Who am I? I regularly take a moment to understand who I am and who I yearn to become. I am first defined by Anglos as an uneducated female. At the same time, to my own ethnicity and culture, I may just be an ordinary female who is destined to grow up to become a respectable and caring housewife. Without questioning these assumptions, there are moments I come to believe I should fall into the expectation.…
I am a Mexican-American woman with certain views of the world. I don’t believe that my place in the world is next to a man, nor do I believe that my sole purpose in life is to procreate. I am a woman who needs and wants her independence. I am also a 33 years old working class woman.…
Being the co-founder of a club is a challenge that can be overcomed with strong resilience skills and the desire to pursue a clear goal. When my partner and I were thinking about starting something new, we focused on things that we either cared about or enjoyed doing. Since we were both undocumented, I brought up the idea of creating a club that would unite students together regardless of their citizenship status. As a result, we created the Latinos United Club. In my mind I pictured a club that will balance educational and cultural support.…
I grew up in a Mexican household, so I always had to deal with my family’s special way of doing things. One thing that the women in my family used to do involved curing a baby’s hiccups. When a baby gets hiccups, a member of my family (usually a woman) would get a piece of red string, wet it, roll it in a little ball, and put in in the middle of the baby’s forehead. That would make the hiccups stop. I never knew this was considered “weird” to other people until I was in the second grade…
My great grandfather came to America from the Dominican Republic on a boat to provide a better life for the many generations of his family to come. My great-grandfather’s perseverance and courage always inspires me to always work hard. Although my first language was English, I am learning Spanish now so I can become more connected with my heritage. I never had much of a chance to learn about the Dominican Republic from my grandparents because of the language barrier between us. My Dominican background is important to me because of the rich culture.…
Amber What is a warrior? What does it mean to be a fighter? Every time I look at my little 4-year-old cousin, Amber, she reminds me of what a warrior is. Amber Marie and her sister Alexia Rose were born 4 months premature and they weighed 1 pound 5 ounces.…
Young Latin American woman of Mexican descent with a curvaceous physique. Full time college student, studying Communications. I would describe myself as a fun, sweet, and easy going girl. I am bilingual in Spanish. Born and raised in the city of Los Angeles in California.…
Although people assume otherwise, I am Latina, and I'm proud to be a part of that community. I obtain my Latin blood from my father, who moved to the United States from Uruguay as a child. My parents divorced each other when I was young; however, when I was with him for either the weekend or the month of July, I embraced all the wonders of my Latin family. Latino culture entails prodigious amounts of cooking, and we always cooked Uruguayan food; it was almost taboo to eat out. From flan to the glorious empanadas, my family always ate homemade meals.…
Growing up, in a Hispanic home I learned the values of life in a differently with hardship but always maintaining closeness. At home, I was taught that family is the most important thing in life. Even though I was born in the United States, my family taught me how to stay in touch with my Hispanic roots and never be ashamed of my culture. Speaking Spanish is greatly important to me. Because of this, I am able to communicate easily with my family members and the Hispanic community.…
Where I was waving “Adios” to my mother, the others were waving “Goodbye” to their parents. Torn between two worlds is what I thought I would always be. As a Mexican-American I believed that I would never be fully Mexican or American. I believed that I would never really fit into one specific group and would be target of exclusion all my life.…
Being Hispanic in the United States, to me, represents forming part of a new generation. A new generation that wants to make a change and leave behind the corruption, the ignorance and the fights found in my own country. Personally, based on my experiences, it's hard being Hispanic. Prejudice and assumptions have become part of me because society impulsed an image that is not necessarily who I am. I am Hispanic, more specifically Mexican.…
I come from a rather large community where Latinos seem to dominate my residence; however, even though there seems to be a vast amount of Latinos such as I, it seems that work is not easy to come by. The opportunities I my community are largely different than those one can see in the movies. California is not as grand as what many outsiders seem to believe. As a student and a daughter of a low income family I have seen first hand the struggles that many have to face if they want to survive the harsh economy that I live in. In my family I will be the first to go to college, so I have to set a good example to my three younger siblings.…
Jaslyn Mendez Reilly Honors ELA 10 October 11, 2017 I Am Me Yo soy Jaslyn, and I am Latina. I’m a Mexican girl who was born in the United States of America, which makes me Mexican American. Being Chicana always made me feel like an outcast. When I tried to make friends with full Americans, I could never relate to them because I wasn't exactly like them.…
Throughout my life I have been part many diverse cultures and of many community that contain a wide range of race and ethnicity. I was born in Ecuador and moving to the United States was a huge slap in the face. The culture and the way thing were done here compared to my home country was totally different. The life style in Ecuador was harsh and unpleasing but in the states life was so much more pleasurable with all the opportunities that are given me. The only problem is that people where closed minded.…
Hi Polina, Thank you for reaching out, it's a pleasure to e-meet you as well. A couple of my friends tagged me in your tweet about immigrant founders, and I'm really excited to tell my story. I'm a first-generation immigrant from Hong Kong, arriving to the United States just 2 months after I turned 8 years old. My single mother and I moved around the US frequently during the first few years of our arrival in the country, staying with whichever relatives would take us in. As a young kid, I had to learn to mature quicker than my peers, and adapt to the constant changing environment that we move in to.…