Estefania Hernandez | THE RIDER
Who do you see yourself becoming? What are your capabilities in life? Whenever I was asked “Who are you?” all I could think was: I am a student, a daughter, a sister, a friend, but who was I really?
Growing up in a Latino community, I was taught that family always came first. I had my mind set to think that I needed to be perfect at everything and anything I did in order to make my parents proud.
When I was a kid, my family had low expectations of me going to college and being something in life, and that forever stayed engraved in my mind. I then made it a challenge to prove to not just my parents, but to myself that I can accomplish anything I set my mind on.
I spent my four years of high school focused on trying to be the best student and exceptional athlete to show my parents that I can be something. I spent every second of my time trying to be the best at everything that I never really stopped to look at all I’ve accomplished. Top 10 of my senior class, full ride scholarship to college, but still something was missing.
High school graduation, the ending of a chapter of our lives and the start of a new journey. What now? I bet many of us asked that question every day after high school. Who am I? College was around the corner and I felt like I lost a huge part of what made me who I am. However, I wasn’t actually losing myself, I was on the journey of figuring out who I am.
It is now 2020, and I am nowhere near the person I was 4 years ago, and 17-year-old me would be astonished to see the person we’ve grown to be. Before college, I was one to stop my life to help my family and friends, but now, I have learned that I should care more about my own future than those around me. Putting others before me made me lose my identity.
Living in the Rio Grande Valley has taught me to fight the status quo. You don’t have to stop your life because of family. We were put in this world to grow as individuals, to find our place and meaning in this life. Life is about taking leaps forward. You might fall at some point, but that’s the way it is. We learn as we live. College has taught me that experience is something we’re supposed to learn and grow from.
I love the person I have grown to be. Finding the courage to speak my mind was my biggest leap to figuring out who I was. Fighting the status quo not only shows what you believe is right, but it can expand and become a revolution for many others who are fighting the same battle as you.
