Sotomayor Reflection

Reading Sotomayor’s memoir gave me a more comprehensive look on this world and its people. I went to a high school that was highly populated with upper middle class white students. For this reason, I was less aware of the customs and struggles that a minority or lower class student often experiences. Sotomayor’s story opened my eyes to many of these experiences, which made her memoir so interesting to me. One thing that stood out so prominently to me in this memoir was the role that the community plays in Hispanic culture. When Sotomayor describes her childhood, she focuses on the large family parties and neighborhoods filled with friends who all share the same customs. Mostly everyone looks out for each other, whether it be by looking after someone’s children, finding someone a job, or simply just listening to one’s problems. Being surrounded and influenced by such a tightly knit community later causes Sotomayor to create strong, positive relations with most of the people she meets. Having such support and connections aids her in

People challenge Sotomayor because she is Hispanic, a woman, or Jewish according to one man, and although this was decades ago when discrimination was more prevalent, it was still shocking reading about it. People deny Sotomayor her success, along with the success of other female and/or minority students and citizens. These same people see affirmative action as unfair, rather than opportunistic. In the end, this view causes Sotomayor along with other minority students and citizens to work harder to prove themselves worthy. It drives the future Supreme Court Justice, in specific, into much of her success while in college. Although the discrimination is negative and follows Sotomayor throughout her life, her story proves her strength to overcome such judgements which allows her to proceed to become a Supreme Court