Who Am I

To identify yourself does not only depend on your nationality it is your beliefs and
culture, and through them you let people know who you are and why you are the person you
have become. The way you look at yourself and your identification is not the same as how others
look at you. My religious beliefs are not in religion but I believe in the existence of heaven and
hell and of God and Satan. My nationality is American because I was born in the United States,
but based on color, ethnicity, and culture I identify myself as a Chicana, Mexican-American
Latina.
What does it mean in the greater context to be an American? In the greater context to be
an American is not only to be born in this country but to be patriotic to this country and follow
their traditions, laws and take part in the voting processes. It is to believe in liberty, freedom, and
rights for the people. To be an American is not only to be born in this country. There are people
who are born in this country and later on become terrorists or spies against this country which
demonstrates that being born here does not depict you as a true American.
(http://world.time.com/2013/09/24/born-in-the-usa-5-american-terrorists/).
To me to be a Chicana/Mexican- American is to be of Mexican descent and be born in
this country but by heart, culture, beliefs and traditions follow those traditions. The definition of
a being a Mexican- American is an American of full or partial Mexican decent.
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mexican-american). I identify myself as MexicanAmerican because although I was born in this country both of my parents and their families
where born in Mexico. My parents immigrated to the United States over 25 years ago. However,
the culture and traditions have all remained and will forever remain in our family because that is
what we have grown up to believe in and that is what their parents taught them. The culture, the

food we eat, the way we speak all comes from our beliefs. America gives us freedom and rights
but Mexico will always be part of my familys life, heart, and mindset. We celebrate the Mexican
traditions and festivities and a large part of my family celebrate its religious celebrations of
Catholicism
To me the definitions of a Mexican- American mean that even though I was born in this
country and I do follow its laws, and I am proud to live in a country where I have freedom and
rights, but being of Mexican descent and growing up to the culture and beliefs I grew with will
be with me forever. Mexican- Americans are often stereotyped. Many Americans blame
Mexican-Americans for economic and social problems in this country. One of the greatest
stereotypes is that we are violent and that the Mexican- American population only comes to this
country for the welfare and dont work for their own money. The Mexican- American population
is becoming more and more educated over the decades. According to a 2012 Census Bureau data
a record of about 33.7 million Hispanics reside in the U.S. Of that, 11.4 born in Mexico and 22.3
born in the U.S. (http://www.pewhispanic.org/2013/05/01/a-demographic-portrait-of-mexicanorigin-hispanics-in-the-united-states/).
I identify myself as a Mexican- American. I do not believe in religion nor follow
Catholicism like the rest of my family. I do live by the culture and traditions my family has
followed ever since they were born. Being an American with Mexican descent is nothing to be
ashamed of, it is an amazing privilege to be part of two nationalities.

Resources:
A Demographic Portrait of Mexican-Origin Hispanics in the United States. (2013, May 1).
Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://www.pewhispanic.org/2013/05/01/a-demographicportrait-of-mexican-origin-hispanics-in-the-united-states/
Born in the USA: 5 American Terrorists | TIME.com. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2015, from
http://world.time.com/2013/09/24/born-in-the-usa-5-american-terrorists/
(n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mexicanamerican