. Yet, that never …show more content…
Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t be who I am without saying I am part white. But, to society I am only white, which is far from who I am. We aren’t all the same. We aren’t all Mexican. We aren’t all dark skinned. We aren’t all criminals. The idea that society could possibly try to categorize one group of human beings I have lived in fear and have been running from racism and ignorance since the first time I faced it in high school. To be scared to identify, has been something I have been dealing with since my freshmen year of high school. I can say I am proud to identify as a Latino, Mexican-American. I get the best of both worlds. I don’t have to be one thing or the other. I mean society ideal want me to pick, but I, myself, will never pick one culture or the other. So, who am I? A question that is fairly asked by those who I barely meet me. I am Emilia Lorena Morales. A girl who has been running in fear of accepting who I am. Took me since the first day of high school to one if my last of my first year in college. I Emilia Lorena Morales, is a person who isn’t afraid of being …show more content…
I am a young college student on the brink of 19. I love both cultures I was raised in. There is still fear of racism and ignorance that I might face, that might not ever go away. I at least know how to thrive in an environment that allows me to grow. It’s time to stop running away from the person I am. Stop running from my fears of never being accepted because mi raza, my culture, my community, my home, is where I am accepted for being a light skinned
At first glance most would never think I am Mexican-American. Every person only finds out I am a Latina, when they read my name. Even though people think I am some Spanish girl, they do not realize I am actually a Mexican-American. Growing up I was never told that my ethnicity would ever have an effect on me. The term Latino and Mexican-American were the only terms I grew up knowing. Hispanic was a term that was forbidden in my house. It was viewed as a term that was meant to cause segregation within the community. I didn’t grow up in the “ghetto”. My hometown is a white suburban area. When I was in elementary school there was a total of about 10 students from kindergarten to sixth grade that were Latino. Yet, that never …show more content…
Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t be who I am without saying I am part white. But, to society I am only white, which is far from who I am. We aren’t all the same. We aren’t all Mexican. We aren’t all dark skinned. We aren’t all criminals. The idea that society could possibly try to categorize one group of human beings I have lived in fear and have been running from racism and ignorance since the first time I faced it in high school. To be scared to identify, has been something I have been dealing with since my freshmen year of high school. I can say I am proud to identify as a Latino, Mexican-American. I get the best of both worlds. I don’t have to be one thing or the other. I mean society ideal want me to pick, but I, myself, will never pick one culture or the other. So, who am I? A question that is fairly asked by those who I barely meet me. I am Emilia Lorena Morales. A girl who has been running in fear of accepting who I am. Took me since the first day of high school to one if my last of my first year in college. I Emilia Lorena Morales, is a person who isn’t afraid of being …show more content…
I am a young college student on the brink of 19. I love both cultures I was raised in. There is still fear of racism and ignorance that I might face, that might not ever go away. I at least know how to thrive in an environment that allows me to grow. It’s time to stop running away from the person I am. Stop running from my fears of never being accepted because mi raza, my culture, my community, my home, is where I am accepted for being a light skinned