It's Hard Enough Being Me By Anna Lisa Raya

955 Words4 Pages
Identity? According to the Merriam Webster definition, identity is the distinguishing character or personality which describes an individual. While this may be correct, it does not properly represent who a person truly is. There are billions of humans on this planet and yet for some reason we can distinguish every single one from the other. What is this force that allows us to create this persona? Are we the ones who have the power to create this identity or is it left in the perspective of the others to decide? In Anna Lisa Raya’s Essay, “ It’s Hard Enough Being Me”, the author is introduced to an identity crisis. While this may be common for everyone growing up, Raya felt uncertain over who she was after moving to college. Having been born Latina, Mexican American, in a Mexican neighborhood, there was never any question about where she belonged. Once she moved to college, the world just seemed to expand leaving Raya, lost and confused. There was never any need for her to announce who she was, but upon wondering into this state 3,000 miles away she experienced a shift from majority or minority. Having all these expectation of being Latina didn’t help her either, as many feel that of course someone who is meican should speak Spanish, yet Raya’s Spanish was “terrible” as she proclaimed. Even if she were able to, there were some consequences to speaking this language like being called “spic” or “wetback”. College opened up a whole new perspective for raya, revealing just how

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