I am a Chicana. Both my parents are from Mexico but I was born in the U.S. Spanish is my first language and I grew up in a Mexican household. My father is from Zacatecas and my mother is from Guadalajara. I grew up with Spanish music, Mexican food, and catholicism in a neighborhood of pure Latinos.

My culture puts an emphasis on family. Most Mexican families tend to be big and in the culture family comes first. My family consists of my sister, brother, grandma, mom, and dad. I am the oldest child. All of my relatives live in Los Angeles or Mexico. Thus I have no family on the east coast. It gets lonely sometimes but I deal with it. I'm happy here.

Men and women are not equal in the eyes of Mexican parents. Daughters aren't given as much freedom as sons because of their gender. Household tasks also are determined by gender. The men will do the yard work while women tend to the household chores. This is what I grew up nothing but its not what I'll teach my children.