Reflective Essay: My Experience With The Latino Community
As someone who is biracial, I feel being Hispanic has been a unique experience for me because I am always discovering my Hispanic identity. For a long time, I felt disconnected from that part of me because I grew up in a predominately white town away from my family. In fact, I only discovered this part of my identity this February when I attended a camp called Building Bridges that is centered on race. There I was paired with other biracial people who felt the same and the discussions regarding identity made me realize what being Hispanic means to me. Now I realize being Hispanic is more than being bilingual and the color of my skin. It is about being part of a hard working community that has incredibly rich history and culture. Specifically, the discussions I had with my racial affinity group changed my perspective about being Hispanic because many of them grew up in the Los Angeles area whereas I grew up in the
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For a long time, I felt that my family purposely avoids speaking to me because I only speak English, despite the fact that they speak the language. One Latina girl I was paired with during an activity told me that when she does this it is because she is trying to encourage non-Spanish speaking persons to learn the language because it is beneficial to them. I had never thought about it this way. As a result of my experience at camp, I realize being Hispanic to me is about the strong family values we have. Although family is bound to fight, we are always able to put aside our difference every holiday and have a good time. Additionally, it is about working hard. My father has inspired me to work hard on my academics. Lastly, I may have figured out some of what being Hispanic means to me, but it is ever changing because I am still discovering that part of my
For a long time, I felt that my family purposely avoids speaking to me because I only speak English, despite the fact that they speak the language. One Latina girl I was paired with during an activity told me that when she does this it is because she is trying to encourage non-Spanish speaking persons to learn the language because it is beneficial to them. I had never thought about it this way. As a result of my experience at camp, I realize being Hispanic to me is about the strong family values we have. Although family is bound to fight, we are always able to put aside our difference every holiday and have a good time. Additionally, it is about working hard. My father has inspired me to work hard on my academics. Lastly, I may have figured out some of what being Hispanic means to me, but it is ever changing because I am still discovering that part of my