My Quinceanera

My Quinceanera. What is it? Why is it so important to me? A Quinceanera is special, not only to me but to other girls also, but why? Why is a big party so important to someone? That is the thing. People usually view it as a party only. In many cases the girl that is turning fifteen doesn’t even know the significance to it. It’s more than a party. If you view a Quinceanera from a different perspective it’s actually very meaningful and beautiful.

Journalists and other nonfiction writers alike occasionally provide accounts of real life traditions and events that occur in various cultures. These important events are often emphasized by underlining them through sequential and descriptive structure, along with direct quotations from the participants of the event. In the news article, “Quinceanera Birthday Bash Preserves Tradition, Marks Passage to Womanhood”, author Natalie St. John uses the aforementioned to highlight and depict the details of a quinceañera and its significance in the Mexican culture and community.

Growing up in a Hispanic household has shaped and built my values in life. At Appleton North High School, I am one out of the few Hispanic students. Knowing that my parents have migrated to America to give me a better future has motivated me to make it happen. Although, as a Mexican-American, I have felt out of place as a minority. However, with time I learned to accept my cultural differences. In fact, to this day, I thank my widowed father for the sacrifices and greater opportunities he has given me. My goal is to keep representing the few Hispanic students in college by working hard to achieve my career goals; not all Hispanics are fortunate enough to attend college. I also work to inspire young Hispanics to find their potential and follow

. The day of my Quinceanera started early. I had just turned 15 and it was the birthday I had always dreamed of. I was always a dama in other Quinceanera’s, but now it was time for my own celebration. In Mexican culture, a dama is just like a bridesmaid. I had 14 of my closest friends as my dama’s to be a part of my “court of honor”. All 14 girls wore beautiful hot pink dresses and had polished hairstyles. The girls looked like beautiful dolls. When my mother was a little girl she had two Quinceanera’s. One celebration took place in Mexico and the other here in California. Looking back at my

My childhood is filled with pleasant memories because my parents wanted better for me. They wanted more from me than to be that stereotypical “drop out” that would get me no where in life. I am an a regular student and I graduated high school class. I took my general ED courses, I was student body treasurer of the leadership class and a member of the Take Action Campaign. I'm attending a good community college and am in the AB540 club. I play different sports and am an active member of the community through The EduCare Foundation. I did everything right, the good way, the “normal” way. So why is it that in all of my accomplishments, the only question that I get is “How did you survived the challenges to get to where you are today?” Why does the fact that I am Hispanic mean I’m not a normal person to be

All birthdays are special. Birthdays celebrate life and the passing of time. In a young Mexican girl life, there is no birthday more important then her quinceañera. The quinceañera is a celebration of a girl’s journey into womanhood. The story of my fifteenth birthday is contributed for a better understanding of how special it is to celebrate a girl’s transformation into a lady, and how it differs from any other birthday she celebrates.

Throughout history, most young girls have a Quinceanera which is a special occasion and traditional celebration of a young girl turning fifteen on her birthday and making a transition from child to adult. Reached maturity and eligibility for marriage, which has been custom in most countries. A Quinceanera is something that started many years ago when a Spanish conqueror brought the tradition to Mexico and other countries. Throughout most countries, parents don’t celebrate their daughter’s fifteenth birthday by having a Quinceanera; they celebrated daughter’s birthday differently from other countries. While in countries like Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central, and South America are the only ones who celebrate their daughter’s

It took me such a long time to understand my worth, and now I know that I am capable of anything. I do not need anyone to tell me who I am, what I am supposed to be, or how I should present myself. I was told my entire life, exactly who I was supposed to be. I never once thought of who I wanted to be. I was so concerned with how others saw me, that I didn’t care about myself. After my first year of high school, I realized I’d had enough. I became a strong woman. I was no longer a little girl trying to please the world. I am now one of the toughest people I know. I fight for myself and for the people I love. I know what I am worthy of, and who I am. I’m a woman who has been to hell and back, looked demons in the face, and said to them, “No, you don’t own me”. I deserve this scholarship because I have fought my entire life, through my father’s death, physical and sexual abuse, mental disorder and all. I have fought to make something of myself, and I refuse to give up and let everyone who told me I would be nothing laugh at me. Instead, I will prove them wrong. This will inspire young people to go on, and do what they love, no matter the

Growing up as a first-generation college-bound Hispanic woman has proven to be a difficult journey. Both of my parents left their home countries at a young age and came to this country without any ideas or real opportunities on where to begin. At a young age, I have been taught that having a higher education is the key to having a successful and plentiful life. However, the journey towards achieving my dream of receiving a higher education has been filled with moments where I have challenged the stereotypes about getting pregnant and dropping out of high school, facing my grandma’s unexpected illness that affected me both academically and mentally, and the challenge of being a first generation college bound student in my family.

So when being asked to discuss an event that marked my transition from childhood to adulthood, this is the story I want to give. Before this had happened I didn’t have a job and wasn’t responsible enough to even think about having a job. But when it did happen it showed me that I had to make that transition in less than a week to get ready for the job I had been dreaming about every time I went into that store with my grandmother as a

A quinceañera is a celebration of a girl's fifteenth birthday and her transition from childhood to adulthood. It was that time of year that my sister was turning fifteenth and my parents watch how parents stress when it comes to planning. They were thinking of hiring a party planner to be stress free; but I told them to save that money; therefore,

Being a Hispanic doesn’t define me. Neither being a student in the USA doesn’t define me, but what does really defines me is where I come from and how I ended up as a Hispanic living in the USA and now being a student with great goals to achieve and complete. I was born in San Vicente, El Salvador, where poverty and harsh life survival exists. We survived only by selling fruits and vegetables on the streets, most of the time we didn’t have anything to eat, we had to eat leftover food in trash cans by the restaurants in the city. Our homes were made out of carton, aluminum, and mud.

When choosing the right dress, you should consider looking for the dress that perfectly fits your body and in which you feel completely comfortable. Besides if the young girl would want to add volume from the waist down, a puffy tulle dress will produce the desired effect. In addition, if you want to narrow your silhouette, it is recommended A-line dresses, corsets, imperial cut dresses, or dresses created with plain or undecorated material. The neckline can be in several forms such as V-shaped, a low round cut, or a halter. If the quinceañera will wear a backless dress, it would preferably be either strapless or contain thin straps. Yet all the choices should be considered according to their budget, in which they will determine if they would

An event that clearly marked my transition from childhood to adulthood was the truly eye-opening experience of attending a Kairos retreat. For those unfamiliar with Kairos, it is a four-day religious retreat in which you and a small group of students come together to more learn about God, themselves, and others in a setting that completely removes you from the daily distractions and stresses of the outside world. Everyone, including myself, was able to share the personal stories about the struggles that they have faced and are continuing to face every day of their lives and offer support to others that may be going through similar things. We laughed together, we cried together, and we created strong relationships and friendships with people, some of which we hadn’t spoken a word to or even known by

But to my family and I, it meant a lot because living in a hispanic community my whole life in this area, there were little to no ladies graduating from high school. Why? Well, because most girls in our community would either fall into bad paths and join bad groups in the community or they would get pregnant at an early age and just not care about school anymore. Because of this those around my family would always say that spanish girls never finish high school, let alone go to college. But I was always passionate when it came to my education, I was driven to overcome those stereotypes and break them, so I did so. But to do so I had to adapt to how people would react so negatively when I would say that I wanted to finish high school and go to college and study psychology. Adaptation to these mean and sometimes rude comments was something I had to do quick because they occurred so much to the point where they became very stressful and anxiety filled situations. “Adaptation is developmental changes that are the results of experiencing and eventually managing stressful and challenging situations”(Hoyer & Roodin, 2009). When ever I was asked if I was in high school or about my future goals I would get frustrated ahead of time because I