Personal Narrative: Growing Up In Dominican Republic

Coming from a Mexican immigrant family I have learned to recognize since a very young age that because of the status that my parents are placed in they cannot pursue a better future like the one I want. I have been given the opportunity to challenge myself with obtaining a higher education than just high school itself. My parents have demonstrated to me through their hard work that I have to value this opportunity unless I want to end up with low paying job. My life long dedication comes from seeing my parents make sacrifices in order for my education to continue.

Much to my own embarrassment, my Hispanic heritage had been a thing I hardly thought of. My Father left my family when I was young, and with him went the hopeful wisps I had of learning about myself. It’s not to say that I wasn’t aware that I was Hispanic, but rather, growing up in a mainly white household I didn’t think I had any right to claim my ethnicity. However, the more I look around me and learn about the community Hispanics have grown accustomed to, the more I find that I understand where I came from. To me, being Hispanic isn’t about what you were told when you were younger, or the traditions you grew up with. Rather, being Hispanic is about learning where you come from, and learning about those who share your same heritage. ‘Hispanic’

As a Hispanic American, I have been exposed to the beauty of my ancestors culture, while living in a country with one of its own. Being the first generation to be born in the United States of America, coming from a family whose roots deeply stem from the Dominican Republic, is an interesting dynamic. While my family is well adjusted to living in the States, they still celebrate as if they were back in their birthplace. They eat, drink, and dance as if they were back home. They speak Spanish to each other despite knowing perfect English. They remind us first generation kids, how privileged we are to be born in the States. As an American, my lifestyle and culture is evidently different than that of my family. I, among my Hispanic American millennial

even though I did not conduct any particular test to determine where are my root coming from I know the history of my country and is pretty clear, there is African blood on my veins both size of my family are mixed race,

In 2015 my grandmother died. When I received the news I was on the couch and my mother told me “Miguel we have to talk” I was sweating because my mother was so serious and she told me that my grandmother was dead, and in that moment all I could think about was being back in the Dominican Republic, growing up with her, imagining the moments I spent in her house and the mornings that I sat in her living room, watching TV and smelling her amazing food wafting through the pass-through window from the kitchen. Then I snap back on reality and realize the future my grandmother would want for me.

If someone were to ask me who I am, I would say that I am dominican but if someone were to ask me who I am depending on the type of music I would respond by saying that I am part American and Japanese. In class we talked about how the type of music we listen to help characterize the type of person that we are. Depending on the culture we are from we are also expected to listen to certain types of music and vice versa. I believe that the music we listen to do infact help characterize the type of person that we are and that one’s culture and nationality have a small part in it.

Before I begin, I would like to congratulate the Dominican Academy class of 2040 for their success in becoming intelligent women and getting into their colleges. It’s nice to see that Dominican has kept with their decision to dress you in wedding dresses and ship you off to symbolize your new union with student debt.

Sometimes in life you don't understand what you have until you see others who don't. I was with my family in Honduras, which is a very poor country. As we drove to my abuela's house on the side of the road hundreds of people were living in tiny huts even what appeared to be cardboard boxes. I learned that I benefit from giving back.

Life is full of moments, good, bad and others that will never forget. One of the things that I feel most proud of is my wonderful childhood in Cuba as it is one of the stages that I will always have and never forget. I was born in a very humble city called Santa Clara in the center of Cuba, another thing I remember well are my friends and my family, since they were always with me in those happy and fun years.

I used to live in Mexico, during my childhood, with my mom and my older brother Jesús where I had a German Shepherd named Camperino. This dog would take care of my older brother and me wherever we were. Later my Nana Elsa had bought us tickets to “ El Circo de Los Hermanos Vasquez” one night, which was my favourite circus. After that I fed Camperino his food and got ready for the circus. As my Nana got us all in her gray chevy car to head out, she told us to lock the gate of the house, but I believed it wasn’t necessary. Leaving without locking the gate or thinking about the safety of Camperino was my biggest mistake.

When you know, you know. The minute I enter Marist's campus, I fell in love. The beautiful scenery and peaceful environment reminded me of my hometown in the Dominican Republic. It brought back beautiful memories from my childhood as took a breath of fresh air. As I learned more about Marist and their ability to help guide me into a better and brighter future, I become more intrigued. As I walked through the classrooms I saw myself being part of something bigger than myself. I saw an opportunity not just to better myself but my parents and siblings. I want to lead my siblings by example and show them that where you come from does not define you or your worth. I want to show them, the importance of hard work and its amazing results. Here I see

It was great. I had a good childhood, just being able to have a lot of freedom to go out to the park. The basketball court was a community playground, being there developed my interest in basketball. I’m the youngest of four I grew up watching my brothers and my sister play. For me it was fun just to follow in their footsteps.

Familial expectations hold a significant impact on the development of an individual’s outlook on life. In some cultures, such as Asians, children are enforced with strict standards from their parents. These children are expected to be outstanding in every aspect of society, such as educational and behavior-wise. To put it simply, the children are expected to be perfect puppets, mindless dolls that only listen to their puppeteer, the parents. These expectations define an individual’s perspective, personal concepts, and standards on oneself as well as the world. To demonstrate, in “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, the mother continuously tries to impose on her daughter rigorous standards to achieve, standards she inherit from the older generations. Chinese

Before I came to Massachusetts from Puerto Rico I had to use my full name as appeared on my Birth certificate. 1983 I moved to MA from Puerto Rico and I had to replace my driving license, the RMV changed my name from Jose Luis Gonzalez Alamo to Jose L. Gonzalez. Due to the amount of people with the same first and last names and or DOB in MA and CT, I had to change my name back to my full name due to problems that I had every time I renewed my driver license at the RMV. Every time at the time of renewing my license I have to provided proof of residency and employment paid stubs to proved to the RMV that I didn't own any taxes to the state of MA or CT. Also I had a credit card and name identity theft from approximately 2004-2006, an individual

Simultaneously, as my sister and I carried the burden of adult responsibilities, we were faced with the process of acculturation. In Taiwanese culture, families function hierarchically, with the elderly deserving most respect and the youngest the least, including between siblings. The notion of caring for, and catering to our elders is heavily valued, with the idea behind that being that as children we “owe” our parents for raising us. Due to collectivistic and hierarchical values, children are discouraged from voicing their opinions and disagreement. Additionally, emotional restraint