Personal Narrative: A Diverse Environment

My parents immigrated to this country in 1996, a year before I was born. My father and his family originate from Oaxaca, Mexico which is one of the most southern states in Mexico. My mother and her family originate from Michoacán, Mexico but grew up in Baja California. Like many Mexican immigrants, my parents came to this country to work and to

One way that my family helped to socialize me to my culture’s norms and values was by making me hang out with other kids. Both my parents urged me to interact with others so that I could learn different things. I learned that everybody has a different view on culture and that opinions can differ.

The privilege to move to California has exposed me to many different cultures. This has allowed me to grow in many ways. The opportunity to listen and learn was there for the taking and I indulged. I now live in a neighborhood filled with people much different from myself My children's classrooms are filled with people from around the globe.  I also have a diverse group of friends that I very much enjoy and spend time with.

I grew up in a small town in the state of Michoacan, Mexico until a few weeks after my seventh birthday. In 2001, after six years since my father petitioned to have us come to the United States with him and finally he had received a letter from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that his request had been approved. Being of that age, I was my mother’s companion everywhere, however, all I could grasp from those conversations was that we were going to the United States. I don 't think any of us knew what this meant or to what extent this would change our lives, not even my parents whom I thought knew it all.

The first time my mom went over to my dads house for dinner it showed how different their cultures are. They all sat down for dinner when my mom noticed there were no forks, confused she asked where she could get them. My dad and his family all laughed and proceeded to eat their dinner without forks and instead with tortillas. Later on, I was born into this mix of american and hispanic culture. My parents have shaped the cultural identity I have from the type of food I eat, my hobbies, and the values I have.

It all started in kindergarden when I read my first word “O-S-O” which means bear in spanish. The enthusiasm and thrill I felt knowing what I was capable of doing served as a fuel to my eagerness to learn and explore. Throughout my first three years of elementary school in Mexico I continued to academically excel. In first grade I managed to place first out of my class, second grade I placed second and third grade I came back placing first grade. At the beginning of fourth grade I had to leave school and move here to the United States of America being granted a visa. Of all the life experiences I have had I

It all stared at the age of five on hot summer day, the heat was horrible it was as though my very skin was had skipped the meting phase and had gone directly evaporating. To make the situation even worst, my family migrated from Nogales Sonora to Tucson Arizona in an old rusty car that had no working AC. Thinking back I really didn’t know the difference between a person born in the United States and a person born in Mexico, I didn’t even know there was a US and Mexico. I just thought my family was moving from one city to another and had no idea that every member of my family was a US citizen except my dad. Once in school later on in the years, I met a few friends that claimed to not be from the US but were in the country ever since they can

I was born in Merida, Mexico. That special day my father was in prison, he would leave our family by my fourth birthday. It would take me eight years to reunite with him in America. With two sisters and a single mother, I became the man of the house at a young age. Neither of my parents finished a high school education. I held my first job at age seven cleaning windshields at stoplights for any available change, in an effort to alleviate my mother’s burdens. My life experiences have taught me resiliency, hard work, and determination.

When I was in 6th grade, one afternoon, when I got home my parents where waiting in our living room to tell me that we needed to immigrated to the U.S.A. This memory is so vivid in my mind because it changed my entire life. I had grown up in a small town where the economy was based in agriculture, but with the years the lack of consumption had cause the economy to fall. We could have stayed and maybe survived but the opportunity of receiving our green card and the chances it came with where impossible to reject. After the first year of emotional rollercoaster where I had ups and downs I can say that I had successfully adjusted to the new school system. I was a regular student but even thought I struggle with the language barrier I was always

Both of my parents are from Mexico. About 30 years ago, they came to the United States for a better life, following the American Dream. They have sacrificed so much for me. My parents, especially my dad has become my inspiration. My mom

At the age of 5, I came to the United States from Mexico, and ever since society has shaped me to who I am today. Having been born in another country the major social problem or force that affected my life has been that I am an immigrant.

country. It taught me the strength of the human condition and showed me the level of gratitude felt by those who

My mother was born in Mexico and immigrated to the United States no later than the age of five years old. My father grew up in Honduras, a very poor country in Central America, and entered the United States as a teenager. I was

My grandparents came from mexico when my mom was just a baby. As a young child I would listen to their stories and look at all the pictures they took. Before they died I

In the early 1970’s, before my grandparents met, they both crossed the Mexico border as teens. Given that, some of their family were in America, it made it much