Who Am I? Why Am I Here?

My full name is Christina Kaysone Chantharavongsa and I was born March 23, 1995 in Bridgeport Hospital located in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It was a little city and a small world since a ton of people would know each other. My parents were in an arranged marriage and were both moved to the United States from Laos during their high school years. But I’m actually half Laotian and Thai since my mom’s side is Thai from Thailand although she was born in an Asian Southeastern country called Laos. I’m the second oldest out of four children with two sisters and one brother. The order goes from Sarah, Christina (me),

I really did not think there was anything extraordinary about my culture and heritage because I have lived in a Crystal City, Texas my whole life. Being Mexican American was really the usually thing so I did not consider anything special of it, but my history has shown me otherwise. Living in a small town has shown me that I can leave a legacy, keep the heritage of my family alive, and still strive to have an education.

The message I want to convey is that you should never give up. No one has control over you, but yourself. So, don’t let anyone push you down. There will be darkness at times in your life but reach out to those who love you, fore they will bring out the light you need and give you strength. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr once said, “darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do

Being Hispanic to me means traditions. It means my home and my loving family. Being Hispanic also means being hard working. I was born in a humble small town in Michoacan, Mexico. My parents decided to come to the United States looking for a better future for our family. They had to leave the land that had watched them grow in order to come to an unknown land, where the future was a giant blur. But what they didn’t leave behind was their love for their native country. I grew up in a household where Spanish was only spoken and tortillas were always at the table. I grew up loving authentic Mexican food and speaking Spanish fluently. When I was in kindergarten my teacher was afraid that I would be behind the rest of my classmates. My parents couldn't help me learn English since they didn’t know it either. I was fortunate to have a kind teacher who was willing to tutor me for free everyday after school. By the end of elementary school my English improved. As I grew

Hispanic Heritage is an important concept that surrounds my entire life. Mexico is a wonderful and beautiful country. This culture has been important in my life because it helps me define who I am and how I view the world in many ways. At the age of 16 my parents crossed over the border to the U.S in order to give a better life to me and my siblings. They came at different times my mom came with my grandma then later on that year my dad came with his parents. My parents didn't know any english to start off just spanish but time passed and my parents learned and understood english. They came over with nothing, my dad would have sleepless nights worrying about what their next meal will be. Till this day both my parents are hard workers, I appreciate and love them for everything they have done. I fit into the Hispanic community by

Hispanic heritage is an important concept that surrounds my entire life. I have lived in Colombia until I turned fourteen years old. Colombia is a beautiful country in South America and consist of mostly Hispanic individuals. This culture has been important in my life because it helps define who I am and how I view the world. It was not until I moved to the United States that I began to become more aware of different ethnic groups. I grew up in a city where everyone was the same, looked the same and had the same cultural behaviors in our country.

Spanish is my native language, however, my mother advised my siblings and I to speak only English. This was because she was afraid that we would be rejected from professional careers if our English wasn 't unaccented, fluent, and similar in refinement to the working class whites. With time, I became a fluent English speaker with a developed Central American accent but like, any other young girl, I thought nothing of it. That is until one event, in particular, occurred that would cast a shadow of embarrassment onto my Spanish language. This event not only led me to desert my entire native language but a sense of my cultural identity, as well.

From my adversity and hardship I unveiled who I am and what I am capable of. I ventured outside my comfort zone; challenging myself to start new conversations everyday and foraging friendships faster than a tempest. I also started to express my curiosity and discovered the metamorphosing world in which I live by throwing myself into the wilderness with Outdoor Ed. Most importantly, I embraced others and helped them be happy, to stop them from feeling alienated like I did. l saw that I held the power and I hoped that I could help others see the same.

The culture I choose to explore is the Hispanic culture. I choose this culture because many of the people I work with and many of my friends identify with the Hispanic culture and I feel it would be interesting to know more about a culture that is so relevant to my life. A few of the big things in Hispanic culture that I found interesting are language, traditions and food. Hispanic refers to a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture.

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.

| The attitudes and customs of Hispanics have a major presence on music, food, holidays, dance, and arts here in the United States. The Hispanic families in the United States are traditionally close-knit groups, and Spanish speakers are quite formal toward each other when speaking.

Being born into a small town in Texas where a heavy influence on Mexican culture applies to almost everyone. It makes me realized that food really plays a major part in identifying myself as a Mexican. Because the food, makes our culture unique. In addition, learning to make my very first ever batch of tamales made me realized that it was a memorable experience.

"Nearly every moment of every day we have the opportunity to give something to someone else - our time, our love, our resources. I have always found more joy in giving when I did not expect anything in return." --- S. Truett Cathy, Chic-Fil-A founder

Latinos have so many different types of dishes that come from different country from Central American to South American.

I was born _name__ on _date__ in _place__. I am a son, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin, and friend. I was desperately shy as a small child, but grew out of it. My teen years were happy times sports, friends, summers spent in __place_. It all helped shape me into who I am today. My interests are many. I have always enjoyed reading about history and follow the history channel faithfully. I love music. It's been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I find it calming when life gets rocky.