Not Mexican or American Enough: Bicultural Identity Struggles | Ranchel Alvarado

Not Mexican or American Enough: Bicultural Identity Struggles | Ranchel Alvarado | TEDxSHSU

Рет қаралды 22,140

Күн бұрын

Have you ever struggled to know who you are? For Ranchel Alvarado, figuring out her identity as a Mexican American has been challenging. Living in two cultures that were vastly different, she often felt caught in the middle, like she was not enough. In Mexico, some of her friends and family perceived her as too American. In the United States, she was often told to go back to where she came from. In this talk, Alvarado shares some of these experiences and how they have shaped her identity. She offers tips on how bicultural individuals can come to realize the strength derived from their multiple identities. She calls on all of us to recognize that we are enough. Ranchel Alvarado was born and raised in Houston, Texas, and is a student at Sam Houston State University. She is passionate about helping others and has always intended for her profession to involve helping others. Ranchel is majoring in criminal justice and minoring in human services, although her career path will be different from the conventional criminal justice route. Ranchel plans to pursue a master's degree in social work or counseling as it allows her to serve people and remain connected to the criminal justice system. Ranchel proudly serves as the Co-President of the Honors Student Advisory Council, which represents Sam Houston’s Honors College, among many other campus organizations. A fun fact about her is that her name was not planned; it was a happy accident, and while her name is spelled as Ranchel, it is pronounced as “Rachel”. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

Пікірлер: 55

@evelynnagy345 Жыл бұрын

I really needed to hear this! Thank you for sharing! I'm Mexican American adopted by Koreans. Identity is complicated!

@ZiahRose-x3v Жыл бұрын

I’ve been told I’m not actually Puerto Rican because I was born in the States. I’ve always struggled with Spanish, but can understand a lot more than I can speak. As a kid, I was asked by another kid “What kind of Spanish person doesn’t speak Spanish?” Right now, I’m currently trying to learn the proper way to speak Spanish. It’s just hard when you don’t feel accepted by either side.

@Valeria-m8i 5 ай бұрын

This comment just make me feel like I’m not alone both of my parents are Mexican and are from Mexico but I was born in the USA and I am not fluent in Spanish and people told me the same thing and I just never knew why I just couldn’t learn and I always just felt like I was Mexican enough

@halvarado5348 2 жыл бұрын

Love it!! Very well said and always embrace our culture💕

@artpedro2111 8 ай бұрын

As a first generation Mexican American I can not claim Mexico because I was born in the USA and I can’t claim USA because of my heritage we are the few who will understand the struggle of being from two different worlds and loving both of them I’m proud of who I am and I will continue to love both sides of me

@OskieOmega 8 ай бұрын

Same here my dad was born in Zacatecas but I was born in Chicago

@alexdiazdelavega8249 6 ай бұрын

I really loved this video! The entire experience of being a first gen in video format thank you! I’m first gen Mexican American, I believe it’s perspective. My mom was born and raised in culiacan, Sinaloa. My dad was born and raised in el distrito federal, Mexico. I was born and raised in LA my first language was Spanish till I was in first grade I think. I struggled finding out who I was in highschool. I joined the US Navy and found out what it truly means to be an American because up until 18 years old, I had been told and assumed I was Mexican from my family and various kids at school over the years. My outlook changed after my 5 years and I realized that I’m proud to be both. I’m grateful to have had the privilege to experience and currently live both.

@wandasanchez551 Жыл бұрын

Well said. I live this same bilingual bicultural identity experience in the US. Never have been accepted by the dominant culture in the US nor in Mexico.

@noskpain2792 Жыл бұрын

It's all in your head. You're American

@gisselleperezmoreno1910 10 ай бұрын

@@noskpain2792it’s not in your head when people verbally tell you, you aren’t American

@JoseMedina-hs1up 8 ай бұрын

Even a blond blue eyed gringos are accepted in México if they don't act arrogant and unfriendly

@GwensRealLoverAnthOny 11 ай бұрын

We don't give Mexican Americans enough credit for their contributions to this country... I don't know if my opinion matters but I think Mexican Americans are beautiful people... They work very hard and they're very grateful for what they have... I was laying in bed last night thinking about Mexico and Mexican Americans....you know..the more I thought about it the more I think they're what the church is supposed to look like.. I know they were here centuries before Europeans and they helped build this country before anyone else.. and they continue to build this country... They're probably the hardest working group of people we have in the U.S. ... We should be better neighbors to Mexico... PLUS, Mexican chicks are kinda hot.. and Mexico looks like a beautiful place... There's nothing wrong about being Mexican American...I'm white and I feel the same way when I have to answer questions about my ethnicity... anyway, love y'all...can't even tell you how many times I've dreamed about packing my sh*t and moving to Mexico.... I may even be a little jealous of you folks... Love you...for the record, the U.S. would not be the country it is today without the Mexican Americans.... I appreciate y'all... a lot....

@edwardpamintuan 19 күн бұрын

My identity is my own, I don’t care about others acceptance.

@JahMex Ай бұрын

Really and truly, this woman could not have expressed her situation better. Many things she said hit home with me and my upbringing as a Mexican American growing up in Orange County, California. When I first moved to OC from Whittier in third grade I had a teacher speak Spanish to me and I could not understand what she said. English was the only language spoken at home for me and my brother. My first few weeks of school were pretty brutal. a few bratty girls in my PE class started chanting a new song for me almost every damn day “beaners have no wieners, beaners have no wieners”. And then I would go back to visit family with my parents in LA over the weekend and some of my cousins would call me a little coconut. I didn’t even know what they were saying at the time but learned later in life that I meant: brown on the outside, white on the inside. By the time I got to 7th grade I was placed in English as a second language (ESL)classes because I was struggling with grades. It was an awkward situation because 50% of every class I had during junior highschool was mostly Mexican kids who were learning to speak English. They would speak to me in Spanish and were getting pissed because I was not speaking back with them. I was accused of being a narc and a teachers spy. Eventually the kids I was in ESL with realized I was struggling like them but in a different way and we all became pretty close. As I got older and began to work in the food service industry, I had a similar experience with my fellow workers in the kitchen who were from Mexico. Like junior high, I ended up making some special friends and learned more about my Mexican roots. My dad always told me just to be myself and people will learn to either love me or hate me. I’m glad he told me that because it was and is my lifeline every time. Like this amazing woman has stated in her speech, it truly helped me to embrace both sides of my cultural heritage. As a 46 year-old man now, I’m grateful for my Mexican heritage from both my mother and father. I’m also grateful to be an American. Just felt compelled to share my experience here because I really appreciate every single word this woman has said and I think exposure on this topic is a good thing. Love and respect to all.

@nhunguyen091 Жыл бұрын

This is my personal experience with being bilingual bicultural: too individualistic for my East-Asian side, and too collectivistic for my American side. I never seem to fit in anywhere... and most people can't understand me cuz their mindsets and attitudes towards life are only influenced by one culture, which is their birth culture.

@Jerbear28_ Жыл бұрын

I was born but know Spanish well enough to get by but you can tell I have an American accent. I have more people tell me they appreciate that because I did not forget my my roots while others children or grandkids did because of fear of being ridiculed. Be you and love who you are because you get to learn at learn at least 2x as much cool stuff as others

@yasminevalencia5822 Жыл бұрын

The reason I watched this video was because when I went to Cancun, I was speaking Spanish to the waitress and she instantly knew I wasn’t from Mexico. I told her my family was and I learned from my grandma but even then she told me my accent gave me away, and tbh it made me feel different, like I didn’t fit in I guess. She sat us by the beach at least lmao

@daigomori7374 11 ай бұрын

Yeah, and you learned something. Be proud of being American. People in Mexico will know you're an outsider. It's a foreign country. Just like Italian Americans going to Italy. They are considered Americans by the Italians.

@gisselleperezmoreno1910 10 ай бұрын

@@daigomori7374Here is the problem, when you say you’re American, the typical blonde hair blue eyed Americans claim you arent

@Miguel-hd1fj Жыл бұрын

We're not Hispanics girl , we're are indigenous of this land

@Hola-wb5dk 9 ай бұрын

Like her, many Hispanic American bilinguals have an American accent when they speak Spanish and they also have a Spanish accent when they speak English. 😅 Not losing either language regardless of your accent is what I think matters most.

@SlackersIndustry Жыл бұрын

Was in the same boat but for about 10 years I stopped caring about all the labels and was just me. Happiest years of my life. Happens with all races, everyone born in the USA get treated differently in their home countries.

@WoodyReyes 8 ай бұрын

Thank you!

@gccutie4663 6 ай бұрын

I feel this deeply. I am a 3rd Generation Mexican-American. Very proud to be. But I do feel like I am never Mexican enough for Mexicans who just see me as a person who is pale and can’t speak Spanish. And then I am too Mexican for other people that don’t understand the culture context of my Mexican-American upbringing. I feel out of place most of the time.

@noskpain2792 2 жыл бұрын

I've never been told I'm not American. Born and raised here and don't know anywhere else.

@kennethpetroni7911 8 ай бұрын

I’m Italian. But I’m not white enough and Hispanics think I’m Hispanic acting white.

@martinrios2488 10 ай бұрын

I hear ya.

@Ce-acatl7704 11 ай бұрын

With all due respect. People like her suffer from amnesia.

@CH-hy8pi 2 жыл бұрын

Woohoo!!!!!!!! Amazing job, Ranchel!!! 🔥

@jorgeneves1334 Жыл бұрын

Interesting... America is a very large continent with many countries, and not just the USA. Mexico is actually in America, in North America to be more precise...

@GeoSimp24 9 ай бұрын

i understand ya

@laura3619 9 ай бұрын

💕💕

@Iloveanime-e9w 9 ай бұрын

Idk even what I am part of my family is from Mexico, others from other parts I don’t know what to call myself, but I call myself white because I look white and we don’t speak Spanish or anything. All of that got lost when people from my family came to America they had to hide that they were Mexican so they just told everybody to say that they were white sadly nothing of that culture will ever be carried on in my family probably

@PraiseBeToGodOurLord 6 ай бұрын

You have great speaking skills, Ranchel Alvarado. I'd like to comment though that most of your speech was "I-me-My-I-me-My", you shared your experiences but you didn't go into depth about the hows/whys of the solution. How does this relate to the audience? Why should we care? Why is this a problem in the first place? You ended the speech with "Accept yourself and don't listen to others", something most people already hear on a regular basis. When it comes to picking a box on the test, it's only for demographic purposes. Hispanic is an ethnicity that shares many races. I'm in a similar position as you (with a dual cultural background) but don't see this as a problem. Every culture has their own way of navigating life and prioritizing different values. You don't need to fully fit in. Thanks to globalization no one really fits a particular box anymore. I think belonging to different cultures is beautiful and we should focus on the positives of life. I enjoyed listening to your perspective though.

@gilbertochavez631 2 ай бұрын

Pura Raza de un continente! We dont need exceptance from white european americans because we have history in the americas for 50,000 years! Que Viva la Raza!

@Fondofmelobster 2 жыл бұрын

Arriba matamoros, arriba brownsville

@pauljohnson7770 5 ай бұрын

It really wasn’t that hard

@08prema Жыл бұрын

My family has been in the US for 5 generations, so I am American. I don't speak spanish, or anything. My family have married into other races. I have, blonde hair, hazel eyes, and have fair skin, so I just say I am American.