‘Desde entonces, soy Chicana,’ she said (Valenzuela, 2008, p. 72).

Re-entering school in the United States after returning from Mexico was hard. It felt like at every turn, I had to reel it in with the “I’m Mexican” identity at school. I would get scolded in elementary school for talking in Spanish, because they thought it would interfere with my English language learning. In addition, I had limited cultural and historical expression in class. In fifth grade, my teacher gave me a B- for focusing my California presentation on the tactics Americans used to take over lands in California from Mexican hacendados. She wrote on my paper, something along the lines of, there are other positive historical events that I could have talked about such as the Mission Trail. Fearful that I would get in trouble for challenging my teacher’s closed mindset, I stayed quiet. I did not need my parents to get a phone call from my school. How disappointed and embarrassed they would have been if our other Mexican neighbors found out that I had disrespected my teacher.

When immigrant youth, and indeed all Mexican American youth, are allowed to maintain their cultural identities ﹣ even if that means deliberately exploring the distinct challenges they can expect to face as bicultural people ﹣ they can develop an enhances sense of efficacy and personal control over their futures and reap immense psychic, social, emotional, and academic benefits (Valenzuela, 2008, p. 74).

I have been walking the line between two worlds, each with expectations of me ﹣ never comprising, but undeniably molding me. As I have mentioned in a previous MVP, I was not aware of the social and racial implications of my experience until I entered UCLA. I learned my place in society while at the same time found other like-minded individuals who were thirsty to explore their heritage, their history, their struggles, and their accomplishments. I learned about the Chicano movement, which you would think I would grow up knowing about, but my parents were new immigrants who were preoccupied with making a living. It took a while, but I was able to embrace my Chicana identity. However, our immigrant or marginalized adolescent students should not have to wait to explore and embrace their cultural identities. Teachers should consider this exploration as another component towards self-love and personal awareness.

Here’s an interesting (recent) article to read about the segregation in the United States: John Oliver Exposes Just How Badly Latino Students Are Getting Screwed