What is a legacy? Lin Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton described it as “planting seeds in a garden you never get to see”. In a similar way, the Broadway musical, In The Heights, sings about continuing what is passed down to you because one day it may be gone. One song in particular titled, “Paciencia y Fe” inspires me to work as hard as I can just like Abuela Claudia did when she immigrated from Cuba. The Broadway hits’ harmonies and melodies have instilled in me a sense of hope for the future, where I can continue a family legacy.…
I'm going with my family to corpus! First, we were planning to go to Corpus Christi to go have fun with mine. My mom said, my cousins, where there. So we start to pack my shirt, shorts, and tennis. When we got to corpus we went to my cousins in RV parks. After we got over there we went to a water park called hurricane alley. We had a lot a fun big water slides, little river, and rasps. Then we went to a store to get some drinks, chips rasps, and some Frito pie. So we could eat dinner. Next, we went to sleep. When we woke up mom said we are going to the aquarium. So I got so happy I told my mom this was the best day ever. Before we went to the aquarium to see a real shark. My sister got scared by the shark. For last we came…
It sits on the whitish nightstand, a gentle reminder on a hectic day of bustling and forced dialogue to relax and reminisce. Wrapped in its faded wooden cerulean frame, the snapshot transports me to another place. While the actual photograph is slightly sun-bleached, the memory stands clear and vibrant in my mind. My Abuelitos and I are sitting in a row on the shore. Our chairs are bright cherry red. I’m wearing my favorite aquamarine Little Mermaid two-piece, the one with the sparkly flounder on the side. My strong, hardworking Abuelo sports his usual slicked back hairstyle and striped collared shirt that always seemed to complement his olive toned skin. My Abuelita garbs a crisp linen shirt…
I was the first generation of my family to be born in the United States, so my family often spoke English and Spanish at home. When I entered pre-school I began learning more English and less Spanish. Throughout that year I began to speak less and less Spanish at all because I was ashamed of it. I yearned to be like the other girls in my class, those who spoke without an accent. My family rejoiced that I began speaking fluent English,…
I came to the United States from Colombia when I was just 3 years old. I was brought into the country of bright opportunities because like every other parent, my mother and father wanted what was best for me. My mother had to give up her dream job in Colombia, which was being an accountant for an essentially important company, in order to facilitate my well-being and open up the doors for my future. As the years progressed, I began to acquire both languages, English and Spanish, but there was a point where I became tongue tied and had to assist in speech therapy. My parents would talk to me in Spanish at home but in school all I would hear was English, my mind was extremely confused to the point that I made my own language by using both tongues in one sentence.…
On my first day of school, I was not able to communicate with my peers as Spanish was all I knew. Learning English became my priority and I worked meticulously every day to close the barrier between my peers and me. Fortunately, there was a bilingual teacher, Mrs.Verburg, who became the only person who could…
As an avid reader, I always understood and appreciated what it took to get that story to print. Especially since I always found it so difficult to take the ideas from head and articulate that point whether it be written or verbal. As the five weeks have passed I am becoming more aware of what my challenges and my strengths are in my writing.…
Have you ever been so sure of something that the simple consideration of the opposite seems to overwhelm you? I have been; or, I had been. Since the age of ten, I had considered myself bilingual. This course has given me an increasingly wide opportunity to acknowledge the fact that speaking a language does not necessarily mean I have sufficient tools to write in it. In fact, I have noticed many misconceptions, errors, and even some atrocities.…
The place I grew up in could be considered above average. I had my friends that I would see every day and my family back at home. However, everything that any of us did would be over the top in every way possible. This became especially evident when my family and I would begin to plan a party or travel, this improvement of activities would be known as the “Mexican Way”. To be more specific, my family and I turned a normal New Year’s Eve party into a colorful and explosive fiesta. At first it seemed normal, we bought all the fireworks, started getting all the food ready for the party, and all my cousins and uncles started to arrive at my house; but as soon as it got dark everything started to get out of hand. As the first bottle rockets went…
My writing process is usually all over the place, I have to be in my room with my door shut, my music on, my fan on, and my television on, weird, I know, but that is what I have to do in order to keep myself concentrated. After I am all situated I begin by writing down different ideas on a couple sheets of paper, listing ways I could support this idea and how it relates to my topic, sometimes when I am stuck I look up sample essays online to help me out of my rut. Once I finally choose an idea I start writing the first things that pop into my head down on another sheet of paper, it usually ends up being a jumbled mess that only I can understand. After all of my ideas are laid out onto the paper I begin placing numbers beside them so I know…
I was on the train and I overheard these two older ladies having a conversation in Spanish. At the next stop, one of the ladies got off and I took the time to familiarize myself. I learned that her name was Roberta. Luckily, she understood and spoke English, so I explained that it was an assignment for school. She agreed and I began by introducing myself and asking for her name and how she was. She replied that she was good and she asked me and I responded the same way. I asked her about her day and where she was from and she asked me where I was from, how was school, and what class I liked the most. The conversation wasn’t long, but it was longer than I thought it would be. The conversation eventually ended when she had to get off at her…
One day, I was out with my family at a French bakery. As I opened the door, the sweet scent of baked goods entered my nostrils, an old man approached and he said thank you in a strong thick French accent. I asked the old man if he was French and he replied with “oui je suis français”( yes i'm French). I responded with “ Je ne suis pas français mais je peux parle français”( I'm not French but I can speak French) . His brown eyes widened and as his mouth slowly opened with shock, I gave him a small smile. He said he didn't expect to get a response in French and he asked if my parents were French I said no, my mom is from Mexico, so he asked how I knew French, then I explained that I take French in my high school. The old man said “Your French is excellent for you to not be a native speaker and you've developed the accent.”…
However, the main problem was that my parents didn’t know one word in the English language yet, they managed to find shelter for my brother and I while balancing multiple jobs. I was around the age of two and I caused my parents the most strain on their lives. As I grew older I faintly remember being handed off to least 3 different babysitters, starting from 5am in the morning till 6pm in the evening. At the shy age of five I would now comprehend my parents struggle with various issues such as taking care of me, their youngest child, or massive language barrier. In addition, to my parents having a difficulty learning English, so did I. I wasn’t surrounded by the English language, I didn’t acquire American friends or listen to my family speak English around the house; instead I learned every morning by watching Dora the Explorer on…
It’s always on the back of my mind, and resurfaces to my thoughts when I’m in any social setting regarding Spanish—my second language. I am 3/4 Puerto Rican and 1/4 European, though my pigment carried from the European side, as I have the typical blonde hair and blue eyes. My father was born in Puerto Rico and my mother, although being born here, her mother was Czechoslovakian and Polish, my mother’s father was born in Puerto Rico much like my own father. It always boggles me why I don’t look more Spanish due to the more Spanish heritage I contain. When people see me, they only see my pigment—white. They don’t see the Spanish part, supposedly, until I tell them; then they give me a “Right” or “I see it now” as if they’ve known all along.…
I struggled with speech-language until high school. It was difficult to pronounce certain words, so instead of speaking my ideas or opinions, I would stay quite. The lack of proficiency in English-made me insecure to speak in front of the classroom. Many people believed I was a shy child, yet he/she did not know the real reason why I dislike participating. School children would tease each if he/she had a Mexican accent. That made me even more worried. The fact, that I saw my father continue to struggle with the English language it always resonated with me. My father would get frustrated when he could not pronounce certain words. My father would always take my siblings or me to doctor’s appointment, insurance companies, and banks to translate for him. It was difficult being a child not knowing what professionals were saying. They would use big words that I did not understand at the time. My father would get upset and tell me why I could not translate what he/she was…