My Experience of Being Mexican-American

My parents came to Dallas from Central Mexico in early 1998, where I was born a year later as the first of four children. I was raised with the mantra “acción, acción” (meaning action in English). My father would walk by the rooms in the morning and clap twice as he said, “acción, acción.” He instilled in me to always be doing something productive; be it helping at his used car dealership, extracurricular activities after school, or reading books. This mentality helped my parents do well for themselves and allowed them to provide me with unique experiences. By unique I do not refer to vacations in exotic locations, but rather experiences where I was challenged to become a more capable individual. The two most significant experiences came hundreds of miles from home; first by studying in Queretaro, Mexico for a year and second by attending New Mexico Military Institute for three years.

In the eighth grade my three siblings, mother, and I moved to Queretaro, Mexico. My father stayed back in Dallas to keep the family business running. The plan with moving to Queretaro was to learn to properly read and write in Spanish. In addition, as a Mexican-American it was important that I understood my culture first hand. By the end of the year I was reading books and writing papers in Spanish, with an overall B average for the school year. I was most impressed with the holiday events, particularly “Día de Muertos” (Halloween) and Christmas. The entirety of the city center would be elaborately decorated, with streets closed down for families to enjoy traditional foods and activities. Despite the difficulties of school and a new way of life; Mexico taught me to adapt in a new community, get involved, and make the most of the limited time I was there. Back home I attended a high school in North Dallas for freshman and sophomore year. In the months approaching junior year my parents introduced me to New Mexico Military Institute.

My parents came to Dallas from Central Mexico in early 1998, where I was born a year later as the first of four children. I was raised with the mantra “acción, acción” (meaning action in English). My father would walk by the rooms in the morning and clap twice as he said, “acción, acción.” He instilled in me to always be doing something productive; be it helping at his used car dealership, extracurricular activities after school, or reading books. This mentality helped my parents do well for themselves and allowed them to provide me with unique experiences. By unique I do not refer to vacations in exotic locations, but rather experiences where I was challenged to become a more capable individual. The two most significant experiences came hundreds of miles from home; first by studying in Queretaro, Mexico for a year and second by attending New Mexico Military Institute for three years.

In the eighth grade my three siblings, mother, and I moved to Queretaro, Mexico. My father stayed back in Dallas to keep the family business running. The plan with moving to Queretaro was to learn to properly read and write in Spanish. In addition, as a Mexican-American it was important that I understood my culture first hand. By the end of the year I was reading books and writing papers in Spanish, with an overall B average for the school year. I was most impressed with the holiday events, particularly “Día de Muertos” (Halloween) and Christmas. The entirety of the city center would be elaborately decorated, with streets closed down for families to enjoy traditional foods and activities. Despite the difficulties of school and a new way of life; Mexico taught me to adapt in a new community, get involved, and make the most of the limited time I was there.

Back home I attended a high school in North Dallas for freshman and sophomore year. In the months approaching junior year my parents introduced me to New Mexico Military Institute. The first reaction to the idea of military school was of significant resistance, but after visiting the campus I decided to attend for what would become three life changing years. NMMI was a center stone in reinforcing my discipline and developing my ability to manage and lead. I learned the most significant lessons by having to overcome my demotion from Troop Commander (responsible for 70 cadets). This failure arose in me the perseverance to dedicate myself to exceling in my responsibilities at the lowest level and lead by my actions. In this way, I gained the respect of my peers and supervisors that allowed me to be selected as Squadron Commander (responsible for five troops, about 350 cadets). NMMI was a leadership workshop; I learned to develop a vision and instill it in my fellow cadets to motivate them amidst the stiff academics, strict rules, and distance from home. The experience I gained from the corps of cadets gave me a confidence and maturity that not many of my peers have developed.

I desire to attend SMU because it is a bedrock where I can implement what I have learned and experienced and work with my peers to accomplish greater things. I can contribute to SMU by leveraging my ability to understand the Mexican-American community that is constantly increasing in significant numbers. As a real estate finance major, I hope to form new connections with other students and teachers so in the future we can work together on influential projects. My longer-term goal is to develop the housing and living standards of the Mexican-American community, for it is where I grew up and where my roots remain.