My Life as an Hispanic Young Lady in America, Essay Example

Diversity is a great deal more than an appreciation of differences, and I believe I can make this claim because diversity has very much defined my own life.  It is a part of me, and I have always lived with the negative and healthy aspects of it.  I am American born and my parents are Hispanic, and this simple reality has enabled me to always have a sense of how culture is perceived in America.  More exactly, the ways in which I and my family have been perceived, and usually as “different,” has been an element of my life consistently in place, and often challenging to me.  On one level, for example, my family has been accepted by the mainstream society because my parents are highly educated, and this is removed from how people so often view Hispanics.  We are different but, in the eyes of the majority, we belong to an extent because we seen as above the ordinary.  Then, my parents’ intelligence has strongly influenced how I myself take in whatever expressions or behaviors go to racist thinking regarding Hispanics – or any minority –in general.  I am fortunate in having parents who understand why such thinking exists, and who have helped me to move beyond anger and understand myself.  I would as well add that our own culture is proud and warm, and my happiness in being a part of it gives me confidence and strength.

At the same time, and importantly, this basic difference between myself and the culture in general is something always fascinating to me.  I believe this is because, and at every stage of my life, I have lived how cultural differences change perspectives, and how the simple process of coming to know a person often eliminates bias.  In school, in my social interactions, and in virtually every instance of my being an Hispanic girl in a predominantly white culture, I have seen how ideas melt away whenever there is an opportunity to connect to some real degree.  A part of this stems from how my parents raised me, and how I feel we are all obligated to try to understand others, even when they present barriers.  It is not always easy, and I admit to sometimes reacting negatively when I face yet another form of bias because I represent a minority culture.  Nonetheless, I strongly feel that this vast experience alone is what I may bring to Agnes Scott.  The school prizes and encourages diversity, I have lived diversity my entire life, and I have had the great advantage of learning how cultural differences truly exist in the minds of most of us.  I have lived on both sides of the cultural gaps that diversity exists to counter, and I have seen how basic human connection generates the respect going to diversity. Ultimately, this is an understanding I wish to both develop further and contribute to the Agnes Scott community.