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The heritage I identify with is primarily American and secondarily Hispanic. I am also a history teacher at Santiago Charter Middle School.

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My family originates from the countries Spain, Mexico, and the United States.

Spain is on the continent of Europe, and Mexico and the United States are on the continent of North America.

In the past, my ancestors probably witnessed the Conquest of the New World.

My life has also been profoundly affected by the ideas of the Enlightenment.

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1492- Ending date disputed

The Spanish and other European nations began to colonize various parts of the New World in order to create more wealth and spread Catholicism.

The conquest resulted in the trade and discovery of new foods, items and diseases. This was known as the Columbian Exchange.

Millions of indigenous people died as a result of the European conquest due to war, but mostly disease.

My ancestors came from a combination of the Spanish meeting and mixing with the indigenous peoples of the New World.

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With the decline of the Catholic Church and the spread of literacy, a group of European philosophers like John Locke and Thomas Hobbes began to propose new ideas about government and society.

These ideas were democratic and were different from previous types of government. They argued that people have certain rights that cannot be taken away and that government serves the people. When it no longer serves the people, it should be overthrown.

Reading about these ideas inspired me to be a history teacher and were the ideas that inspired the Founding Fathers to create the country I love so much today.

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Diamond, Jared M. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York: Norton, 1999. Print.

Kennedy, David M, Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas A. Bailey. The American Pageant: A History of the Republic. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 2006. Print.

Bentley, Jerry H, and Herbert F. Ziegler. Traditions & Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.