Mexico Personal Narrative

During the summer between my junior and senior year of high school, I realized I am Mexican. On one side of my family my grandparents are completely white but on the other side my grandparents are 100% Mexican. I grew up making tamales at Christmas and I learned about my culture. My grandparents who were born in Mexico came to the United States by walking across the border. I admired my grandparents’ strength and courage and they helped me understand the idea of The American Dream. As I grew up, I learned the negative connotations behind the word Mexican and, to fit in, I hid who I was by identifying as white. My life has been filled with opportunity and choices. I have had the opportunity to receive a private school education my entire life. I live in a world in which I can walk outside with almost zero chance of getting shot. I thought to be a “true” Mexican I had to have suffered. The idea that “true” Mexicans have undergone lives of poverty, struggle and violence, did not apply to me. My family does not speak Spanish at home. I am not a fluent speaker, even though I have taken years of Spanish in school. When I traveled to El Salvador this summer for an immersion program, there were times when I experienced a huge language barrier. I regretted that I didn’t listen to my grandmother when she …show more content…
My mom says that she really has conversations with God. During my trip to El Salvador, I understood just that kind of faith. At El Rosario Church, when I put my fingers in the bullet holes from the war I found it hard to understand how the people maintained their faith because I realized the people slaughtered were innocent human beings. Even though they have seen horrors that I will never know and live in one of the most dangerous countries in the world, they still have an unbreakable faith and love for others. Perquin’s children remain hopeful that they can change the Salvadorian government so that it might radiate