MJ’s Wisdom

“There are people out there that will hate on the culture. They can say whatever they want. I don’t really care.”

“I am able to embrace it”

MJ is proud of her Mexican culture and it does not bother her that she may get made fun of. She finds that she is able to embrace it in America.

“One of the things here [in America] is that you can just be what you want to be. Just do it.”

“They can’t do anything to take it [your culture] away.”

MJ explained that no matter society tries to assimilate others and impose American culture on immigrants, they will never succeed in dissolving her culture.

“I always give people a chance to talk before hating on them.”

Just like Marcelle, MJ does not believe in stereotypes. She does not judge a specific group of people based on hearsay. Rather, she treats every person as an individual, with their own identity and story, just as she would want others to do to her.

“I don’t necessarily have the need to assimilate… I want to get to know other people and then grab whatever I like from their culture.”

MJ enjoys fusing her own culture with American culture and ‘borrowing’ elements from other cultures as well. She does not feel coerced by American society to conform and give up her culture and traditions.

 

To read or hear more about MJ’s life, click the link below

 https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/timeandspace/mjs-story/