Personal Narrative: I Am The Daughter Of Mexican Immigrants

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.

I come from an immigrant family and I have had the privilege to be exposed to different social, cultural and economic realities all my life as I constantly navigated across cultures. Aside from family origin in Ecuador, I was born in Virginia and lived in the Caribbean (Puerto Rico) for six years. The biggest influences on the way I see life comes from my immigrant parents. I have learned to perceive their differences and appreciate their interactions with me.

I am a second generation Mexican-American and the last of seven children. My siblings and I were born and raised here in the United States with a mix of Mexican and American values. Our parents migrated to the U.S. at an early age in search of the American dream. Both my mother and father left their families in Mexico to start a better life for themselves and their future children.

Being a daughter of immigrant parents has never been easy here in America. Both my parents worked excessively hard to be financially stable. Unfortunately at the age of ten my life changed. I learned that my parents no longer loved each other. The arguing and fighting my parents had, only damaged me emotionally. I was too young to grasp the idea that my parents were separating which become one of the hardest times for my mom to maintain my siblings and I. Shortly after, I began attending church and fell in love with the idea of getting closer to God. Luckily, my life took an enormous turn the moment I gave my life to Christ. God has opened numerous opportunities for my education. I am proud of all the accomplishments I have achieved in high

As a first generation, Mexican-American student who is proud of being involved in both Greek life and the Theatre community on campus, I believe that I have a very unique position as a member of the Cornell community. As a first generation, Mexican American student I know the struggles that come with navigating the college process and all the obstacles that come with it. I can empathize with others who might be facing the same struggles and I enjoy being as helpful as possible, so that others can avoid some of the road blocks that I faced during the college search process. As a member of the Greek community, I understand the importance of philanthropy and building a network with other diverse minds. Through this community I have come to value

My parents always wanted to give their children the life they never had. I am Mexican-American, both of my parents immigrated from Mexico to the U.S. before I was born. I have numerous relatives, including my older sister, who do not have the same opportunities I have to achieve success because they are undocumented. For them, college was only a dream that could never be attained. Being the first U.S. citizen out of my entire family affected the way I thought about life. It was expected that I would attend college because I was the only one who had access to all the resources granted to American citizens. Although, I agreed with my family, the pressure to succeed and be a role model to my younger siblings was overwhelming.

There were three lessons that my immigrant parents ingrained in their first-generation children: Work hard, never give up, and most importantly, give back. Among other life lessons they taught us, these three were the basis for everything. It would be the basis that would and will define me as a person.

It is challenging being the oldest child in every family. What is even harder, is being the first child of immigrant parents. From the obstacles I faced, I was able to become independent. My parents left El Salvador to go to America for a better life. When they left their country my mother was pregnant with her first child which was me. After I was born and I began to grow, the only language I spoke and heard was Spanish. Since both my parent spoke little English and spoke mostly Spanish I thought it was only natural for me to follow them.

My Hispanic heritage shaped my life because I of what my family has overcome. My grandparents from both of my parent’s sides of the family picked cotton and vegetables in the fields to help their families. I have learned from my parents and grandparents stories that it is worth working hard in school to obtain a good job in the future. Both of my parents went to college and they have been a great inspiration to me. Not all of my aunts and uncles have had good jobs. Some of them only graduated from high school. For example, my Uncle Romeo become a construction worker after he graduated from high school. It is difficult for him to buy his kids what they want and need, and even provide for himself. Although he is a diligent individual, he wishes that he could have been able to attend college and have a different career. He has used

It is not uncommon to hear one recount their latest family reunion or trip with their cousins, but being a first generation immigrant, I sacrificed the luxury of taking my relatives for granted for the security of building a life in America. My parents, my brother, and I are the only ones in my family who live in the United States, thus a trip to India to visit my extended family after 4 years was an exciting yet overwhelming experience. Throughout the trip, I felt like a stranger in the country where I was born as so many things were unfamiliar, but there were a few places that reminded me of my childhood.

Growing up with two immigrant parents, me and my siblings were and still are their go to source when needing help translating something or talking to someone in the store or on the phone. Like the author Amy Tan, when my mother has a question about why her phone bill was higher than usual or needing help with a product at a store, we are her go to source. Although my parents spoke english fluently, their thick accents made it hard for people to understand them. They would not be taken as seriously when speaking with others as if their accents made them sound as if they were less educated not knowing they spoke over three languages.

Growing up, I barely heard the early 2000’s hits blasting from the car radio; instead, Marc Anthony would always serenade us. Growing up, Christmas day didn’t begin Christmas morning; instead Christmas day began Christmas Eve night. Growing up, I didn’t dismiss my heritage; instead, I embraced it. My Latino background defines who I am. Surging throughout my body, my Puerto Rican and Salvadoran heritage has shaped me into the person I am today.

I am Mexican-American. It took me years to finally be able to say that with a sincere feeling of pride. Both of my parents were born in Mexico and moved here before they had a chance to attend college, so my entire life I’ve been exposed to both Mexican culture and American culture. Instead of seeing my multi-cultured world as unique and special, I saw it as a sort of disadvantage, but as time went on and I became more educated on the successes of Mexican-Americans, I had a newfound understanding and appreciation of the culture which consequentially influenced my future aspirations.

Criss-cross applesauce I sat upon the rock with the Froggy book upon my lap. The afternoon sunlight hitting upon the pages and illuminating the text. Eyes wandering left, right, up, and down as I see the boy running through the grass and getting on his bike to roam through the rocky driveway. I dare not leave my spot for the sake of his safety and remain seated, opening my backpack to start on the vocabulary words assigned for English class that week. The words of my mother from the morning are in the back of my mind, ¨Llegó pronto y cuida mucho a tu hermanito, te quiero mucho.¨

Growing up Mexican-American is similar to living a dual-identity. It feels as if I’m stuck in-between a border where I am unsure if I’m more American or more Mexican. Mexican-Americans have to live a life of proving themselves to the world. Am I Mexican enough to my family and am I American enough to the people of the United States.This idea was new to me even though I had been living with this.