I really identify with Jose because I also felt similarly around the complexity of my cultural identity growing up. Many of my cousins would joke about my spanglish when we were growing up and I was constantly called the "pocha" of the family. In contrast, I was so proud of being mexican so I sought out more and more ways to express that like through music and dance. I played Mariachi for around 10 years and when I sang no one could tell that Spanish was my second language. When I sang, for those 3 minutes everyone would see me the way I see me. I think music allowed me to not only connect with my culture but also helped me develop the pride and appreciation I felt for the person I was.

I express myself by talking with my friends and family. I found that talking out loud and getting all my feelings and emotions out in the open helped me understand myself more. Keeping my thoughts to myself made me feel alone, but talking with people about our shared experiences comforted me.

in the past, writing has helped me overcome many mental health issues i have encountered. journaling and simply writing down my thoughts and working through them helped me to overcome some of the most difficult things of my life.

I relate to Jose because as a Hispanic student, it’s always confusing to grow up and have a complicated perspective about who you are. There would be times that I wouldn’t be allowed to speak spanish because my educators wanted to emphasize that we need to learn English. This left me thinking that I wasn’t allowed to express my culture. A way I began expressing my culture is the similarities I found with my peers with their favorite foods and how most of us would play spanish music like Selena, banda, etc.

I’ve also found that surfing or just going to the beach is a great form of expression for myself. I love how unplugged I feel from the universe, just floating out in the water, alone with my thoughts. I can think about how I’m feeling or distract myself by catching a wave before restarting the whole cycle. That sense of peace, quiet and isolation is extremely freeing for me and the time I have to think helps me express myself.

I feel like music has been the best way for me to express myself, whether it's listening to or playing music. I used to play the piano for a few years when I was younger, but then stopped when I got into the middle school. From the start of middle school until the end of high school, I played the french horn in my schools band. Playing music helped me escape from the stress of school and life and had me focus on what I was doing and how I was playing. Although I don't play anymore, I still look towards music as a way to connect with my thoughts and feelings.

I personally find myself just free writing when I get overwhelmed and I feel relief when I can crumple up that sheet of paper at the end knowing all of my thoughts and feelings are out there. I also love dancing and being able to put my all into something both physical but empowering. Sometimes it’s happy songs to distract my mind or sometimes it’s harsher meant to reflect my current mood. But being able to express my emotions and let my body feel the effects of the hard work and time has done a lot for me.

Writing has helped me express myself by sitting with my emotions more and as I write them out I start to understand what made me feel this emotion and how I got there. Writing has helped me lay out right in front of my own eyes what is going on in my brain and dissect how I am feeling. Writing in a way has been therapeutic when I could not open up about how I was feeling.

Writing has helped me on my own identity by creating a list of all my favorite things to do or what I believe describes me as a person. There has been a few times where I couldn’t express myself verbally to a person because of a complicated situation there was at the time but, with writing down my thoughts to express my thoughts at the time helped me a lot better.

However, as I got older, my passion for writing slowly faded because I only associated it with essays for school and tedious assignments that I needed to complete for a grade. I couldn’t have free will of what I wrote and how.

It was until I reached my late teens where I found this passion for writing again. Now, I use writing to wind down after a long day, rant about random things, and use it to fuel my urge for creativity.

Being able to freely express myself and not having to worry about grammar or following a rubric really helped me be aware of who I really am. Writing out what I want in life, my emotions (big or small), what worries me, and how I will solve out my problems, made me realize parts of my personality that I never would of have discovered.

A way that I like to express myself is through my choice of music. I relates to the story that we heard. For my family in Mexico, I am not Mexican enough but when in environments such as school, I am not American enough. However, I listen to a lot of artists that sing in both languages . For example, Kali Uchis, Omar Apollo, the Marias, & Cuco to name a few, are artists that take pride in the multiple identities that they have and they use it to their power in their songs. When I sing their songs or listen to them I am heard by those artists, their fans, & myself for who I am and my multiple identities. To them, I am not any less & that is why I listen to them.

Sports can calm down my energy and can make me feel more relax in the scene of not overthinking situations or to focus on what I can do. Eating helps me reach a level of comfort, I've found that when someone has eaten well, that they are in a calmer state than someone who is hangry and doesn't know how to control heir emotions.

Speaking my language from back home helps me express the inside of my mind that I would say in other languages(English). Through this, I help myself to be more comfortable and that I feel safe in my own skin.

Writing has helped me better understand my feelings and know what to do next time I struggle with them. If I am feeling something in the moment I will write it down and then check it again later. I will see what caused it or why I was feeling that way. It has also helped me see that I wasn’t happy with my previous major and helped me choose teaching instead, which I am happy I did.

Im an “artist” so i express my feelings and thoughts through my art. I tend to feel this insatiable desire to create whenever I am going through a hard time. By creating art based on my turmoil I can cleanse my body of these negative emotions while at the same time creating a reminder for future reference. I can express what I think of as inexpressible by creating art that I feel visualizes my feeling accurately.