Personal Narrative: My New Mexican Family

I am half white and half Hispanic; light skinned with brown eyes and dark hair. This disparity is exacerbated by my very Hispanic name, Reyes Lucero, and my very “white” upbringing. My family didn’t make beans and enchiladas for dinner; they made tofu stir-fry. As a result, it was difficult to connect with people, I was too different. People assume from my name that I come from a very traditional New Mexican family, but my parents are anything but traditional. My father moved to Illinois after my freshman year. He was my only tie to the Hispanic world, and my grandparents disowned him for about two years for that decision. Family is paramount to them, and they were angry at him for leaving me. Yet they have never accepted my decision to not become a part of the Catholic Church. As a result, my …show more content…
I go with a group who share my passion for the outdoors. However, they are all caucasian and their parents are still together. I greatly enjoy my time spent up in Canada with these individuals but sometimes I feel as though they don't completely understand my life. They don't understand it snows in New Mexico, or that I live at the end of the rocky mountains. They don't understand that my family didn't immigrate across the border or that I lead a fairly similar life to them. Having gone on trips with this organization since seventh grade, I have modified the way I approach these differences. I used to try to hide personal details of my life. I was too embarrassed to share with people who I lived with, made meals with, and didn't leave my sight for weeks at a time. These past few summers, I decided this was foolish and I chose to be open with them. To my delight, this worked tremendously. They didn't understand my life because I didn't tell them about it, not because I was irreconcilably different. I realized the folly in trying to hide my background, and chose to be more transparent in my daily life as