There are many words I could use to describe myself, of course, some more apparent than others. If I were to ask a stranger to choose a word they think best encompasses who I am, they would reply quickly with “blonde” or “white”— no hesitation. Although these are true, there are two words in particular that you would not be able to assume based on my appearance. In addition to being blonde and white, I am also Mexican and Mormon. These are the two communities I hold most dear.
Growing up in a dominantly Hispanic area, I grew accustomed to feeling like the black sheep in most situations. Although I was born in Mexico City and learned to speak Spanish before I did English, people walking by would not second guess calling me anything but Caucasian.
Mexicans are often stereotyped as uneducated and undocumented. “How are you Mexican? You’re smart…” and “So you’re illegal?” were among the list of ignorant questions I received when claiming my ethnicity. Intelligence knows no race. It is not about your background or where you come from; I think the amount of hard work and dedication we invest into something is what makes us successful at what we do. As a member of the Mexican community, I believe that to put an end to these stereotypes we must continue to work hard and learn to look past the negative words that are associated with our culture. I am proud to be a part of a culture that appreciates the things they worked so hard to acquire.
The second community I find myself most associated with is the Mormon community. Those who know little of our religion claim that we are not Christians or that we practice polygamy (which are both false stereotypes), so here is a short overview of what Mormons believe. (I’ll make it brief, I promise!)
- “Mormon” is the nickname given to the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or LDS for short.
- We believe God is our Heavenly Father and that He sent Jesus Christ, our Savior, to suffer for our sins. We also believe that we can return to live with God again someday.
Sound familiar? That’s because…
- Mormons are Christians. Our religion is completely centered around Christ and striving to become more like Him. We read the Bible in addition to the Book of Mormon (another record of scripture like the Bible).
- We do not practice polygamy or plural marriage. The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), however, does. The FLDS church is not affiliated with the LDS church whatsoever, but because FLDS members also call themselves “mormons,” society does not recognize that those who practice polygamy are of a different denomination than those who do not.
Using the Hornslink database, I found that I would be interested in joining the Hispanic Student Association. Being that I am hispanic and I enjoy community service, I would like to be a part of this organization whose purpose is “to preserve, promote, and produce awareness and understanding of Hispanic culture.”
https://utexas.collegiatelink.net/organization/hispanicstudentassociation/about
I totally can relate to you when it comes to stereotypes. Growing up I have been told I talk like a “white girl” or act like a “white girl.” What does that even mean? Since when can you act like a race? It seems that I was never “black” enough. Whatever being “black” means. Although it never affected me making friends, it’s the fact that everyone expected me to act a certain way because I am black.
I liked reading your blog because I not only learned something different however, I can relate to your situation. Growing up as a Mexican it can sometimes be hard to find your place, people always seem to judge before even getting to know you. However, I know for a fact that working hard can persevere against anything! Us, Hispanic women got to fight hard, and fighting we are! Furthering our education is only one of many ways to break those stereotypes.
Also I was very interested in learning a bit about your religion, sounded very interesting. I love learning about different people and how everybody does things just a bit different.