Castro 1

Selina Castro
Professor Ditch
English 113B
18 February 2015
Cultural Problems
Most people around can be part of several types of cultural groups without them even
knowing they are part of one. A cultural group can be anything that a person is part of or even a
community that just shapes them into the person they are today. I am part of the Latina family
culture which makes me Latin American and part of the education community where I am a
student. Having to be part of these two important cultures has made me act and perform in two
separate ways, since these two cultures intertwine. Being Latina can be problematic because I
need to change myself in order to fit into being a student and leads to not being able to be who I
really am in these cultures.
My parents were born in Mexico and I was boring in California, which makes me Latin
American. Ever since I remember my family has always had financial problems and always
made sure I am going through what they think is the right path for me. Being part of a Latin
family comes from my heritage since my parents have always enforced the idea that school is the
key for a successful future. If a person did not have an education then they would most likely not
be financially stabled, since the person did not get the education they needed. Therefore my
parents always pushed me to graduate from high school which I did, and now pushing me even

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more to finish and graduate from college. The day that I graduate from college and having my
own career means I would be set and have a job that will be great and keep me financially
stabled, which that is all my parents want from me. The whole reason why they enforce school
on me so much is because they do not want me having the same struggles in life that they did
with money.
Being in college and a Latina makes it very difficult to feel acceptance and being able to
be myself around the different spaces. In my family I am the first generation to go to college
which is a big deal in my culture because certain people think that Latinos are not capable of
getting an education, which can be problematic. In Long Among the Data: A Review of Latino
First Generation College Students by Aumory Nora says Latinos clearly constitute a vital
portion of the U.S. population, they continue to face barriers in the pursuit of postsecondary
education.(Nora 4) Even till today there are still some Latinos that do face challenges as well
just because we are Latinos. Many times while growing up I have had people discriminate me
just by being Latina and would always say that I was never capable of going to college just cause
of where I was from. According to Anastacia Kurylo in Culture and Communication says
People use cultural symbols to identify members of a cultural group and to generalize their type
of life.(Kurylo 5) I am able to relate to this quote because people can jump into conclusions and
just think they know a person just by looking at their aspects. For me they would just look at me
and think I am Latina and automatically assume I will not finish school or most likely just fail at
it. Thus leading this situation to be problematic because it lowers my self-esteem and makes me
think I am not capable of getting my education and not having to be comfortable.

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Being part of these two cultures can bring many obstacles because both cultures
intertwine with each other. It is hard for me to be myself and not having to change my
personality so people do not think negatively of me or just assume things by what they have seen
or heard about Latinos. When people say that I cant go to school because I am a woman and that
I belong at home just because I am a women makes me see myself differently. Also whenever I
have people say just because I am Latina means I will be a drop out and not end up doing
anything in with my life. In Self- Identity and Culture by Cerise L. Glenn says As the process
occurs, people develop an idea of who they are by looking at themselves through the lens of how
they think others perceive them.(Glenn 124) Eventually when I have all these negativity around
me just makes me see myself in the way that they think I am, therefore bringing me down. This
causes a problem because if I cannot be who I want to be which is be a student and attend school
as a Latina student and affects my education.
When having to be part of these two cultures it can lead to me not being myself. When I
am at home I have my family telling what career they want for me which is to be a lawyer when
I do not like that at all. What I want to major in is Psychology, but having to be pressured on that
can lead for me not being able to follow what I want and causing a problem. This also causing
me to not being able to do something that I know I like and will end up stuck with doing
something that I will not enjoy at all. In How Loving Your Job Makes You Succeed by Curt
Rosengren says Doing work you dont enjoy is like trying to be who youre not. You might be
able to do it, even do it well, but it doesnt come naturally for you.(Rosegren 1) To me I find
this quote true because how do I expect to do something I want to do and not change how I am in
order to just

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follow the aspects of my Latina culture. It is important to be how I am and not have to be
changing into either culture just to fit in.
Although some people might say that even though I am able to choose whether I want to
listen to all the negativity that people tell me or not does not make it easy to do. Having to be
hearing negative stereotypes affect me because it is something that is happening on a daily basis,
so this causes me to get distracted and being able to focus on my education. Even though others
might say also that to choose what I want to pursue in my college experience makes it difficult to
do as well. When having parents that have always really enforce going to school and doing the
best I can and I know they only want what is best for me, it can be really hard to go against them.
In a way disappointing them, which is something I do not want to do even if it requires me
changing my beliefs.
When being part of the Latina culture as well as the education community really impacts
me as a person in who I am and the different choices that I have to make on a daily basis. To
having to switch the way I am and how I perform can be a problem since I react to whatever
problem that gets thrown at me. When having to be a student in my education culture I have to
find a way to keep going regardless of all the negative stereotypes that some people might say to
me. When I am being part of my Latina culture I have to fit up to these expectations that my
family enforce on me changing who I really want to be in life rather than doing something I want
or I would end up enjoying in the end. Even though I have these two cultures that intertwine with
each other I know that in the end even through all these obstacles it will end up benefiting me in

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the end rather than damaging the person who I am. It can be hard and problematic but it
negativity coming from others is something that maybe cannot be stopped at all.

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Work Cited
"How Loving Your Job Helps You Succeed - US News." US News RSS. Curt Rosengren, 03
Mar. 2011. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
Jackson II, Ronald L., and Kesha Morant. "Self-Identity and Culture." Ed. Cerise L. Glenn. N.p.:
n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.
Kurylo, Anastacia. "Chapter 1." Culture and Communication. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.
Nora, Amaury, and Nicole A. Salis. Lost Among the Data: A Review of Latino First Generation
College Students. N.p., July 2012. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.