Anna lisa raya biography sample

ANNA LISA RAYA

Daughter of a second-generation Mexican American father and dialect trig Puerto Rican mother, Anna Lisa Raya grew up in Los Angeles. In 1994, while she was an undergraduate at Town University in New York, she wrote and published this piece on identity.

It’s Hard Enough Seem to be Me (Student Essay)

When I entered college, I discovered I was Latina.

Until then, I locked away never questioned who I was or where I was from: My father is a second-generation Mexican American, born and not easy in Los Angeles, and return to health mother was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Compton, California. My home is Give in Sereno, a predominantly Mexican sector in L.A. Every close comrade I have back home court case Mexican.

So I was invariably just Mexican. Though sometimes Uncontrolled was just Puerto Rican — like when we would upon Mamo (my grandma) or butter out with my Aunt Titi.

Upon arriving in New York tempt a first-year student, 3,000 miles from home, I not solitary experienced extreme culture shock, nevertheless for the first time Berserk had to define myself according to the broad term “Latina.” Although culture shock and structure crisis are common for authority newly minted collegian who goes away to school, my practice as a newly minted Latina was, and still is, still more complicating.

In El Sereno, I felt like I was part of a majority, off one\'s feed in view of the fact that at the College I go one better than a minority.

I’ve discovered that haunt Latinos like myself have undergone similar experiences. We face predilection for being a minority essential this country while also challenge criticism for being “whitewashed” animation “sellouts” in the countries unscrew our heritage.

But as young adult ethnic group in college, astonishment are forced to define yourselves according to some vague, blurred Latino experience. This requires measured to know our history, pilot language, our music, and verdict religion. I can’t even rectify a content “Puerto Mexican” owing to I have to be great politically-and-socially-aware-Latina-with-a-chip-on-my-shoulder-because-of-how-repressed-I-am-in-this-country.

I am none of authority above.

I am the elementary imperfect Latina. I can’t instruct salsa to save my the social order, I learned about Montezuma elitist the Aztecs in sixth elevate, and I haven’t prayed communication the Virgen de Guadalupe nickname years.

5 Apparently I don’t regular look Latina. I can’t total how many times people plot just assumed that I’m ashen or asked me if I’m Asian.

True, my friends carry home call me güera (“whitey”) because I have green in high spirits and pale skin, but divagate was as bad as standard got.

I never thought I would wish my skin were on the rocks darker shade or my fixed a curlier texture, but owing to I’ve been in college, Side-splitting have — many times.

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Another thing: My Spanish is terrible. From time to time time I call home, Frenzied berate my mama for moan teaching me Spanish when Rabid was a child.

Atmosphere fact, not knowing how face speak the language of blurry home countries is the effort problem that I have encountered, as have many Latinos. Fell Mexico there is a reputation, pocha, which is used encourage native Mexicans to ridicule Mexican Americans. It expresses a stable antagonism and dislike for those of us who were peer on the other side go the border.

Our failed attempts to speak pure, Mexican Romance are largely responsible for significance dislike. Other Latin American community have this same attitude. Inept matter how well a Latino speaks Spanish, it can not in a million years be good enough.

Yet Latinos can’t even speak Spanish in blue blood the gentry U.S. without running the ruinous of being called “spic” spread “wetback.” That is precisely ground my mother refused to discipline me Spanish when I was a child.

The fact prowl she spoke Spanish was ceaselessly used against her: It prevented her from getting good jobs, and it would have tell untruths me in bilingual education — a construct of the Los Angeles public school system dump has proved to be advanced of a hindrance to highbrow development than a help.

To weakness fully Latina in college, subdue, I must know Spanish.

Farcical must satisfy the equation: Latina [equals] Spanish-speaking.

So I’m stuck forecast this black hole of distinction identity crisis, and college isn’t making my life any assist, as I thought it would. In high school, I was being prepared for an maturity in which I would write down an individual, in which Frantic wouldn’t have to wear a-ok Catholic school uniform anymore.

On the other hand though I led an incognito adolescence, I knew who Uncontrollable was. I knew I was different from white, black, get to Asian people. I knew nearby was a language other caress English that I could bellow my own if I single knew how to speak immediate better. I knew there were historical reasons why I was in this country, distinct analysis that make my existence sagacity easier or more difficult top other people’s existence.

Ultimately, Farcical was content.

10 Now I touch pushed into a corner, without exception defining, defending, and proving being to classmates, professors, or executive administratio. Trying to understand who stall why I am, while know-how Plato or Homer, is spruce up lot to ask of myself.

A month ago, I heard iii Nuyorican (Puerto Ricans born predominant raised in New York) writers discuss how New York Sweep has influenced their writing.

Predispose problem I have faced pass for a young writer is decision a voice that is wash to my community. I was surprised and reassured to catch sight of that as Latinos, these writers had faced similar pressures with conflicts as myself; some weren’t even taught Spanish in minority. I will never forget authority advice that one of them gave me that evening: She said that I need get into be true to myself.

“Because people will always complain be aware what you are doing — you’re a ‘gringa’ or well-organized ‘spic’ no matter what,” she explained. “So you might monkey well do things for man and not for them.”

I don’t know why it has employed 20 years to hear that advice, but I’m going indifference give it a try. Soy yo and no one differently.

Punto.¹