WEBVTT - Being Raised by Immigrant Parents 0:00:01.800 --> 0:00:05.840 Welcome guys once again to my show. I am your host, 0:00:05.960 --> 0:00:09.640 Amada La, and you're listening to Exactly Amada. Thank you 0:00:09.680 --> 0:00:11.960 so much, and if you didn't know, you're about to find. 0:00:11.680 --> 0:00:13.520 Out that this is a production of iHeart. 0:00:13.760 --> 0:00:16.000 Thank you for tuning in for all the love and support, 0:00:16.280 --> 0:00:18.880 and as usual, don't forget to give us those five stars. 0:00:19.079 --> 0:00:20.480 Subscribe to my podcast. 0:00:20.880 --> 0:00:24.880 I am exactly myself, uncensored, unfiltered, and I keep sits 0:00:25.040 --> 0:00:27.960 a real and go ahead, by the way, before I forget, 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:30.840 and go to the YouTube channel where you can watch 0:00:31.040 --> 0:00:33.360 or listen to my podcast, and all you have to 0:00:33.360 --> 0:00:35.440 do is go to search bard just read Exactly Amada, 0:00:36.200 --> 0:00:38.840 which I've had some really good episodes that I will 0:00:38.880 --> 0:00:41.120 really go back and just listen to them. Some of 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:44.360 those episodes are motivating, you know, motivational. They really encourage me, 0:00:44.760 --> 0:00:47.520 or they just remind me that I've come a long way, 0:00:47.560 --> 0:00:49.960 and I'm sure you have too, because everybody has a 0:00:50.000 --> 0:00:54.360 story to tell. I cannot do today's episode without my friend, 0:00:54.440 --> 0:00:58.080 my producer, me Bana Men fineo Alex. 0:00:58.360 --> 0:01:01.080 Alex in the house, Bob and I am in the house, 0:01:01.160 --> 0:01:04.039 not necessarily your house, but I am in the house. 0:01:04.240 --> 0:01:05.880 In your house. That's right. 0:01:07.200 --> 0:01:09.440 You know that as much as I am a big, 0:01:09.480 --> 0:01:13.040 bubbly person with this huge personality, a lot of people 0:01:13.120 --> 0:01:15.920 just see, you know, the end results, but don't actually 0:01:16.319 --> 0:01:19.120 or obviously didn't get the opportunity of seeing the struggle, 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:22.080 of seeing the journey. Social media just came about, like 0:01:22.160 --> 0:01:24.760 maybe what seven eight years ago that it really became 0:01:24.800 --> 0:01:29.040 a thing, and I didn't have an opportunity to showcase 0:01:29.920 --> 0:01:32.959 like my journey. Well, my space don't count because back 0:01:33.000 --> 0:01:34.720 in my space it was all about you know what 0:01:34.720 --> 0:01:36.600 I'm saying, It wasn't the same. It was like your 0:01:36.600 --> 0:01:39.720 top five friends, top ten pers Everybody was just trying 0:01:39.720 --> 0:01:41.839 to you know, customize their backgrounds. 0:01:41.400 --> 0:01:42.199 And just be cool. 0:01:42.680 --> 0:01:46.319 Like it was such a cool vibe, positive energy. Nobody 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:48.560 was trying to compete with each other. It was less 0:01:48.720 --> 0:01:51.240 people being fake and it was a good era. But 0:01:51.960 --> 0:01:54.480 in that time, I wasn't really concerned in showing people 0:01:54.520 --> 0:01:57.160 my journey and my struggles of me still trying to 0:01:57.200 --> 0:02:01.000 pursue my career as an artists, how hard my mother 0:02:01.080 --> 0:02:04.720 had to work to support my dreams as an immigrant 0:02:04.800 --> 0:02:07.640 in this country. Like there was just so much backstory 0:02:07.680 --> 0:02:10.200 that now that I'm in a better place. I kind 0:02:10.200 --> 0:02:12.040 of want to take you guys back, and I just 0:02:12.080 --> 0:02:14.880 want to talk about how it feels what it was 0:02:15.560 --> 0:02:18.680 to be raised by immigrant parents. Well in my case, 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:21.200 immigrant mother, if you can relate, by the way, don't 0:02:21.240 --> 0:02:23.760 forget to go to exactly amount it on Instagram or 0:02:23.800 --> 0:02:26.680 on the YouTube channel and in the comments, tell me 0:02:26.720 --> 0:02:28.640 your story. Tell me you know, how was it for 0:02:28.720 --> 0:02:32.120 you being raised in the United States coming from immigrant parents, 0:02:32.280 --> 0:02:37.400 as far as the cultural difference, language barriers, all that stuff. 0:02:37.480 --> 0:02:41.320 So in your case, were you born, Alex in the 0:02:41.400 --> 0:02:42.839 United States or you came here? 0:02:42.960 --> 0:02:45.519 Yeah, So, just to start off, this is still a 0:02:45.639 --> 0:02:50.320 very hot topic, immigration and immigration reform, and just the 0:02:50.880 --> 0:02:54.680 whole aspect of you know, immigrants coming from other countries 0:02:54.720 --> 0:02:57.440 trying to find solace and happiness here in the United 0:02:57.440 --> 0:02:59.960 States is still a very hot topic. This is something 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:02.840 has never gone away. I was born and raised in 0:03:02.880 --> 0:03:04.480 Puerto Rico. Now I know it's a common wealth of 0:03:04.520 --> 0:03:09.040 the United States, but I still came from another country, 0:03:09.080 --> 0:03:12.160 another country, but island away outside of the United States. 0:03:12.240 --> 0:03:12.480 Alex. 0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:15.120 Let me ask you this because I've always had, like 0:03:15.160 --> 0:03:17.200 in real life, I've always had this debate in my 0:03:17.240 --> 0:03:19.639 mind of not understanding. So to me, when you talk 0:03:19.639 --> 0:03:22.240 about Puerto Rico, guys, please forgive my ignorance. I'm just 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:24.200 this is really like a learning you know, a learning 0:03:24.240 --> 0:03:26.079 experience for all of us. But when we talk about 0:03:26.080 --> 0:03:30.120 Puerto Rico, I feel like it's like talking about like Dominicans. 0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:33.600 But at the same time, it's like, wait, no, but 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:35.840 if you really stop and look at it, you guys 0:03:35.880 --> 0:03:38.760 are Americans somewhat right. 0:03:38.960 --> 0:03:41.040 I think it's just due to the fact that we've 0:03:41.840 --> 0:03:45.440 we've seen Puerto Rico as as that it's a part 0:03:45.440 --> 0:03:48.800 of the United States. It's a commonwealth. If you look 0:03:48.840 --> 0:03:51.160 at film, even at film a matter. From back in 0:03:51.160 --> 0:03:58.680 the day, Puerto Ricans were looked so differently. They were outcasts, 0:03:58.720 --> 0:04:02.120 they were they were for some reason to other people. 0:04:02.160 --> 0:04:07.240 We were still known as immigrants and and talked down to. 0:04:07.600 --> 0:04:10.360 So I came to this country not knowing a word 0:04:10.400 --> 0:04:14.600 of English, so you know, I felt it. I felt 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:17.680 just like anyone else who came from from a Central 0:04:17.680 --> 0:04:21.320 American country or a South American country into the United States. 0:04:21.600 --> 0:04:24.000 Do you feel that Puerto Ricans still feel kind of like, 0:04:24.120 --> 0:04:26.440 you know, isolated to a certain extent. Do you feel 0:04:26.440 --> 0:04:29.320 that they still feel like they're treated lay as immigrants 0:04:29.440 --> 0:04:30.480 or not necessarily. 0:04:30.839 --> 0:04:33.880 I think it's changed. I would say the old guard. 0:04:34.200 --> 0:04:36.720 You know, if you still have your grandparents and your 0:04:37.040 --> 0:04:39.200 parents that are still from there that feel a certain 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:42.119 way about you know, the way the island is viewed 0:04:42.160 --> 0:04:44.560 and the people are viewed. Yes, but I think as 0:04:44.720 --> 0:04:48.480 as generations have kind of moved forward, it's changed a 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:51.440 little bit because now you see a lot of quote 0:04:51.480 --> 0:04:55.200 unquote colonization of Americans moving to the island and becoming 0:04:55.279 --> 0:04:58.159 citizens of Puerto Rico. There's there's a lot, there's a 0:04:58.200 --> 0:05:01.680 lot to unpackt but you yourself, your mom, Yeah. 0:05:02.360 --> 0:05:05.640 So yeah, my mom came through the Mexican border. Like 0:05:05.720 --> 0:05:09.359 my mom went through the whole experience of hiding in 0:05:09.440 --> 0:05:12.760 the desert and seeing women get raped and you know, 0:05:12.800 --> 0:05:16.720 people being left behind and the coyotes, and you know, 0:05:16.920 --> 0:05:18.839 she saw that whole process. 0:05:18.960 --> 0:05:20.560 She told me it was very traumatizing. 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:23.760 But that only was really put you in a mindset 0:05:23.800 --> 0:05:25.080 because I know there's a lot of people that are 0:05:25.120 --> 0:05:26.560 like against. 0:05:26.200 --> 0:05:28.360 Immigrants coming to this country and all this stuff. 0:05:28.720 --> 0:05:31.880 First of all, first of all, I will say this 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:36.400 much that only lets you know how desperate you have 0:05:36.480 --> 0:05:40.120 to be wherever you're located, that you are willing to 0:05:40.200 --> 0:05:43.599 sacrifice your life. In many occasions, there is parents that 0:05:43.720 --> 0:05:46.960 travel with children, there's women who are pregnant who go 0:05:47.040 --> 0:05:49.279 through these missions, whether it is through water or through 0:05:49.360 --> 0:05:52.680 land or whatever, just for a better future. I don't 0:05:52.760 --> 0:05:54.719 like to generalize, but most of the people that are 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:57.960 leaving their country, nobody wants to leave their home, Nobody 0:05:58.000 --> 0:06:00.479 wants to leave their household, nobody wants to leave their family. 0:06:00.800 --> 0:06:03.680 But if there's no future in your country, if there 0:06:03.760 --> 0:06:07.000 is no future, there's no food, there's no jobs. You know, 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:10.560 there's no electricity, you're struggling. You can only but imagine 0:06:10.560 --> 0:06:12.480 and then you know, in your mind or on TV 0:06:12.600 --> 0:06:15.520 or whatever, you see this other country where there's luxury 0:06:15.560 --> 0:06:18.320 cars and people are famous, and there's glam and there's 0:06:18.560 --> 0:06:21.400 job opportunities, and there's immigrants where they're like, I came 0:06:21.400 --> 0:06:23.760 out of nothing and now I own this. It just 0:06:23.880 --> 0:06:27.160 makes them feel it. There's so much more possibilities. So 0:06:27.360 --> 0:06:29.480 my mom left, which I'm grateful because if it wasn't 0:06:29.520 --> 0:06:32.440 because of the sacrifice she decided to do with her life, 0:06:32.720 --> 0:06:35.320 I wouldn't be here today. And if it wasn't because 0:06:35.360 --> 0:06:37.880 I'm here today, she wouldn't be having the lifestyle that 0:06:37.920 --> 0:06:47.960 she has now. Like many other immigrant parents, you know, 0:06:48.000 --> 0:06:50.480 they struggle and they sacrifice for their children and for 0:06:50.520 --> 0:06:53.719 their families, and we have to be grateful for that. 0:06:53.760 --> 0:06:56.280 I think that sometimes, because we've. 0:06:55.960 --> 0:06:58.719 Been able to have it oh but so good, we 0:06:58.839 --> 0:07:01.320 kind of forget what our parents went through for us 0:07:01.400 --> 0:07:03.560 to have a better lifestyle, you know, for us to 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:06.279 have good education, health care and all these other things. 0:07:06.320 --> 0:07:09.560 So it was hard for her, and you know, I'm 0:07:09.600 --> 0:07:12.040 proud of her. I am proud because my mom, after 0:07:12.080 --> 0:07:14.720 all those struggles, she was able to have three restaurants 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:15.480 in Miami. 0:07:16.440 --> 0:07:19.240 She worked very hard. Still don't know no English, but 0:07:19.680 --> 0:07:21.120 as an immigrant, not knowing. 0:07:20.880 --> 0:07:25.400 The language, you know, language barriers, education barriers, and all 0:07:25.440 --> 0:07:27.840 those things, she still made something out of herself. And 0:07:28.200 --> 0:07:30.800 I always admire those stories of people that come out 0:07:30.800 --> 0:07:33.880 of nothing and create a better future for themselves. As 0:07:33.880 --> 0:07:37.600 an immigrant, I'll say this much, not only or coming 0:07:37.640 --> 0:07:41.640 from an immigrant household. I always say even myself, as 0:07:41.680 --> 0:07:44.160 an Apple Latina, I have the best of both worlds. 0:07:44.400 --> 0:07:47.720 In a country that there's a lot of people against immigrants, 0:07:47.960 --> 0:07:50.320 that they don't want immigrants and it's like and then 0:07:50.320 --> 0:07:52.160 on top of not wanting immigrants. 0:07:51.640 --> 0:07:53.200 Then y'all don't want black people either. 0:07:53.640 --> 0:07:57.360 And then here's me where I am Latina. And then 0:07:57.360 --> 0:07:59.880 on top of that, when you see me, you don't 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:02.760 know that I'm Latina until I open my mouth. So 0:08:02.880 --> 0:08:07.360 I am just part of So it's difficult. It's difficult, 0:08:07.640 --> 0:08:09.560 it really is. And I think that that's why I've 0:08:09.600 --> 0:08:12.160 been so vocal about being an activist for the Apple 0:08:12.200 --> 0:08:16.720 Latino community. And I think it's important to support the 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:19.560 immigrants you know, that are coming here to make a 0:08:19.560 --> 0:08:23.040 better future for themselves and for us too, because immigrants 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:24.520 do a lot of the work that the people that 0:08:24.560 --> 0:08:28.160 are born here don't want to do. And I know 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:29.840 that nobody wants to talk about it, and we all 0:08:29.880 --> 0:08:32.000 see it, and that's a big elephant in the room. 0:08:32.640 --> 0:08:35.280 This country was built by immigrants, okay, and all these 0:08:35.280 --> 0:08:38.040 people that are we're Americans, and we're so well educated. 0:08:38.160 --> 0:08:39.240 Well, because you're. 0:08:39.120 --> 0:08:43.480 So well educated, silent by Apple, go over there by 0:08:43.520 --> 0:08:46.120 the farmer markets and be over there, you know, working 0:08:46.160 --> 0:08:48.800 hard and be humbled about it, like most of the 0:08:48.840 --> 0:08:50.040 immigrants that come to this country. 0:08:50.400 --> 0:08:52.960 And there's parents still doing that today. Like like I 0:08:53.040 --> 0:08:55.720 see it. I see parents still struggling, still coming because 0:08:55.760 --> 0:08:59.199 you know, they come here for safety, a new life 0:08:59.200 --> 0:09:04.240 and opportunity, you know. And then there's there's a different 0:09:04.320 --> 0:09:07.640 spin on it with whomever is talking about it, whether 0:09:07.679 --> 0:09:10.920 it's in the media or politicians or whatever the case 0:09:10.920 --> 0:09:14.080 may be. There's always a different Like people, until you're 0:09:14.120 --> 0:09:16.480 in their shoes, people don't know what's going on. And 0:09:16.559 --> 0:09:19.680 un till today, I mean twenty twenty three, people are 0:09:19.800 --> 0:09:23.680 still struggling the same way your mom did, trying to 0:09:23.960 --> 0:09:28.199 come over, trying to create a life. I seen kids 0:09:28.600 --> 0:09:31.439 still going to work with their parents on the weekend, 0:09:31.880 --> 0:09:33.840 Like they don't have babysitters, they don't have people to 0:09:33.840 --> 0:09:35.160 take care of them. 0:09:34.760 --> 0:09:39.199 I live in Miami, where we obviously know the Cubans. 0:09:39.640 --> 0:09:41.679 A lot of them come, you know, on boats. Can 0:09:41.720 --> 0:09:44.000 you only but imagine what it is to be, you know, 0:09:44.160 --> 0:09:46.960 in the ocean, in the middle of the ocean, with 0:09:47.040 --> 0:09:49.880 that salt water, full of sharks, full of everything, all 0:09:49.920 --> 0:09:52.120 types of things, and to know, like, for example, I 0:09:52.160 --> 0:09:53.800 have a friend and he was like, thirty six of 0:09:53.880 --> 0:09:56.160 us left Cuba and only sixteen minutes. 0:09:56.280 --> 0:09:56.720 You're crazy. 0:09:56.720 --> 0:09:59.440 So you can only but imagine some people throw themselves 0:09:59.440 --> 0:10:03.520 off off desperation, the the salt on your skin and 0:10:03.559 --> 0:10:05.760 the sun in your face, and a lot of them 0:10:05.760 --> 0:10:08.760 sometimes even get lost. And then you you you think 0:10:09.000 --> 0:10:11.360 we'll get there in this amount of time and end 0:10:11.440 --> 0:10:13.280 up being lost for like a whole week in. 0:10:13.240 --> 0:10:14.120 The middle of the ocean. 0:10:14.480 --> 0:10:17.000 We lo we talk about it, but this is like 0:10:17.040 --> 0:10:19.440 a real life experience that people are going through in 0:10:19.520 --> 0:10:22.120 order to try to have a better future. 0:10:23.040 --> 0:10:23.960 Nobody does that. 0:10:24.440 --> 0:10:25.960 I'm gonna come here and I'm just gonna be like 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:28.480 a killer or a Robbert, and I'm just gonna go crazy. 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:30.719 Most people that are doing this are really just here 0:10:30.760 --> 0:10:33.600 trying to get a job. I want to work, I 0:10:33.640 --> 0:10:36.199 want to have food. There's no food in my house. 0:10:36.240 --> 0:10:39.600 There's no medicine, there's no nothing. So I see those 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:42.240 stories and I'm like, going to that's crazy. I also 0:10:42.280 --> 0:10:44.079 found on you know, another story that we saw here 0:10:44.120 --> 0:10:46.599 on TV in Miami where there was this lady that 0:10:46.760 --> 0:10:49.319 was seven months pregnant. 0:10:48.920 --> 0:10:51.280 Leaving Cuba in a little bowl in the middle of. 0:10:51.240 --> 0:10:54.440 The ocean, trying to survive. So I think we can 0:10:54.520 --> 0:10:59.040 be very judgmental, but a a another in another a 0:10:59.080 --> 0:11:02.960 positive note to a certain extent. Something that I am 0:11:03.000 --> 0:11:06.800 grateful for is that my mother worked so hard and 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:09.640 made sure that I always knew where I was, you know, 0:11:09.640 --> 0:11:11.640 where I came from, even though that I was born 0:11:11.640 --> 0:11:15.080 in the United States. My mom never let me lose 0:11:15.440 --> 0:11:18.640 the essence of my culture. We would listen to Juan 0:11:18.679 --> 0:11:25.040 Luiguerra Sisa Caldeleon on the weekends in the house, but 0:11:25.160 --> 0:11:27.720 she was cleaning, you know, I would have my mango 0:11:27.800 --> 0:11:33.080 with salamo, like my Dominican traditional food, and like she 0:11:33.280 --> 0:11:37.280 always made sure you are Latina. You are Dominican, Yes 0:11:37.320 --> 0:11:39.360 you were born here, Yes you speak English. Yes I 0:11:39.360 --> 0:11:42.520 get those parts, that part, but here's where your family 0:11:42.559 --> 0:11:43.120 comes from. 0:11:43.520 --> 0:11:44.360 This is your culture. 0:11:44.360 --> 0:11:48.079 Because sometimes, and I've heard two sides of the story. 0:11:48.160 --> 0:11:49.840 A lot of parents want their kids to have a 0:11:49.840 --> 0:11:51.719 better future and they want to become they want them 0:11:51.720 --> 0:11:55.600 to become as Americanized as possible. And there's another side 0:11:55.640 --> 0:11:57.760 where they're like, it's important for you not to lose 0:11:57.800 --> 0:12:01.080 your essence of where you come from. And that also 0:12:01.160 --> 0:12:02.720 comes with even the language. 0:12:02.960 --> 0:12:03.160 You know. 0:12:04.440 --> 0:12:07.720 I know of a lot of Latinos that don't speak 0:12:07.720 --> 0:12:10.560 any Spanish because their parents are like, it doesn't matter, 0:12:10.679 --> 0:12:12.960 just talk to me in English, I understand what you're saying, 0:12:12.960 --> 0:12:15.520 and I'll just answer back and forth. And that's one 0:12:15.520 --> 0:12:18.240 of the things that I'm working on myself. My daughters 0:12:18.280 --> 0:12:21.160 don't speak any English, and in my house, well, we 0:12:21.280 --> 0:12:22.520 only speak Spanish. 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:24.600 We only listen to Spanish. Because I know that the 0:12:24.640 --> 0:12:27.360 world will teach you English, and I don't. 0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:32.760 Want them to lose that because I'm second generation what American? Well, 0:12:32.800 --> 0:12:36.000 I know, I'm first generation American. They are second generation American. 0:12:36.360 --> 0:12:39.120 I don't want them to lose it, because sometimes you 0:12:39.200 --> 0:12:39.520 lose that. 0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:41.360 Do you get what I'm saying. Yeah, Well, the importance 0:12:41.360 --> 0:12:46.880 of the of language and cultural you know, existence within 0:12:46.920 --> 0:12:50.160 the family is huge. I know, for instance, I grew 0:12:50.240 --> 0:12:52.720 up talking Spanish at home and that was it, you know. 0:12:52.800 --> 0:12:55.319 And I learned English by going to my you know 0:12:56.160 --> 0:13:00.840 esl classes, you know, and my friends taught me you 0:13:00.880 --> 0:13:03.719 know certain things, and I was surrounded, Yeah, I was 0:13:03.760 --> 0:13:06.120 surrounded by a lot of people that were just like me. 0:13:06.320 --> 0:13:10.319 And I believe that if you if you're going to 0:13:10.400 --> 0:13:13.439 teach them both languages, you're setting them up for success anyway. 0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:17.080 You know, what about your kids, you teach them Spanish 0:13:17.120 --> 0:13:19.920 sort of kind of It was very hard because we 0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:22.880 were you know, my ex wife and I two different households, 0:13:22.920 --> 0:13:25.240 were divorced, so it was kind of hard. But they 0:13:25.320 --> 0:13:27.640 kind of understand that they were they're upset now that 0:13:27.679 --> 0:13:30.960 they're older, and they didn't you know, get the full 0:13:31.320 --> 0:13:33.400 you know, extent of it and experience of it. 0:13:33.480 --> 0:13:38.160 So it's never too late. It's never never too late. 0:13:38.240 --> 0:13:40.840 And you know, whether it is through music, your food, 0:13:41.280 --> 0:13:43.720 you know, watching novelas was one of those things that 0:13:43.840 --> 0:13:44.480 really helped. 0:13:45.400 --> 0:13:49.319 That's a cultural thing for us, see coming. 0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:51.320 Together back in the day saw he and everybody will 0:13:51.320 --> 0:13:52.920 come together watch you know, Salo. 0:13:54.160 --> 0:13:56.360 And it was a moment and you know, I want 0:13:56.480 --> 0:13:57.520 to not lose that. 0:13:57.600 --> 0:14:00.360 I would hate to see my daughters like mom, this 0:14:00.400 --> 0:14:02.000 and that, and I'm like, oh I am get. 0:14:01.800 --> 0:14:04.480 Over the Let's talk about the educational system a little 0:14:04.520 --> 0:14:08.080 bit here while you were growing up. How now that 0:14:08.120 --> 0:14:11.280 you're talking about speaking Spanish, you know, how hard was 0:14:11.320 --> 0:14:14.400 that for you when you were in school? Here? Uh, 0:14:14.480 --> 0:14:18.559 the differences and obviously as a as a child of 0:14:18.600 --> 0:14:21.600 an immigrant, right and the people that you you went 0:14:21.640 --> 0:14:23.680 to school with, how was that firsthand for you? 0:14:24.440 --> 0:14:27.160 For as far as in language, sometimes I would mix 0:14:27.240 --> 0:14:30.040 my words, you know, because I'm like, I know what 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:33.080 and even your brain has to process sometimes, like I 0:14:33.120 --> 0:14:35.120 know what this means in English way, or I know 0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:36.880 what this means in Spanish and you have to like 0:14:36.920 --> 0:14:40.160 find the words inside your brain dictionary. So I had 0:14:40.200 --> 0:14:42.280 some struggles with that sometimes, or I would have the 0:14:42.360 --> 0:14:44.680 kids laugh at me because my accent was pretty heavy. 0:14:45.280 --> 0:14:46.760 I still have an accent. 0:14:46.440 --> 0:14:49.360 Now, but I imagine even younger, so my accent was 0:14:49.440 --> 0:14:53.440 very Sophia got it like really heavy, and it was 0:14:53.480 --> 0:14:55.720 a thing. I'm not embarrassed by it now. It's just 0:14:55.760 --> 0:14:58.160 it's just part of who I am. If they ever 0:14:58.280 --> 0:15:02.960 hear it. Get The educational part was I don't think 0:15:03.000 --> 0:15:06.320 it was that hard because in Miami it's it's very 0:15:06.360 --> 0:15:09.280 diverse and there's there's a melting pot of cultures. So 0:15:09.280 --> 0:15:12.360 there were I was around other kids too, there were Latinos, 0:15:14.800 --> 0:15:16.160 were a little bit of everything. We also had a 0:15:16.200 --> 0:15:18.880 lot of African Americans. It was very mixed, so I 0:15:18.880 --> 0:15:21.640 would try to find, you know, where to fit in 0:15:21.720 --> 0:15:25.800 sometimes and it wasn't difficult. But there was a moment 0:15:26.520 --> 0:15:28.760 I went to school younger in Hyalia and then my 0:15:28.840 --> 0:15:31.520 mom ended up having to move for any any Miami people, 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:32.360 you know where I'm talking about. 0:15:32.360 --> 0:15:37.280 Hayli. Anyways, we moved to Brown sub which is like a. 0:15:37.240 --> 0:15:42.720 More African American oriented hood, and it was very African 0:15:42.760 --> 0:15:45.120 American and we were like the only Latinos in the 0:15:45.160 --> 0:15:47.200 neighborhood and we really. 0:15:46.960 --> 0:15:48.360 Felt it, but we didn't. 0:15:48.480 --> 0:15:50.760 We felt that when we had to talk or when 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:53.480 we had to like put our music, but visually you 0:15:53.520 --> 0:15:56.400 couldn't tell the difference. We were just in there, right. 0:15:56.640 --> 0:15:59.480 But my mom didn't know one little bit of English, 0:15:59.680 --> 0:16:01.600 and it was the thing. And I did get jumped. 0:16:01.960 --> 0:16:05.200 I got jumped by two girls in school, and the 0:16:05.280 --> 0:16:08.920 reason was because I felt that I was better than 0:16:08.960 --> 0:16:12.560 everybody because you know, you speak Spanish and da da 0:16:12.640 --> 0:16:13.960 da da, and you think that you're. 0:16:13.920 --> 0:16:15.320 Prepping it is okay there. 0:16:15.480 --> 0:16:20.840 I felt the like I felt the cultural gomoke a difference. Yeah, 0:16:20.880 --> 0:16:23.240 I felt that they're you know, growing up, You're like, well, 0:16:23.360 --> 0:16:25.240 I'm too black to be Latin and I'm too Latina 0:16:25.280 --> 0:16:27.360 to be black, So where is it that I exactly belong? 0:16:27.440 --> 0:16:31.600 Like you're trying to find that you know where to 0:16:31.680 --> 0:16:34.880 fit in and and that was the thing growing up. 0:16:44.520 --> 0:16:47.120 But going back into my older memories of my youth 0:16:47.440 --> 0:16:49.200 when I was younger, when I was like four years old. 0:16:49.240 --> 0:16:50.880 I hope that my daughters one day get to hear this, 0:16:50.960 --> 0:16:53.000 because regardless, I'm going to tell them and make sure 0:16:53.000 --> 0:16:55.440 that they know that their lives is so lit in comparison. 0:16:55.000 --> 0:16:57.000 To mind my mom. 0:16:57.400 --> 0:16:58.880 I was like about four or five years old, and 0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:01.520 I still remember that my mom did have uh no, 0:17:01.840 --> 0:17:05.600 you know documents. She she was undocumented, and she was 0:17:05.640 --> 0:17:09.840 working as a cook, and she would literally hide me 0:17:10.000 --> 0:17:12.159 like wait, you know. She would leave me in the car, 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:15.439 wait till her boss would leave, and would sneak me 0:17:15.480 --> 0:17:19.119 inside the kitchen and she would get the boxes, like 0:17:19.440 --> 0:17:21.359 the boxes of the containers and put it on the 0:17:21.400 --> 0:17:23.639 floor and she would let me sleep there. And she 0:17:23.680 --> 0:17:26.520 would throw little towels like the towels from the cook 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:28.320 you know, from being in the kitchen, and throw it 0:17:28.359 --> 0:17:30.800 over me so that I could sleep and she could 0:17:30.840 --> 0:17:32.879 watch me because she couldn't afford to get a babysitter. 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:34.600 And in a lot of these places. 0:17:34.240 --> 0:17:36.080 She was always afraid that if they find out she 0:17:36.119 --> 0:17:38.919 doesn't have no papers, they would, you know, you know, 0:17:39.160 --> 0:17:41.080 deport her, and then what would she do with me? 0:17:41.280 --> 0:17:43.919 Because I was American? But she wasn't, so she was 0:17:43.960 --> 0:17:45.880 always scared of what am I supposed to do? What's 0:17:45.920 --> 0:17:46.520 gonna happen? 0:17:46.880 --> 0:17:49.400 And I and I always sometimes, you know, get into 0:17:49.440 --> 0:17:52.359 my emotional space where I cry, because whenever she would 0:17:52.359 --> 0:17:54.359 hear that her boss would come, she would make me, 0:17:54.520 --> 0:17:56.040 she would wake me up, she would make me get 0:17:56.119 --> 0:17:58.080 up and hide, and I would have to like hide 0:17:58.080 --> 0:18:00.480 behind the refrigerator or whatever, because she wasn't allowed to 0:18:00.560 --> 0:18:05.119 have obviously a child inside a kitchen, a hot ass kitchen, 0:18:05.760 --> 0:18:07.840 and she would do those things. And sometimes we would 0:18:07.880 --> 0:18:11.639 go home into like, you know, a little efficiency. We 0:18:11.720 --> 0:18:13.919 used to live in efficiency for those that don't know, 0:18:13.960 --> 0:18:15.960 it's like a small little house that they do on 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:18.800 the side of a house that's in many occasions illegal. 0:18:19.720 --> 0:18:23.199 And I would watch her cry, and I would, you know, 0:18:23.280 --> 0:18:25.280 as a little girl, I didn't know what was happening. 0:18:25.280 --> 0:18:26.960 I would put my hands over here and like it's 0:18:27.040 --> 0:18:29.520 going to be okay, I mean, don't cry, you know whatever, 0:18:29.600 --> 0:18:32.040 and she would cry because she would see all the 0:18:32.040 --> 0:18:34.200 struggles that she was going through as a single mother, 0:18:34.320 --> 0:18:39.320 as an immigrant, as a black Latina, as everything. 0:18:39.400 --> 0:18:41.359 You know, it was very very difficult times. 0:18:41.400 --> 0:18:43.840 And whenever I think of where I am now, I 0:18:43.880 --> 0:18:46.639 really realize how far I've come. But I think all 0:18:46.680 --> 0:18:48.760 those experience wasn't you know? It was important for me 0:18:48.800 --> 0:18:51.359 to build my character and to be appreciative of the 0:18:51.400 --> 0:18:53.440 things that I have now, which brings me to think 0:18:53.880 --> 0:18:56.919 my daughters won't have to necessarily go through those things. 0:18:57.200 --> 0:19:00.000 And I want them to struggle to a certain extent, 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:02.280 and I mean it in the best way, because I 0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:05.560 want them to understand the importance of hard work, of 0:19:05.640 --> 0:19:07.800 what it is to work hard for what you want 0:19:07.840 --> 0:19:10.040 and not just expect things to be handed to you 0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:13.600 because mommy is famous or rich or whatever. 0:19:14.040 --> 0:19:14.280 You know. 0:19:14.400 --> 0:19:17.160 I want you to struggle to a certain extent where 0:19:17.160 --> 0:19:18.480