My Hispanic Culture

This is where you start writing your essay. My ethnicity, culture and family have made me who I am today. I am Hispanic. I am both Mexican and American. I cannot be one without the other. I was born and raised in Arizona by two loving and hardworking individuals who I am proud to call my parents. They have bestowed upon me a wonderful culture, a beautiful language and significant values that are embedded in the fibers of who I am.

Growing up, most of the people in my life had some Hispanic background and I viewed this as normal. I grew up in a Hispanic populated community where neighbors quickly became family and their kids my best friends. Spanish was my first and only language growing up until I started elementary school, where I eventually

First and foremost, Hispanics come from a very family oriented culture thus making family the utmost significant value. We have a great sense of unity that goes beyond the immediate family (parents and siblings) and includes the extended family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins) and close friends. As a child, I was taught of the great importance of family and being there for another. A way our culture demonstrates this is when one’s parents get at a certain age where they can take care of themselves anymore; it is accustomed and expected that a son/ daughter will take them in. The way I see it is that they took care of us for many years and now is our turn to do the same for them. Respect is another a value of great importance that was taught to us. As a child, you learn to respect people who were older than you and use formal language when speaking to them. We also grew up saying “mande” instead of saying “what” when we were called upon. The difference between the two is that “mande” means what can I help you with. This showed great respect for the person that is calling

My parents came from Mexico with the intention of working hard and providing us with a better life. They were here illegally at the time so that meant they got paid less than minimum wage and they would have to work long hours with no benefits. They would come home tired after a long day at work and yet they always had time to spend with us. They did it all because they knew that working hard is what will get you through life. My brothers and I have been brought up with this value so from a young age we did chores and did are best to help them. Once we got old enough we learned more and with it came more responsibilities. My parents have taught me that if I work hard enough I can be anything that I put my mind too. I was raised with my three brothers so it was no surprise to my parents that I enjoyed playing and getting dirty. I grew up playing in co-ed soccer and taking boxing classes when I was young. However, I was also taught that as a woman I had to learn additional skills. I was taught at a young age how to cook traditional Mexican dishes, how to sew and embroider. They passed along many traditions and skills they have learned from their