Remixed Writing Project: Preservation of My Identity by Lucia Inzunza

My Playlist: Pieces That Speak to Me

luciainzunzaa — 2025-05-13 05:56:13 UTC

luciainzunzaa — 2025-05-13 06:02:19 UTC

My mom, who sacrificed everything to come to the United States and give me and my siblings a better life did everything to make a living for us. She immigrated to the United States, took night shifts in factories just to make some money. Later during my adolescence, she was Parent of The Year at my middle school. She grew, and learned about the importance of mental health, physical health, and overall how to be a better parent. She learned so much from her peers, If she had stayed back in Mexico, she would've had very limited opportunities. She made me realize that no matter what age you are, you still have so much space to learn and grow.

luciainzunzaa — 2025-05-13 06:06:54 UTC

Faby was the first-born. She was the only sibling of mine to be born in Mexico, and when my mom immigrated to the United States, all she had was herself, and Faby. Faby started from scratch: she went to school, focused on her studies, helped my mom out, worked so hard and set the path for the rest of my siblings. She got her bachelors degree while working multiple jobs, and later on got her masters degree. She set the idea that anything was possible, and it was my mom's courage, love, and hope that got the rest of us to where we are. Then there's me, the youngest, currently in college. My sister has played a big role in my identity, and being comfortable in being a Chicana.

luciainzunzaa — 2025-05-13 06:15:44 UTC

This song that I added to my playlist really connects with me. It reminds me of the times I'd hear people tell me, "You live in Los Angeles? It must be so nice. You have everything." It's very stereotypical for people who only know about LA from movies and shows that everything is practically handed to us, and hearing that frustrating me. It frustrated me because being a Chicana in one of the biggest cities in California, there's so many more struggles than people think. People see certain sides of LA as "ghetto" and "dirty" but really, it's offensive to minorities who are trying to make a living.

luciainzunzaa — 2025-05-13 06:19:48 UTC

Going to my sister's graduations whether it was elementary school, middle school, or even college, really inspired me. It showed me that someone like me, a Chicana girl from a low income family can possibly make it in life. I do admit that it was hard, because I had to begin school only knowing how to speak Spanish. I had to adjust to all the school-work in English, and I must say, I hated spelling-bees.

luciainzunzaa — 2025-05-13 06:30:30 UTC

I have learned to not be ashamed of my roots. Whether it was to walk into stores and have to translate the total cost to my mom in numbers she knows, to translate documents in the mail, to tell a white woman what my mom was trying to say... all of it makes me who I am. I will continue to honor my family and the path that they've let me choose to pave in order to let me learn about my culture and identity.

luciainzunzaa — 2025-05-13 06:32:56 UTC

Another important piece of media I included is a movie I used to watch when I was younger, and was constantly shown in high school classrooms - “La Misma Luna”. It highlights the struggle of a Mexican immigrating the United States and the struggle it was to bring her kid along while trying to make a living by constantly working. Not only working, but the constant fear of being deported and being sent back to your country. It reminds me of my own family growing up.