Growing Up As A Mexican American

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I was raised in an encouraging household where both of my parents greatly valued education. Although they were high school graduates, neither could afford to attend college; a combination of family and financial woes ultimately halted their path. As a result, my parents frequently reminded me that getting a good education meant better opportunities for my future. To my parents, that seemed to be the overarching goal: a better life for me than the one they had. My parents wanted me to excel and supported me financially and emotionally of which the former was something their parents were not able to provide. Their desire to facilitate a change in my destiny is one of many essential events that contributed to my world view. Growing up as a Mexican-American, I was exposed to a completely different range of foods, people, and customs. My household was largely filled with images of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and other numerous saints. These images as well as a number of different candles and incenses demonstrated my cultures’ strong belief in the Catholic faith. Even the food had a distinctive Mexican taste as the flavors combined with the spiciness of peppers produced an overall mouthwatering meal. Spanish was regularly spoken at home in everyday conversations with family and friends. It was not until I started kindergarten and – to a lesser extent, preschool – that I became fully fluent in the English language. However, I began to acquire English long before by watching educational television shows such as Caillou, Dragon Tales, and Clifford the Big Read Dog. I developed a routine pattern of religiously watching these educational shows where the main characters became like close friends constantly teaching me new things and show... ... middle of paper ... ...as gone through those very same experiences. I arrived to college with many common misconceptions about the so called college experience. Similar to William Dereiewicz’s argument, for me college became this one thing everyone must do to earn more money. To be more successful I had to look towards the “STEM fields – science, technology, engineering, and math” (27). I am personally guilty for falling into this common misconception but have since learned that college is more about experiences. College gives you the necessary skills to function in your chosen major. I came to Montevallo as a Biology major but have now began to question that decision. Looking towards the future I am hopeful that I will adapt to my newfound independence and develop my own set of moral beliefs and similar to my parents provide my future children with better opportunities than the one I had.

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