Growing up in a household with strong Latin traditions and a firm grasp on the culture, I have felt the pressure to be more “American” in my everyday life. Gordon’s article impacted me as he said that immigrants are pressured to assimilate into an American lifestyle. My family and I have personally felt this pressure and I have come to the conclusion that immigrants will assimilate into American culture at their own pace. They will learn this society’s traditions but will, hopefully, hold onto their unique identity and culture.
As I grew older, my mom would tell me stories of the pressure she felt to become more American. She spoke of working long hours in a candy factory near Sunset Park in Brooklyn. She started the day just before sunrise and would finish right after sunset, working the majority of the day, coming home smelling of white candy sticks (the ones usually packed in a Spiderman box). Using the cash, she had saved from working, she began taking English classes. My mom spoke of the tedious ESL (English-as-a-second-language) classes she took to perfect her English after she was told that her accent was too strong. Under pressure to assimilate into American society, my mom slowly learned the “American culture” while still holding onto her Honduran traditions and identity.
I have also felt the pressure to be both “American” and Latina. Throughout school, I was always questioned if I was really Latina. Many people often questioned my ethnicity because of my light complexion and because of my work ethic. My peers strongly believed in the stereotype that all Latinos are lazy and do not care about education. Just because I didn’t fit this trivial stereotype, many of my peers thought that I was living a lie about my ethnicity. I am often pressured to change my appearance by my peers who tell me that I’d be less “ethnic” if I don’t wear hoop earrings, don’t speak “spanglish,” or if I straighten my hair. Regardless, I made sure to keep my Latina identity while adopting some American values.
