Is it a shock? Yes, I am still in disbelief that Trump was elected.
Am I going to let it effect me? No, absolutely not.
This may come as a shock to many people to hear my opinions regarding our new President being that I am a Mexican American woman, two of the groups targeted by Trump. However, that doesn't take away from me being proud to be an American.
As a Mexican American, I am not worried. Not because I was born a citizen, or because I am third generation, but because I am a firm believer of "if the shoe fits, wear it." As a Mexican American I have already broken barriers many assume aren't able to be broken because of my nationality. I attribute these accomplishments to the fact that I didn't allow myself to be set back by stereotypes or different treatment.
I've read so many people's accounts on their experience with racism toward them and it's a horrible thing. I know this because it's happened to me. I grew up in a predominantly Mexican community that is even called Little Mexico. Everything around me was Mexican, everyone around me was Mexican, and everyone was able to speak Spanish. By the time it came to my final year before high school my parents decided they wanted me to attend a better school than what was available to me, so they decided to move. In order for me to attend this great high school we moved to a small suburb of Chicago which at that time was about 3% Latino, 97% Caucasian. My new high school had a Latino population of .03%, which wasn't even more than 30 students at the entire school worth.
I remember my first day of school like it was yesterday. I was so angry with my parents because they were making me go to a school where I had no friends, knew not one soul, and was considered an inner city transfer student. My first day felt like I was Cady Heron from Mean Girls, no friends, eating alone, and feeling out of place as I was now the minority. To make matters worse I went through something I had never in my life experienced, racism.
It was the first week in English class and of course I was stuck in the class with about half of the football team that seemed to have too much energy all of the time. We're discussing the list of books we were required to read the summer prior to school starting and as it was my turn to give my feedback a boy in class mutters "wetback" loud enough so the entire class and teacher can hear. The teacher seemed mortified and embarrassed, almost didn't even know how to react for the first few seconds. The teacher then told that student to leave the classroom and wait in the hallway. She excused herself for 2 minutes and they both came back. That boy in class still had a smirk on his face, but didn't say anything for the remainder of the class. Once class was over he hurried to walk by me and says, "you dirty spick, what are you even doing here."
As a 13 year old Mexican American girl who had never in her life experienced such treatment, I froze. What do I say? How do I even react? I said nothing and kept walking. I remember going through the remainder of my school day numb. I didn't tell my parents because I knew they'd be upset and I didn't want to make a big deal of it.
A few months later during lunch hour a girl came up to our table (which by now was filled with all of the Latinos in our lunch period) and said "1 down 9 more to go." She was referring to the student who had just been expelled from school for not living in the district, he was Mexican. Situations like these continued and we even found out that our secretary's and administrative offices were hanging up on any person that called inquiring about enrollment who had the least bit of a Spanish accent. During my time there I occupied myself with my passion for journalism and would go straight to work after school. A group of friends created an organization for Latin American students at our school so we had a safe place to go to, but wasn't recognized by the school officially until 3 years later.
Now, as a woman I have faced sexism in almost every job I have held, but I'd have to say the worst was in Texas. That shouldn't come as a surprise for those who are aware of Texas and their conservative views, but for me it was a struggle to deal with the sexism in the workplace.
Regardless of the racism and sexism I have experienced in my 27 years I have not let it stop me from pursuing any dream I've had. I have not used that as a crutch to stop myself from wanting more. I have not used that as an excuse as to why I didn't get certain promotions or jobs. I have not allowed those experiences to define me as a person.
Yes, I am a Mexican American woman, but I will not let those two factors be how a person perceives me. There have been too many instances where I have heard, the system isn't built for us, it's not easy for someone like me to achieve my dreams. Here is my message to them...
The system is built for everyone, but is it easier for some than others? Yes. Do you let that stop you? No.
I am not naturally smart and I admit that so what I did was push myself harder to achieve a higher education in order for me to succeed professionally. I pushed myself hard in high school in order to have a certain GPA to get into a good college. I pushed myself hard at the university I attended in order to take what I learned in class and apply it in the real world. The system may not have been "built for me," but I worked the hell out of it and I made it.
By making it I don't mean I'm by any means 100% successful. What I mean is I made it based on my personal feelings toward my accomplishments and I'm not done, I'm not where I want to be.
Each and everyday I push myself a little bit harder to achieve the things I still yearn for in life...a beautiful home to call my own, beautiful children to be a mother to, and financial security in order to breathe a little easier.
The bottom line that I want everyone to realize is you are not being held back by anyone else but yourself.
As a woman of faith, a woman who believes in God, I cannot sit here and be a hypocrite to the injustices we are all witnessing in this country of ours. There is so much hate in this world and although Trump's actions may have influenced groups of people to speak out or act out, don't let it get the best of you.
My response to the message I keep seeing pop up on my social media feeds that read "if you are not one of the targeted groups you have no say," I am part of the targeted groups and I will not allow that to bring me down. It's not always easy to turn the other cheek as we should be, but we can use it as a tool to build us up and fuel our motivation to make positive changes in the world.
Pain, defeat, anger, sadness, and confusion are all understandable emotions to feel for those who were against Trump becoming President. As I have mentioned to those closest to me, let's not allow this to turn us into those we were so strongly against prior to this. Let's rise above it, pray for the best, and continue to spread positivity. After all, God teaches us to cast all of our worries on Him. We cannot be true people of faith if we do not believe that we are taken care of at all times. God brings us the happiest of times and carries us through the worst of times.
Fight for what you believe in, but let's remember to do so with dignity, respect, and with everyone's safety in mind.
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Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. - Psalm 55:22
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