Not long after, my aunt on my mother’s side followed her path. She had two kids in Mexico before moving to the U.S. She married someone from here, which allowed her to gain legal status more quickly, and had two more children in Oregon. Although we don’t see them often because they live five hours away, when we do get together it’s always a good time. I often reflect on our family dynamic, the differences in our experiences, but also the similarities that connect us as first-generation Latinos.

Growing up with my siblings and cousins, we were exposed from a young age to our culture and where we came from. With that came a certain weight, and the understanding that we now had opportunities our parents didn’t have growing up. Absorbing lessons from both cultures and worlds made for an interesting mindset, one I recognize in many first-generation Latinos.

It’s something I still think about today: the weight and the excitement of being part of a larger community, while also experiencing it in my own unique way. As the first child, I developed a keen awareness of my environment. Spanish was my first language, while English came through school. Life at home and life outside sometimes felt like two different worlds, yet both shaped who I am. As I continue my education, I’ve become more aware of other voices and stories like mine, and like them hope to share mine with others.

In my family, I see echoes of these barriers. Although my parents came here with hopes for stability and opportunity, they didn’t have the chance to go through U.S. higher education themselves. For me, when I considered college, I realized there were hidden costs, application fees, financial aid deadlines, and navigating scholarship processes, that weren’t obvious growing up.

The institutional change is that schools and colleges are slowly becoming more aware of these barriers, pushing for programs that help first-gen students with mentorship, bilingual support, and financial aid. But the change are still uneven. Some institutions are more supportive than others.

Different members of my community experience these structural challenges differently. My parents, being immigrants with limited formal schooling in English, see institutional hurdles in everyday things, communication with schools, financial documentation, and understanding policies. For me and my siblings, some of those doors are more visible, though still not easy to open. Sometimes we act as interpreters or navigators for the older generation. In this way, the institutional environment shapes how we move, what we expect, and what we believe is possible.