Personal Narrative: My Spanish Job Search On Monster. Com

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.

My Hispanic culture is exceedingly unique contrast to other cultures because we have countless of beliefs, holidays, lifestyles, etc. My world of Hispanic culture raised me to become an independent and determined person because being the first generation of a Hispanic family to attend college has my family beyond thrilled for me to put value to our heritage. Putting value in our heritage is a magnificent emotion because people anticipate Hispanics to fail; but, we prove them wrong when we accomplish our goals. The Hispanic culture’s strength is unbelievably astonishing because we are ambitious of our dreams and we don’t cease until we fulfill our wish. Including the Hispanic culture at University of Washington may open people’s mind that we

“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?

As long as I can remember my accent has always played a role in my life. There have been moments of uncertainty, discouragement, annoyance, and lastly pride. Throughout each emotional stage I’ve learn acceptance and responsibility of what defines me as a women who happens to be Latina. In Tanya Barrientos “Se Habla Español” she defines what resonates within me “Without having to offer apologies or show remorse. If it will help, I will go first. Aqui estoy. Spanish-challenged and pura Latina (45). She beautifully states the acceptance that too many find difficulty fitting in. Especially in a world that will defined you not only by your looks but as well as the way you speak.

As an American born and raised, I have surprisingly, never given much thought on how my race impacts my life and the people around me. It seems as if society today is obsessed with knowing what we are racially and where we come from, rather than our character and how we think or how we carry ourselves culturally.

What makes me unique is that I am not afraid of failure. When I set a goal I do not focus on whether I might or might not be successful; I concentrate on doing my best and putting all of my effort into the task. What separates me from others is the adversity I’ve been through, my diverse skills, leadership abilities, my contribution to the community, and my work ethic.

I am a daughter of Mexican immigrants and was raised in California’s rural and underserved Central Valley. As a child, I was exposed to the daily challenges immigrant communities face in California exemplified by the experiences of my own family. Residents of Arvin, CA, my hometown, are primarily Latino immigrants, low-income, employed in agricultural labor, and lack access to educational opportunities. In my community, access to fair housing, healthcare, employment, and living wages are limited and social service resources are scarce. When I moved to Berkeley, CA to pursue my bachelor’s degree, I was motivated to serve Latino communities in the Bay Area facing similar social and political obstacles as my hometown as I recognized the need for social and policy improvements.

For our families with Latino roots, we had four speakers; Jesse Farias, Elia Banuelos Padron, Kathleen Cifuents Nekumanesh, and Eduardo Fabian Paramo. Indeed, Jesse, Elia, and Eduardo mention how their parents including themselves had to migrate to the United State for a better life from Mexico, Elia and Kathleen mention how their religion was Catholic, and within Elia’s family they would exhibit male supremacy with strict gender role. I was easily identified with all speakers because I am also a Latina. My parents migrated from Mexico to the United Stated for a better life to obtain the American Dream. I was happy to hear from Jesse that his dad is from Michoacan because my dad and mom’s family are from the same state. Even though I was not

Having been raised in a single parent household from a young age, I developed a strong work ethic. Watching my mother struggle at times raising my brother and me has helped me to see how essential it is to have a college education to achieve my ultimate goal in life, which is to become a psychiatrist and assist those in struggles similar to the ones I’ve faced.

At the age of fifteen, I could barely speak an English word. As I sat on the plane with a blank head flying across from Vietnam to the United States, I knew completely nothing what’s going to happen in my life. After almost twenty-four hours sitting on an intolerable chair, I arrived, as I looked above my head “Welcome to the United States”. And yes, welcome to my story, and undoubtedly my experience is the author.

I have light skin and green eyes. It could be said that they’re my defining features, setting me apart from most girls, especially for a Mexican. At first glance, people tend to assume that I’m barely Mexican or not Mexican at all. It was always the same routine in a new class, at first glance people decided that I was not Mexican, then my name, Azucena, is called and they get thrown off. Maybe she is Mexican. It is only when I speak Spanish, which I do often with pride, that they realize that I am Mexican. They’re assumptions didn’t affect me. I liked who I was and kept them guessing. However, I wasn’t always as confident. In Mexico, when I was not yet fluent in Spanish and where I was easily influenced, my defining features became my biggest insecurity.

It all started on one sunny day on the month of July, I was done with my service to protect my country the United States of America. Man it was nice to experience the smell of freedom once again. Due to my deployments in many countries I never had the opportunity to step forth in the land of the free, my home, it felt nostalgic to experience it all again. During my time in the military I was twenty-one and was first a designated marksman or Scout Sniper in the Marine Corp for a year or two, then I decided to join a special operations team and joined the 75th Ranger Regiment and continued my role as a sniper. Then finally through months of hard work and combat deployments my skills as a sniper was finally recognized. I was hand selected to

Do You Have Someone Who Speaks Spanish? Twenty years ago, in the year of 1996, my parents made a life-changing decision that would help develop an asset of being bilingual to my brothers and myself. My parents determined to migrate to the United States in pursuit of the great “American Dream.”

I co-teach Spanish. This is the Spanish teacher’s second year teaching. straight out of college and this semester is her first time in a co-teaching environment. Consequently, she is extremely reluctant to relinquish the reigns. The rare occasions that she does, she takes that opportunity to leave the room for

Last summer, I was able to intern at Clary Document Management, a small company that my soccer coach owned. I worked in the Data Management department, where I handled medical records for hospitals, doctors, and patients. Because the company was relatively small, I was able to get a really close look at an entrepreneur and his business. I have always been interested in one day developing my own business, but while interning last summer this interest really grew and began to branch out. More recently, I have also begun thinking about going back to Ecuador and establishing a business there. While I was able to get a small insight to the world of business last summer, the Endeavor Argentina internship will be able to further increase my knowledge in Latin American business, while also being able to provide to the Latin American community.