The phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” is popularly used to avoid making a misleading judgment about something by just observing the appearance of it. Personally, I use this idiom often because I don’t fit in with the stereotypical image most people have of what a Latino should look like. Growing up, my pale skin, light hair, and green eyes caused many people to approach me and ask “Hablas Español?” After responding that I do, I always noticed this blank stare emitting from their faces. As a whole, it can be said that the Hispanic community is heterogeneous – meaning that there’s great variations in skin color and even religious affiliations from people in neighboring countries. Apart from all these differences, I believe that we all share many more characteristics which unite us all – these similarities are able to transcend borders. Coming from a Hispanic household, I have learned that being Hispanic means placing a strong emphasis on the importance of the family and the power of an education.
When compared to the typical American family, the Hispanic family is often larger – having many generations living under the same roof. For Hispanics, our family’s well-being is what drives us to continue striving for success. The year 2000 was a time period in Uruguay, in which the economy was plummeting and showed no signs of recovering. Businesses were closing and families were living paycheck to paycheck. It was at this moment, when my parents decided that in order to provide my sister and myself with a better future I had to move to America. My father was the first one to arrive here and worked from dawn to dusk in order to gather enough money to bring the rest of the family into free soil. Looking back, this event played a pivotal part in helping me understand that even in the face of adversity the family circle must always stay together.
Most Hispanic families work towards maintaining the family unity by retaining as much of their cultural heritage alive – in a foreign country—as possible. In my case, my parents made it a goal that we maintained our native language: Spanish. They were able to do this by addressing us only in Spanish and allowing us to learn English in the school environment.
The power of education is constantly emphasized within the Hispanic community because it holds the key to better future for everyone. Families have to use their savings in order to send the next generations of doctors, lawyers, and civil activists to college. From a young age my parents ingrained in us the importance of an education. They always used themselves as an example and told us that if we don’t want to go through the hardships they were going through, we must get an education. As a Hispanic student, I have often encountered many obstacles in my journey in search of higher education. Needless to say, I have learned that all these barriers can be overcome.