#SELFIE
Though this is not exactly a selfie, this photo taken by my mother is a perfect representation of my origins and ethnicity. In this photo, my sister and I are helping prepare about 100 tamales for our family Christmas Eve dinner — my favorite annual tradition. Even though I was born in the United States, this photo shows that my parents make sure that I am immersed in my Mexican culture so that it will continue to be very much alive in the generations to come.
In May 2014, my mother was declared cancer-free. To celebrate, my mom wanted to go to Disneyland, only this time she wanted to stay at the Disneyland Hotel — something we hadn’t done before. This selfie reveals the very family-oriented side of me, as family is one of my biggest core values. Setting time aside from our busy schedules to be together is a must.
For as long as I can remember, the sciences have always fascinated me. As a result, becoming a doctor has been my biggest goal in life. Recently, however, I’ve found a new interest in research — specifically working with malaria. This selfie shows both my core value of education as well as my commitment to school and to this ongoing research project. I greatly value education because I know it is one of the biggest reasons my parents left their home country to start a family here — so that I could have these opportunities I may not have had if they had stayed in Mexico.
Most of my selfies reveal more about my chosen identities. In fact, there are a couple that are present in this picture. Ever since I was younger, I loved everything Disney. My parents always did their best to make a yearly family trip there possible, and to this day I enjoy it just as much. Luckily, I was able to connect with someone who shared my enthusiasm about the happiest place in the world among many other things. Thus, this selfie shows my chosen identity as a Disney fan as well as my chosen identity to be happy and committed to someone with whom I know I can share some of my chosen identities with.
One of the things I like to keep in mind is that it’s okay to sometimes make some room for play time. During the semester, my time is pretty much dedicated to school on the weekdays and work on the weekends. But sometimes, I like to take a break. This selfie shows a more playful side of me with my favorite dessert, but it reveals more than that. It says that even though I can be serious and very focused at times, I still possess a playful identity that I may not choose to display as often.
