My name is …

I am a Senior at University City High School.

I am 17 years old.

I am a girl.

Most importantly, I am a human being, so please stop referring to me with the term “alien.”

Yeah, I wasn’t born inside of the United States, so I’m not legally an American citizen. I was brought over by my parents at a very young age, but does that mean I shouldn’t have the same rights and opportunities as my peers?

I don’t know anything else other than California. This will forever be my home because this is where I grew up. I bleed red, white, blue, AND green. Although I’m not recognized as an American, I feel that I am one. I share the same ideals that founded this democratic nation.

Pero también soy Mexicana. Tengo raíces Mexicanas de las cuales NUNCA me voy a separar. Es cierto que nunca he vivido en México y que mi vida no se formó allá, pero eso no tiene nada que ver. Mi familia, especialmente mi madre, siempre me inculcaron las tradiciones de mi país y mi cultura. Claro que me encantaría conocer México… con cada vez que veo la bandera…siento un pequeño dolor en mi corazón. That tug of pain that I feel when I see the Mexican flag standing tall and proud, is the same pain I feel when I pledge allegiance to the U.S. flag every morning at school.

Spanish section translated

But I’m also Mexican. My roots are buried deep into my Mexican heritage, and I will NEVER part from my origins. It’s true that I never lived in Mexico and my life wasn’t formed there, but that doesn’t matter to me. My family, especially my mother, always instilled my culture’s traditions in me. I would love to get to know Mexico… and every time I pass by a Mexican flag, my heart aches.