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MarianaGarcia
Professor
Beadle
English113B
11May
2016
MexicanCultureandCollegeSpace
ComingfromaMexicancultureandbeingthefirstonetogotocollegecanbeabit
difficult. There are times when I inform my family about the significance of attending college
and both the young and older generation of my family members have different views about
college. Some believe Mexicans should just have a regular jobinsteadofpayingforcollegeand
the others believe getting a degree is worth it. Other than college, when it comes to following
culture values, one aspect they all share in common is to be proud of ones heritage. A way
of
doing so can be through following traditions shared in the home space suchaslanguage,music,
food, and beliefs. Even though, my Mexican culture has helped me shape with positive values
such as following responsibilities and loving the Spanish language , I see myself falling in the
middleasaCaliforniaStateUniversity(CSUN)student.

One of the ways my Mexican culture has helped me define who I am was through my
childhood. I remember being eight years old and being sent to shop for groceries and going to
friends and family houses to sell tamales. At a young age, I was taught how to help out in the
house, but being aware of my surroundings when going somewhere alone.
This personal
example reflects on one of my cultural positive values of learning to take responsibility as a
child.
According to an article called

Self Identity
and Culture
the authors talk about how
cultures can help define someone. As mentioned earlier, people often understand their self

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identities through cultural norms and beliefs, (Jackson, Glenn, and Williams 121). When I
combine the Mexican culture with being a college student, I learn that life is about taking
responsibilities and working hard.
I learned this by observing what I do at home such as taking
care ofmybrothersandhelpingoutinthehouseandcomparingittowhatIdoatschoolwhichis
making sure I understand the education Im receiving. This helps me learn about the different
responsibilitiesthereareinlife.

In a book called
Rhetoric for Radicals
by Jason Del Gandio, the author states how
language and tradition combine. My languageexpressesmyheritage andmyheritageexpresses
my language, (Del Gandio 110). Belonging to the Mexican culture and being acollegestudent
helps meidentifymyselfbetter.Forinstance,IliveinthestudenthousingapartmentsandIenjoy
meeting people from different parts of the world. However, when I meet someone thats not
hispanic, I often get reminded that I have an accent and it makes me feel uncomfortable. They
often assume I dont understand English, or IjustgottotheUnitedStates,whichisdisrespectful
to me. For example, my roommate and I went to an activity our Resident Advisor had for the
people on myfloorandagirltold theotherstotalktomy roommateandIinSpanishbecausewe
dont understand English. My roommate got upset because we were speaking English and she
judged us for our accents. I was upset as well and I replied, If I dont understand English then
why am I in college. Now that I look back, I shouldntbeashamedtohaveanaccent.Bothmy
first and second language have a lot of history behind them that helps me identify myself. For
that reason, not only does Spanish define who I am,IconsiderEnglishapartofmyidentityasa
CSUNstudent.

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Depending on the place one is in, there will be different traditions. The significance of
place for identity is often connected to the memories orculturalunderstanding,thatareattached
to the place rather than the place itself, (Jackson, Glenn, and William 119). In my home space
there are positiveandconservativeculturalvaluesthathasbeenbothhelpfulandunhelpfultome
in the CSUN space.
The culturalunderstandingisattachedtotheCSUNspacebecausethespace
can be more liberal which makes me feel comfortable in discovering myself. Its different from
my home where sometimes Im afraid to speak on something that can go against my family
beliefs. The reason I feel that Im in the middle when it comes to culture and spaceisbecauseI
dont agree with all values my culture wants me to follow and although CSUN is more liberal
compared to other universities, there are students that discriminate other groups because of the
waytheyspeak.

Culture and space dont always treat one the same. According to another article called
My Hips My Caderas
by Alisa Valdes
Rodriguez, the author writes about how she belongsto
two different cultures and depending on the space shes in, she gets treated differently. Whenit
comes to loving her body, her Latin culture helps her embrace it. However, when it comes to
expressing whats on her mind, the American culture tend to be more openminded in
listening.When I want to be loved for my mind, I flock to liberalintellectuals,usuallywhites,
(Valdes
Rodriguez 75). In my personal life at home, I have to becarefulonthe opinionsIshare
with my family because Mexicans tendto bemoreconservativeoncertaintopics.Forinstance,I
can not say that I dont like certain parts of Mexico because then theyfeellikeIdislikeMexico
as a whole when in reality I love my people, unfortunately there are groups that make it unsafe
forothers.IfIweretosharethatopinionontheCSUNspacesuchasaChicanoStudiesclass,its

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more likely for the students and theprofessortobeinterestedinwhatIhavetoshare.Asaresult
togivingmyownopinions,IfeellikeIcanexpressmyidentitymoreintheCSUNspace.
However, not everyone in college isacceptingeveniftheyareattendingauniversitythat
is known for being diverse. In a study written by Kimberly Ann Cole, the author explains how
students experience college when belonging to a certain culture. Culture can support or inhibit
an individuals potential, having a dualimpactwhencurrentandnewculturesorgroups interact.
Thisisoftenthecaseforstudentscomingfromtheirfamiliarhomecultureandenteringthemuch
wider world of college, (Cole 5). Being a Mexican College student at CSUN has given methe
chance to meet students from all around the world. Most of them are friendly and we have the
tendencytolearnfromoneanother.Ivealsometstudentsthatareadjustingtoattendinga
university that is diverse. Those students seem tostereotypeculturegroupsthattheydontknow
much of. For example, one of my friends was telling me how she didnt like a racist statement
her roommate mentioned about the
Latino community. This shows how there aresomestudents
incollegethatarenotopen
mindedinacceptingothergroups.
Discovering who one is and who wants to become can be a difficultchoice.Inanarticle
called

Who am I? Self Identity

How to Build Personal Character
by Andrew Dobson, the
author defines self identity and barrier. Your Self Identity constructsandismadeupfromyour
experience through the boundariesofhowwellyoumeasureuptoyourworldview.Self Identity
becomes a long lasting definition of your character, (Dobson).
This quote reflects on how in
order for one to understand their self identity, one has to explore the world. This relates to my
experience of how I feelaboutbeinginthemiddleoftheMexicancultureandcollegespace.My
culture has taught me many significant aspects that has helped me as a college students. Ive

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come to admire my cultures food, music, heritage, and positive values that has made me the
person I am. In the other hand, the conservative values my culture expects me to follow makes
me feel as if there is a boundary in the space I am in. IcannotexpressmyselfathomelikeIdo
in the CSUN space. In the college space, its more liberal to share opinions, but I still feel
discriminatedwithcertainstudents.

Therefore, Im inbetweenmyculturevalueswhenitcomestothespaceImin.Thereare
times when I can not satisfy my culture in college. My culture can be conservative to a certain
degree and the CSUN space is more tolerant when it comes to speaking up.Although,Ihaveto
say my culture taught me about taking responsibility at a young age and thatshelpedmeinthe
college space. The CSUN space has taught me everyone isdifferentanddiversityisbeautiful.It
hasalsotaughtmethatnoteveryoneisfriendlytocertainculturesandthatswhenIwantthose
peopletoknowthatacceptancemakeslifebetter.Forthosereasons,whenitcomestocultureand
thespaceIamin,Iamstilldiscoveringmyselfeveryday.

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WorksCited
Cole,KimberlyAnn.
StudentConversations:HowDiverseGroupsofStudentsPerceiveCollege
Culture,Supports,andChallengesinCollegeEducation/ByKimberlyAnnCole
.
n.p
2014.pg.5.
DelGandio,Jason.
RhetoricForRadicals
.
GabriolaIsland,B.C.:NewSocietyPublishers,2008.
Print.Pg.110.
Dobson,Andrew.WhoamI?SelfIdentityHowtoBuildPersonalCharacter
Csufresno
dspace.calstate.edu,.N.p.,2016.Web.24Feb.2016.
Jackson,L.Ronald,Glenn,L.Cerise,andWilliams,MorantKesha.SelfIdentityand
CultureKurylo,Anastacia.Inter/CulturalCommunication.LosAngeles:Sage
Publications,2013.Print.Pg.119.

Valdes
Rodriguez,Alias.MyHipsMyCaderas
Faigley,Lester.Writing:AGuideof
CollegeandBeyond.3rded.Boston:Pearson,2012.Print.pg.75.