Minority in a diversity -------UW Mad------- Something unnoticed, importance to me.

Consider something in your life you think goes unnoticed and write about why it's important to you. (Max 650 Words)

*A very rough draft, I also feel that it may be too short. I'm not sure if I ended it well. Not sure what else I could add.

*I was considering writing about being bilingual and how it can affect my day/school day.

my life as a minority representative

"Mija, wake up."
"5 more minutes."
Every morning I wake up to the sound of my mother, in Spanish, urging me to wake up. I crawl out of bed and continue my morning routine with my mom by my side, telling me to hurry before I miss the bus. I get to the fridge, scavenging for some quick breakfast food, and I find the enchiladas I plan on eating for dinner, but I'm soon reminded by my mother of the sandwich that's already on the counter, so I take it and rush to the bus.

I live in a highly segregated city, where "south-side" is synonymous with "Latino", and "north-side" is synonymous with "Black". Every morning, when I leave my house to go to my school in the north-side, I experience a large cultural shift, where the main spoken language is English and the melting pot is mixed. I see African-Americans, white people, Asians, and Hispanics, all come together to break the segregation of my city. Being able to experience this diversity is something I'm accustomed to now, it's given me a more open mind, I've learned and experienced things I would've never in a million years been able to, but diversity is often put on the back burner. Diversity is hard to notice when you aren't being directly affected, but being able to have similar experiences, backgrounds, and language to connect you with others creates a sense of belonging and safety. The first time I traveled out of the city for Latin Convention, was the first time I was uncomfortable with my identity, I was worried someone would say something about the color of my skin or the way I looked, and it was the first time I truly felt like a minority. Being able to feel like you belong, and being able to feel safe wherever you go despite being a minority is important, and it's a gift I'm given everyday when I go to a diverse school.

Be honest with comments please!

Natalia, your essay is short in the "show" portion. Apart from the opening statement which was more anecdotal in nature, the next paragraph told, rather than showed the reviewer about the cultural diversity that most people take for granted but that you live with every day of your life. It would help your essay if you could show how cultural diversity is also taken for granted in the school that you attend because that is the academic world that you live in. So while other people may take it for granted, this diversity is something that is important to you. You speak of diversity being hard to notice when one does not live with it. So discuss why this diversity is important to you. Build further on the discussion. Don't be afraid to use the maximum word count if you have to. Talk about an incident or time when you realized that this cultural diversity in school is something that is of importance to you. That will best fulfill the prompt requirement.

Merged:

'What is life, but a constant struggle to live?' Consider something unnoticed. My Past. UW Madison

Consider something in your life you think goes unnoticed and write about why it's important to you. (Max 650 Words) (WC: 557)

labels in my head

What is life, but a constant struggle to live? But what is a life without a struggle to have overcome? We go through our day to day lives stuck in our own world because it's hard to notice someone when they're just another face in the crowd, we never get a backstory, so we judge absentmindedly. Growing up, I always had labels put on my head, "low-income", "latina", "first generation", "daughter of a single mother", with assumptions and stereotypes hanging over my head, but none of these could truly encapsulate what I had experienced.

I was only nine when the recession hit the US, my dad was laid off soon after and his blood pressure was continuing to rise due to his alcoholism, and though he made strides to stop, he struggled. It was a lazy Sunday in March when the weeklong struggle of life vs. death commenced but, it ultimately led to my dad passing away that Wednesday; the moment I went back to school everyone already knew. My teacher gave me a pile of letters from my peers in which they gave their condolences, it gave me a warm feeling of appreciation and a sense of belonging I wanted, especially at that time. I returned to school feeling uncomfortable but safe, but kids don't have a filter at such a young age. Though my peers would say they were sorry for what happened, I couldn't help feel bombarded by the careless empathy, and all they would ask was how my dad died. In the beginning, I gave a prolonged explanation of the unfortunate events "He had two seizures in a day, the second one happened while putting out a fire behind the house, his foot got lodged, hit his head and fell into a coma", but as the days progressed and kids kept asking, it turned into a simple "accident", but it didn't feel that way. I had to grow a thick skin quick, kids are unfiltered and some are just plain mean, in the following year I was bullied because of my "daughter of a single mother" status, I was different simply because I didn't have a dad. It was hard to cope, but I tried to focus on my schoolwork, looked forward to my future, and became stronger. However, it was the opposite story for my mom, she became depressed and, like my dad previously, she resorted to alcohol to cope. I spent my tween years concerned for mother's livelihood, wondering where she could be, and watching my sister struggle with the possibility of missing persons reports and putting me and my brother in foster care. But despite two absent parents, I was still loved and cared for by my siblings and remained optimistic.

I'm more than the labels given to me, I am my experiences and hopes. Through my experiences, I became resilient and determined. My unnoticed past still shapes me today, for better or for worse, and I'm determined to better my life for my sake and for my family's sake, as well as continuing to mend my broken relationship with my recovering mother. In losing the important relationships of my life, I found a stronger me. I've learned to be empathetic by looking past the labels and see things from others' perspectives as a way of righting my bully's actions.

Be honest please