I Am a Young Woman of Color
I feel like in my life, especially now as a teenager, I struggle a lot with trying to figure out who I am and what
I want to do in this world. In my mind my ethnicity has a lot to do with my identity, but it's also one of the reasons why I feel out of place in the world.
Although I am a multitude of races, I'm primarily Mexican and Native American. But the fact that I'm not
100% Mexican or Native American confuses me, because I can't relate entirely to being a Native or a Mexican. My ethnicity has also taught me to be proud of who I am and my heritage. In the past I have been picked on because of my name and I would normally just let it slide. When I truly thought about it though, it was actually really hurtful hearing people say my full name extremely fast in a fake Mexican accent or calling me "Tamale". In the end though, I learned to preserve and be proud of my name, which means the warmth of the sun/energy in Nahuatl (the language of the Aztecs).
Being a person of color affects my decisions in what type of short films I have made and want to make in the
future. For example, I made a documentary on gentrification in Highland Park because I have seen how POC (people of color) and communities are affected by it.
What also inspires my art is the fact that I am a girl. Even though I am only fourteen years old, I have
experienced and seen a lot of misogyny in our society whether it was in movies, music, politics, school, or even in my family. At times I am discouraged by wanting to pursue being a film director or even a successful female because of the discrimination and sexism I will face. I know that I must not let the hatred of others stop me from reaching my dreams if I ever want to help break down walls of oppression. As I create new art, I am also navigating how my culture and gender shape who I am.
