I’ve always struggled with my identity, not because I don’t know who I am or because I’m going through a crisis, but rather because I just find it difficult to describe myself to others in a way in which they can understand my unique experience. I was born and raised in Chula Vista, California, a city in the South Bay region of San Diego a couple of miles north of the Mexican border. Both of my parents were born and raised in Mexico, and with my dad’s family being from Tijuana (Mexico’s bordering city to San Diego), I must’ve been a few days old when I applied for my first passport.
When I Googled “Chula Vista” as I wrote this blog, it came up as being at the center of one of the most culturally diverse zones in the United States, which makes perfect sense. While growing up with immigrant parents, learning two languages as my “first language,” and frequently crossing an international border may seem unique to many, it’s honestly extremely common in my hometown. Pretty much all my friends, classmates, and teammates have had somewhat of a similar lived experience, regardless of their race or where their family tree is originally from.
I recognize that I’ve lived a privileged life since I’ve never been “the only one” of any of my demographics in my life – or if I have, it’s never presented me with any problems or issues at all. In fact, I didn’t even notice it until I came to Cal. UC Berkeley is the first place where my demographics made me stand out in some sort of way. The funny thing was that, due to my experience, I honestly had no clue what Hispanic, Latinx, or Chicano even meant, because to me I’m simply Mexican American. There were those that asked, “Where are you from?” “San Diego.” “No, but like where are you originally from?” or the “How long have you been speaking English?” And I honestly took no offense to it. I simply found it hilarious that people even paid attention to these little things. But throughout all of this time, I’ve realized that I never had a proper answer for all of these questions. So, after a couple of years of thinking about it, I finally have it written below.
Whenever I begin my deep-seated contemplations, I always start out by searching the definition of the topic that I’m considering, regardless of how basic the word may be. After looking up “identity” and “identification” in the dictionary a few minutes ago, I think a proper way to…
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