From as early as I could remember I noticed I was not like the others kids. I had an interest for things most kids would not be interested in. I liked interacting with people, knowing about people and their life stories; I wanted to help in anyway that I could when I would hear everyone’s problems. I thought outside the box throughout my whole childhood and I wanted to make the most out of my knowledge. I told myself that I was going to dedicate my life to helping my community.
From my appearance, people think I am Mexican or Hawaiian. And from my last name, people think I’m Japanese. I can’t count or remember for my life how many times I’ve been asked by people if I was one of those ethnicities. Truth be told, I was born in Danville, Indiana. Yes I know, I’m a Hoosier.
I am very proud of my Hispanic heritage. Even though, I am an United States citizen, I am always going to belong to my Hispanic backgrounds. There are so many reasons that I am proud to be Guatemalan and American that I could write a whole book about it. However, I regularly participate in my Hispanic culture and community through my family, traditions, and by being bilingual.
Growing up in a hispanic family directly affected the environment I was exposed to. Everyone around me always greatly emphasized the importance of family, being humble, and being generous.. My teachers, friends, family, and loved ones majorly impacted me and shaped me into who I am today. When one is brought up in a small town, a lot like the one I was brought up in, one is destined to typically be exposed to the same type of people as long as you live in that certain town. Everyone in my small hometown usually had a background story like the one my parents have, therefore, they also usually had a lot of the same morals and values my parents held high and taught me.
“No Problemo” is a Problem. Many people have a strong sense of Nationalism in the Hispanic community. They are a proud culture with a very traditional base and beliefs. The Hispanic people like to be identified by the region that they are from and not just generalized. For instance Mexicans are from Mexico while people from Argentina are Argentinian and not just group as “Mexican”.
I come from an authentic Hispanic family, who is traditional in plenty distinct aspects. We treasure all the memories that have occurred to all of us and we laugh about the embarrassing moments we all had. We hold traditional customs and we accept new traditions as well. All of us are over protective of each and every family member, meaning that if anyone in the family has a problem we will not stop until it is fixed. To every family member, family is always first.
Being a child of immigrant parents has taught me so much. For example, being able to work hard for what you want. At school, I always strive to get A’s. My parent’s have taught me to never settle for anything less than a B. They know that in order for me to go to college and be successful, I not only have to get good grades but work hard to get there.
I am half Mexican and half Ecuadorian. I live in a household with my mom, three sisters, and one younger brother. My parents divorced when i was nine years old and for me it was one of the hardest experiences i had ever been through. I am usually always happy and smiling and laughing. I 'm very loud
Growing up as a first-generation Mexican American was a huge advantage for me in that it allowed me to grow up in a culturally diverse community. I learned how to work well with people of all backgrounds and empathize with people from all walks of life. However, while being the first in my family to go to college was a momentous accomplishment, the lack of instruction and guidance lead me to commit many mistakes that could have been easily avoided during my first years at college. My timidity and downright arrogance lead me to believe that I did not need anyone’s assistance and thus I found myself denial that there was a problem in terms of my grades during my first semesters. I have since addressed this issue and have worked diligently to
Las Vegas is where I was born and raised. That doesn’t mean that I just gave up on my Mexican culture. Like many others, I have a culture that is both American and Mexican. My culture has shaped my values, perceptions, and behaviors. The culture of my family, community, and society has made who I am as a person in numerous ways.
To me, being hispanic and born and raised makes me want to break all negative stereotypes of how must are not educated and do not have any way of succeeding. I want to make my family proud. I have had many experiences were being hispanic has made me work harder than I would have. The main place were I had to exceed was in school. I came into kindergarten with not knowing any english.
I grew up in a two-parent household with my parents being married before they had children. My father has always been the one that provides finically, while my mother was the one who took care of my siblings and I throughout my childhood. Being that both of my parents were born in Mexico, I consider myself Mexican American. I am proud to be Mexican American. Culture plays a huge role in shaping your identity.
I’m the first generation of my family to be Mexican -American, but I have been introduced to the Mexican culture since I was born. I appreciate the difficulties my parents have faced to make me the person that I am today even though I wasn’t born in Mexico my parents have taught me the language and the culture which I’m so proud of being part of. For others being Hispanic is actually being born in any Latin American countries which is not true at all. Being Hispanic is much more than my cultural background it actually describes how much I appreciate my culture and how I get to experience things other people don’t. I fit into the Hispanic community through the experiencing the culture first hand ,participating in traditions and planning to include my culture in my future.
Two years ago I lived in Mexico, I am from Irapuato Guanajuato where I lived with my family in one of the most dangerous colonies. for me is not, I am so accustomed to everything that seems normal, my mother said “ I would not be home late” because someone could hurt me, almost every day I walked from my friend’s house to my house in the wee hours of the night and among our colonies. there were many gang members, people who used to steal. One day i was walking to the pharmacy because I needed something for high school, while crossing the streets a man approached me and said “these bastards do not let us pass” I just kept walking and I realized that he started to follow me, he asked me the time I answered I did not know and I kept walking, the man started to ask me if I wanted to have sex with him and let him give me oral sex.
I identify as a Latina. I have always considered myself as a Latina, but throughout time, I believe that I have assimilated more into a white individual because of the privilege that I hold and because I have lived in the US most of my life. I have received mostly negative messages from those who are not from my ethnicity. My peers and I were told we wouldn’t graduate high school and be laborers for the rest of our lives. With the current politics, I believe that this still holds true where some people still hold stereotypes and give oppressing messages to Latinos.
