# data[].attributes.body
Lynwood, California

# data[].attributes.headline
In school, were there any safe places you felt yourself?

# data[].attributes.subject
In school, were there any safe places you felt yourself?

# data[].attributes.body
In Room 217, is where my GSA group met. In the beginning, the group started with 10 people but most of the students were seniors. The first year, I joined was tough because I thought after the seniors left the support group would no longer exist. I enjoyed GSA because it was a safe place where anyone would speak their mind and be listened to without any judgment.After I left high school, I still had contact with students who belonged to the group and I was considered with the fact that students were not talking with each other during the time everyone met.

# data[].attributes.headline
Do you feel that the schools you attended lacked culture? If so, how? 

# data[].attributes.subject
Do you feel that the schools you attended lacked culture? If so, how? 

# data[].attributes.body
In school, I did not feel that they lacked culture but the other way around. Schools were filled with a lot of cultures because most of the student population was considered to be diverse.

# data[].attributes.headline
Do you think learning a second language brought you difficulty?

# data[].attributes.subject
Do you think learning a second language brought you difficulty?

# data[].attributes.body
When I was a little kid I felt that it was harder to learn Spanish because I was surrounded by the English language.

# data[].attributes.headline
What advice can you give teachers about learning more about students of all backgrounds?

# data[].attributes.subject
What advice can you give teachers about learning more about students of all backgrounds?

# data[].attributes.body
Teachers are mainly focused on grading papers or assigning homework but not on the well-being of the students. I feel that teachers need to be more open-minded about their students so students can seek their help when needed or confine to them about any problem they are having.

# data[].attributes.headline
How do you think language, culture, and education are related?

# data[].attributes.subject
How do you think language, culture, and education are related?

# data[].attributes.body
It is easier for me to understand school language instead of a person who speaks another language. We go to school to learn the language and during the process teachers' focus on teaching about the white culture. I saw that if a teacher was considered to be white, they had a disadvantage with communicating with parents and students, who spoke a different language.

# data[].attributes.headline
Why did you become a high school dropout?

# data[].attributes.subject
Why did you become a high school dropout?

# data[].attributes.body
I honestly gave up because I was behind in credits. I did not have the opportunity to graduate so I decided to take online classes to finish my credits, in order to receive my diploma. When I was close to finishing my classes, somehow I was told to restart my classes again. After that, it was a consist cycle of restarting my classes so I decided to become a high school dropout.

# data[].attributes.headline
What were some struggles you faced while going to school?

# data[].attributes.subject
What were some struggles you faced while going to school?

# data[].attributes.body
I struggled with being bullied. Since elementary, I started dressing like a boy even though I was a girl. I was involved in fights because the kids were jerks. In middle school, it has gotten worse because students would name call me, pick on me because I was considered to be different. During high school, I did not mind the rude comments anymore because that was not how I saw myself anymore. So what I was part of the gay community, people took the time to create assumptions about me but not the chance to meet who I was.

# data[].attributes.headline
Did your family members accept who you wanted to be?

# data[].attributes.subject
Did your family members accept who you wanted to be?

# data[].attributes.body
My greatest support was my mother because I was trying to figure out my identity . However, my other family members always tried to convince me to fit into the social norm that a girl has to wear a dress but that was not who I wanted to be.

# data[].attributes.headline
How is your identity affected by your culture?

# data[].attributes.subject
How is your identity affected by your culture?

# data[].attributes.body
I feel that my identity is affected by my culture because being a Latino living in a world that resents change is hard. Also, growing up in a newer generation can conflict with the traditional views that my family valued.

# data[].attributes.body
To myself, culture is based on your roots. I'm a Mexican, who grew up with Cuban food. Culture is about the past, present, and future. How old generations are teaching new generations and the ongoing cycle. It's based on how you grow up and the traditions you are raised to celebrate, what you believe in, and have faith in. Also the type of food and people you are exposed too. Growing up with my stepdad would hang out outside with his friends and drink while listening to Spanish rock. On the other hand, my mom does not do any sort of those things only work and come home to her family. Both grew up in Mexico but different values.

# data[].attributes.headline
If you had the opportunity to learn more about your culture in school would you like the idea? 

# data[].attributes.subject
If you had the opportunity to learn more about your culture in school would you like the idea? 

# data[].attributes.body
I honestly would...I feel that I don't really know much about my culture, if school informed students about the type of culture; kids, teens, and adults would have an open mind to learn more where we come from instead of how we look like.

# data[].attributes.body
My mom was born from a small Pueblo in Jalisco, Mexico. I believe my father was born in Tijuana but I'm not really sure because I do not have a relationship with my father.

# data[].attributes.headline
What was the first language you learned?

# data[].attributes.subject
What was the first language you learned?

# data[].attributes.body
English LOL

# data[].attributes.headline
How do you feel being surrounded by different culture?

# data[].attributes.subject
How do you feel being surrounded by different culture?

# data[].attributes.body
Sometimes I feel it hard. Every day, I feel it harder to agree with how my family views a marriage such as a woman should do all the domestic work. I think about how in other countries there are different ways women are portrayed. Growing with a parent with an open mind it can be challenging to understand the world with different views on life.