Often, I have been approached by someone who speaks to me in Spanish and assumes I understand. As frustrating as it is, I respond in English to push my need for individuality. We currently live in a world where your looks, your clothes, and your language are all victims of stereotyping. It becomes imperative for us to find our own identity and be unashamed of who we are. Language itself seems to be fighting that battle with us. It has always defined a culture, but it can also change and create new ones. It is not bound by rules and restraints, but rather by our own inability to use its potential. It 's this versatility which gives us power over our individuality. Straining for personal identity in a judgmental world, people often use the fluidity of language not only for an outlet of emotions, but for its ever changing constructs as a blueprint of life 's experiences through speech and writings.
For the most part, the world relies on its judgments. Where you shop or what clothes you wear has a major impact on your social and workplace life. Some people will frown on you for listening to rap music or for having an interest
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Aside from the distressing conjecture people seem to make of you based on your speech, it can be used to show others which culture you identify yourself with. Refusing to speak Spanish is my way of asserting my identity. I am proud to be American and English-speaking where others use language to show pride in their heritage. Language can be a blueprint of where you have been. A Spanish speaker going to England and learning a different accent is a mark of their own experiences. It can show others that you are unique. Meeting someone who speaks many languages is a mark of someone who has traveled. Anzaldúa wrote that "Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity – I am my language. Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself" (343). The key is to not be limited by what people see in you. Show them you are