Thinking About Heritage

This morning I was still upset about the Facebook incident, so I decided to listen to one of my favorite podcasts, Code Switch. The latest episode was about Latino grandparents. Big mistake. I ended up crying because I was reminded of my own beloved grandma, which then led me to think about how in touch (or not) I am with my Hispanic identity, which segued into a question I thought about earlier this week regarding whether or not I spend far too much time around white people.

The truth is that I spend most of my time in the Jewish community, which is predominantly white. My mother and (estranged) family are really my only ties to the Hispanic community. Well, them and my skin color. I don’t speak Spanish fluently, though I can understand most spoken Spanish, and even though I was taught to be proud of my heritage, we really didn’t do any typical “Mexican” things. My grandparents were adamant that my mom and siblings blend into American culture, so I suppose that was also passed down.

But really, I miss my grandma very much.