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Personal Narrative: My Life As A Latino Student

697 Words3 Pages

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. My primary social identity is a 1st generation female student. Despite the many identities I carry, I feel that being a 1st generation student is the most powerful and is the identity that describes …show more content…

I believe the title of a student is also very important, especially for the people around my social circle. Noting that I am a UCLA student describes a lot to my social circle back at home. Coming from a working class community, it means a lot to be a student, and most importantly, a student at UCLA. Being a UCLA student brings a lot of negative and positive stigma to friends and family back at home. What the majority of people from working class communities fail to acknowledge is the long stressful, tiredly, anxious feelings that come from being a dedicated student. The lack of exposure of education in working class communities revolves around constant judgment and misunderstandings. Many people will not understand when you have to say “no” to going out on a night of drinking, or rejecting the offer to a family reunion to finish studying for a midterm. It is difficult to explain to family members and friends that my education comes first. It is also difficult to constantly remain in a dedicated mindset to continue my education. The stigma behind the school name I carry brings a lot of stereotyping as well. Many people I grew up with

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