I am from the city of Santa Rosa, which has a large Latino community. Growing up, most of the students in my classes were Mexican, just like me. They shared many aspects of their identity with me as well. For example, almost everybody I knew was bilingual and could speak in English and in Spanish. Most girls celebrated their 15th birthday with a special ceremony followed by a great big party, which in Spanish is called a Quinceañera. Also, my friends and I had similar experiences growing up due to our Mexican-American identities. This community is where I call home.
When I left my community to come here to Saint Paul for college, I was worried about feeling alone in an unfamiliar place. Thankfully, I met plenty of new friends here at Macalester, and a good number of them also identified as Latino! However, not all of them identified as Mexican like me. Some identified themselves as being Peruvian or Puerto Rican or Salvadorian to name a few. After some time, I was able to develop a community with my new friends here in Minnesota.
When it came time for me to travel abroad, I was nervous to be in a new place with new people whom I had not met before. It felt like I was repeating the process of leaving home for college.
