Personal Narrative: My Hispanic Culture

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.

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.

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’

I’ve always been proud to be Mexican-American. I recognize that this aspect of myself makes me unique. I represent a rich culture with so much to offer. My family immigrated to North Carolina in the late 90’s; however, almost two decades of separation from our hearth hasn’t dulled our Mexican culture and pride. Now, more than ever, it is important for young Hispanics to embrace their roots. It is imperative for young Hispanics to send a message that being American and Hispanic isn’t mutually exclusive. Hispanics, first-generation, second-generation, or even fourth generation, have so much to offer to the United States. I embrace my Mexican heritage- my Hispanic heritage, because I want other young people to do so too. I want to lead by example and one day be able to pass the torch to a next generation of young Hispanics.

“Wow...there is no way you’re Latino. You’re way too white!” was the ignorant remark made by a one of my peers during my school’s annual Latin-American Fest. Initially, hearing this claim made me look into the mirror. I began to stroke my face and examine my physical features. Was this true? Was I not Latino enough? Did the amount of melanin or lack thereof deem me as Latino?

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.

“Don’t stop, keep going because something great is waiting for us on the other side,” my mother kept reminding me while crossing the desert. Crossing the desert to come to the United States was the hardest thing I had to. This was not optional; it was necessary if we wanted to survive. Crossing the desert is challenging, scary, and tiring

At a young age, my grandmother came to this country to find a better life and make something of herself. Being a young Latina in The United States, she was faced with many struggles and hardships. Although it felt like everything was against her, she pushed through it all so that she and her five kids could have a life full of love, accomplishments, and opportunity. She was a pioneer being that she was the first of her family to arrive to the United States as an immigrant, leaving everything she knew behind. She had no other option but to go through life’s struggles in order to make a life for her kids, and the generations ahead.

I have many different cultures al mixed up into one. One culture is expressed at home and another is shown when I’m outside doing an activity or at school. My culture at home is Peruvian. My Peruvian culture is shown through the music and activities my family does at home. For instance, at home sometimes my grandfather plays music in Quechua. Also, in holidays such as Christmas, we celebrate by eating a traditional bread with hot chocolate. The main part of my Peruvian culture is the food. Everyday my family eats Peruvian food. My mom cooks food such as lomo saltado, papa rellena, and cau cau.

My project went fairly well as I hoped and I did get some good reactions when I spoke Spanish around some people. I did take notes during the entire process so I have some notes that I would be able to look back at and recall what happened during the process of this project. I tried to focus where I spoke Spanish specifically around people that didn’t look like they spoke Spanish just so I could see the type of reaction. I spoke Spanish in variety of different places to ensure that I would get a good amount of results and reactions from people that were different. I spoke Spanish at restaurants, gas stations, at school, at the mall, wherever I went. We made a pit stop for gas at a station in Coachella and as expected the clerk did speak Spanish

It is a very complex world to live in without language. One’s ideas, thoughts, and emotions can all be present, however, unable to be expressed. This is the world I imagined for my grandfather when he first immigrated to the United States with my grandmother and their four children. He raised his own children to know Spanish in hopes that his future grandchildren would also be involved in their Dominican ancestry. Although, when I am speaking the same words and sentences that my mother, father, sister and cousins do, they come out misarranged and sloppy. This was because I never truly learned how to speak Spanish.

It is our first day here on the new land. It is like nothing we have ever seen and we will set out in group to explore the new world in the morning, for now we must set up camp. I hope to find gold and possibly native people these so called savages and convert them to Christianity.

When I am asked about my cultural identity I think about my ethnicity. Being an Indian in a predominantly white school I feel awkward and out of place. Through the conflicts of my race and religion I have learned more about myself and my cultural identity.

At the beginning of the fall semester, I was beyond excited when I found out that this Spanish class was about improving one’s speaking. I was also very nervous because I knew that my Spanish speaking skills were not nearly as good as some of my other classmates’ speaking skills. Nevertheless, I decided to try my very best every single time I was required to give a speech, and I tried very hard to not think about how well other people were speaking, and just focus on improving my speaking skills. With that being said, I have become quite a bit better at speaking in Spanish, and I have even been able to significantly improve my pronunciation.

From the beginning of Spanish I up until now, I have definitely progressed in my learning of Spanish. By the end of Spanish I, I learned the basic vocabulary, tenses, and grammar. In Spanish II, I’ve been using the vocabulary and tenses from the previous course - along with new ones - that would help me communicate with Spanish speakers on a more advanced level. The two courses have overall helped me go from only knowing a few words to being able to have an entire conversation in the language. Moreover, learning the Spanish language has changed me. Before learning the language, I never had a big interest in learning about the culture or travelling to Spain, but I now do; I am aware that doing these two things will help me communicate with and understand Spanish speakers on an advanced level, which is what my goal is.