Write a response essay
It is hard enough being I is an essay by Anna Lisa Raya where she explains to the reader how it is hard for her being a Latino in a place that is populated by white Americans. The author is the daughter of a second- generation Mexican American and a Puerto Rican mother. She wrote this essay when she was an undergraduate student in the University of Columbia, where she faced challenges on her identity. The main response to the essay is the issue of culture shock and discrimination faced by minorities in a society that is populated by white people.
Culture shock is the personal disorientation that a person feels when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life as a result of immigration or a move between different social environments or simple travel to a different type of life. Many people face cultural shock when they leave their place of origin where they were the majority and enter into a community, which see them as a minority. Many Americans, especially those from minority groups such as black Americans, Latinos and Hispanics and Asian Americans, experience the issue of cultural shock. Raya has travelled 3000 miles from his hometown to come and get further education in New York, but when she gets to New York, she is surprised that she is a minority and is expected to behave in a particular way. She discovers that she is Latino something she has never questioned all her life she states,” So I was always Mexican.” Cultural shock is faced by many people because when they are living in their communities they learn to appreciate each other and they do not see the downside of their community.
Cultural identity is the identity of a particular culture of an individual as far as that individual is influenced by that culture or group. Cultural identity is expressed through various certain styles of dressing, food, religious beliefs and aesthetics. Latinos are identified through their Spanish-speaking, dance and their religion where they pray to the Virgen de Guadalupe. However, in the case of Raya she faced identity crisis and cultural identity as she did not understand her culture as her mother after being discriminated against she decided that she would not subject her daughter to the same life. This was a disadvantage to Raya, as she became a quintessential imperfect Latina who did not understand her cultural roots, as she could not even dance salsa to save her life. It is important for parents to teach their children, their cultural roots and familiarize them with the requirements of who they are to equip them to face the world and defend their culture to avoid an identity crisis and cultural identity crisis.
Discrimination is the treatment that is given to a certain group of people that is prejudicial and unfair. Discrimination is in many forms where some people are denied certain rights because they belong a cultural group that the person discriminating against them does not like. Discrimination is common in many areas, especially is an institution and people pretend that they are not aware of the way they are treating other people. However, some may think that whatever they are doing to others is fun, but what they do not understand is that they are hurting other people’s feelings and lowering their self-esteem. In the United States, Latinas cannot speak Spanish without the risk of being called “wetback” or “spic.” Therefore, Latinas are afraid to teach their children Spanish because they are afraid of making them face discrimination when they join a larger majority and they become a minority. Discrimination is cruel as it lowers the self-esteem of individuals making them feel as if they are not equal to their counterparts, which is not the case. Reason being every person is equal and for that reason, people should treat others to ensure that the community is integrated and diverse.
In conclusion, there are various factors that make people feel the difficulty of understanding of who they are because of the difference in the cultural values. For example, when a person belongs to two different cultural backgrounds, they find it difficult to find which one to follow and they choose to be neutral. However, the problem is that when they get to the majority communities they feel inferior and they start questioning their identity. However, such people can be helped in by ensuring that the community is responding and accepting without needing to know where a person comes from because at the end of the day all citizens living in the United States are American regardless of their cultural or ethnic background. The laws and policies imposed on citizen’s state that all people are equal and people should treat other equally. It is important that people help others in transitioning into new communities, as it is the only way to make them feel accepted and help them not to question their identity.
