'In Search of Your Own Identity Essay\r'

'After respective(a) writings by Richard Rodriguez and Octavio Paz, I suck throw in a bad-tempered several realizations. Who am I? Should I be a adjourn of a earth and a â€Å"system” that does non nurture me, or should I be a part of a nation that does non ac hunch forwardledge my existence? The f all in States as a nation does non value me, and Mexico does non even know that I exist. These argon ambitious matters to discuss. We ar all in hunting of our own identity. However, some of us ar situated in a shoes that makes it very difficult and confusing to know or under fend. I pass on al modalitys asked myself, â€Å"Who am I?\r\n” I should attri b arelye it in more crude words, â€Å"W present do I rifle? ” After this limited question is asked, I light to cod that I invite lines orgasm up with a response. My parents were born in Mexico, and thus, they are Mexi rump. Some quantifys I face I belong here in the join States, but vari ant(a) times I flavour more given to Mexico. I am a Mexican-American. However, I feel that I am denying in some authority my heritage and my husbandry by saying that I am. I am denying my parents. I say that I’m Mexican because in a guts I am. I am also an American. I am a Mexican-American. What do these terms identify together imply?\r\nThey should imply that the soulfulness is Mexican and American. The term â€Å"Mexican-American” is the very reason why I find myself confused ab by who I very am. I train to search for my own identity, which leads me to the design of this essay. Rodriguez and Paz have discussed this particular problem of identity. All one-third have antithetic viewpoints. Some of their ideas are correspondent but mostly contradictory, especially in the lineament of Rodriguez and Paz. As I was reading, I was able to reach to what they had to say, and in a much bigger sense, I was able to understand and know who I am.\r\nI was able to fin d my self. According to Paz, self-discovery is most than anything realizing that we are alone. Paz argues that our cosmos or our identity becomes a problem and a question. It becomes a problem because of several reasons. We unsloped now don’t precisely wake up one day and realize that we don’t know who we are. on that point are individuals who are hardened in difficult situations that allow for these questions to arise. For example, the migration of Mexicans to the linked States is a situation that will definitely cause many to question their identity.\r\nI add up because if we had non go to the United States, I would exclusively consider myself a Mexican without a doubt. Paz strongly argues that unlike flock are worryly to produce different defendions. This migration is a circumstance that will bring about wonder among the Mexicans about who they really are. It is ironic how a some miles can bring about much(prenominal) a change in you. Personally, I have experiences such a confusion by merely lamentable twenty miles North of where I lived. I lived in Reynosa since I was eight. Then, my family and I moved here to McAllen. At the beginning, you don’t feel quite like you fit.\r\nIt makes it very difficult because it is a completely different world. Even though the majority of the tidy sum are of Mexican inauguration, it still makes it very hard. After the years, I became somewhat used to the life here and began to feel comfortable. However, I also began to question my identity. It is the maent we cross that border that we lose our identity. Paz argues that instead of asking ourselves questions, we should do something about it. We cannot go on contemplating who we are, rather, we should work with our situation and do something. Our questions are only an excuse for not facing reality.\r\nI agree with Paz because sometimes, we continue to recoil and complain and manifestly think about our set situation. However, we do n othing to change it. I recall that Mexican-Americans need to stop talking about our injustices and dissimilitude and do something. However, Paz does mention that Mexicans have an inferiority complex. We begin to doubt our own abilities. This happens because of our socialization. We are taught to listen and stay on quiet. On the early(a) hand, Anglo-Americans are taught to voice their opinions. at that place are many differences in two the Anglo-American culture and Mexican culture.\r\nThese differences are the reason why it is insufferable to blend or mix. We are brought into a culture that is the complete opposite of ours. This is the reason why Paz says that our â€Å"Mexicanism” solely floats. It never exists, and it never goes away. One of the ways we react to this situation is by flaunting our differences. Paz talks about pachucos. They are a group of people of Mexican origin that are known for their language, behavior, and garments. I remember when I went to t all school and we had a pep rally, which land right on September 16, which is Mexico’s independence.\r\nA group of friends and I decided to wear red, albumin, and grand to celebrate Mexico’s independence. We were simply proud of cosmos Mexicans and wanted to show our pride. However, there were problems with several of the administrators because it wasn’t just my friends and I doing it, but other people as well. The pep rally was canceled because they matte up that our clothing would distract and cause conflict with the other â€Å"American” school-age childs in school. As I was reading Paz, he mentioned that Mexicans dress a certain way to stand out. They know they are rejected by the â€Å"American” society.\r\nThey do this to be different and stand out. The suppress is a protection because it hides and points them out. Somehow, they are doing this to â€Å"belong” in some way. They are able to catch the economic aid of the Anglo-Ame ricans. I don’t agree with Paz. I believe that sometimes people dress a certain way to show their pride. I do not dress a certain way to be different and so people can notice me. I am proud to be Mexican and want to show it off. When fourth of July comes, I also like to dress in red, white and blue to celebrate America’s independence. Is this doable or am I organism a hypocrite?\r\nThis question leads me to Richard Rodriguez. Richard Rodriguez’ Hunger of memory is an autobiography. I was able to read only part of his book. I found it quite fascinating. Rodriguez goes through many problems of identity. He has mixed feelings about his own self. He mainly talks about affirmative action. What does the term â€Å" minority student” entail? Is it something we want to be assort as? I had an experience in high school in which a student denied a part of himself. His mother is Anglo and his father is Mexican. However, throughout school, when it was time to che ck on the ethnicity, he would check out Anglo.\r\nHe did this throughout his years in school, but when it was his senior year something happened. He decided to go talk to his counselor and tell her to change all his paperwork. He no longer wanted to be classified as Anglo, but Hispanic. When I comprehend this, it was very surprising. I cannot understand how this particular person decided to simply become Hispanic just so he could get the benefits of affirmative action. He was applying to scholarships and sundry(a) universities, and he knew that if he was classified as a minority student, he would receive interrupt benefits.\r\nThis is not right. You cannot simply choose to be Hispanic for your convenience. You should not reject a part of yourself simply for your own benefits. Rodriguez faced this dilemma. He knew that he did not want to be designate a minority student, but if this is what was going to get him in society, and then he simply had to accept. Throughout life, Rodrig uez wondered about his identity. He was criticized by many because he was a well-known(a) writer who was invited as a client speaker. He would be around Anglo-Americans, and many criticized him because they felt he had become a part of them.\r\nIs this really unfeigned? Isn’t your identity how â€Å"you” see yourself? Just because other people see you being around some other class or race of people, doesn’t mean that you have become a part of them. You simply know that you are Mexican, American, or Mexican-American, and blending with other cultures doesn’t necessarily mean you lose your real self. Because of affirmative action, Rodriguez was able to be a guest speaker, and a professor at a university. He felt threatened at times because the felt somewhat alienated by the â€Å"other” society.\r\nRodriguez did not have a good relationship with the Chicano students. He felt threatened by them. These students were still machine-accessible to the ir parents’ culture. These students knew how to speak Spanish very well. They were proud of their outgoing. Rodriguez on the other hand, spoke in English. His Spanish was not that well. He did not want to associate himself to a past that meant â€Å"poor”. There was one specific time when Rodriguez’ parents saw a Hispanic student wearing a sarape. They were very surprised. Rodriguez said that these students were rattlebrained to think themselves unchanged by their schooling.\r\nI differ with Rodriguez because I believe that just because you are get a higher facts of life and have a good job, you forget that you are Hispanic or Mexican-American. Rodriguez simply wanted to justify his own change. He did not want to belong or keep open a bond between a past that did not bring fond memories. He was not as disadvantaged as other Hispanics. However, he felt very strongly about not going to Chicano student meetings or social events sponsored by â€Å"La Raza. â⠂¬Â I don’t agree with him. After reading this, I realized that he is wrong. I am proud to be Mexican-American.\r\nI am proud to carry the term â€Å"Mexican” and â€Å"American. ” I am proud of my Mexican culture, customs, and beliefs. I don’t need to change in order to succeed or attain a higher education. Rodriguez suddenly came to this realization. He could not simply cast out his culture and simply discharge it. At some point, he had a sermon with his several Hispanic students in which he did not agree with them. Soon, he was known to others as being a â€Å"coconut,” brown on the outside, white on the inside. I have learned many things this semester. I had not really given much purview Mexican-American history.\r\nI never realized about the conglomerate things that were discussed. It was an eye opener. I was also able to realize of the many problems and injustices that Hispanics face here in the United States. However, just like Paz said, we cannot simply contemplate these issues. We need to do something about them. I am tending college to receive a higher education. I know that education is extremely important. However, I am not losing my identity by coming to college. Getting an education does not necessarily make you a different person. I don’t agree with Rodriguez’s viewpoint.\r\nAfter reading Paz and Rodriguez, I began to see myself in some of what they had to say. I realized that I have gone through a confusion stage. I sometimes don’t know where I belong or who I am. I have come to the conclusion that I am simply American. America is a nation filled with various ethnic groups. Hispanics include people from Mexico, Honduras, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, etc. There are also many Asians. I a great deal ask myself why people from Ireland living here in America aren’t labeled Irish-American. They are simply American. Why then should we be labeled Mexican-American?\r\nCant’ we simply be called American? I have come to the conclusion that I am American. American can mean different things to different people. To me American means being a part of Mexico as well as the United States. I consider myself a lucky person. I am able to be have the best of both worlds: Mexico and the United States. Tomorrow, I will celebrate develop’s Day here in the United States and Monday it will be 10 de mayo, Dia de las Madres in Mexico. My mom is very lucky. She gets two gifts. I don’t believe that I am being a hypocrite by doing this. These are some of the advantages of being American.\r\n'