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Jovany Arroyo
English 115
Professor Lawson
9 December 2016
Identity Essay Final Draft
Word Count: 1506
Shy Caterpillar, Outgoing Butterfly
Being classified as a Mexican means that you have many kids, you drink tequila like
water, you are lazy, and that we love beans. A true Mexican would know that these are all
stereotypes. Mexicans are hardworking people that have instilled many morals on our children;
speaking for my parents because I am not one, but I noticed my parents did that to me. Music
can be many things, it can be a form of expression, a story, it can affect our mood, and change
our way of life. Which is why in this generation most of the music people listen to they do it,
because it influences them in a positive way. Over the eighteen years that I have been on this
earth, would identify myself with most of the song sub-cultures. Throughout these years I had
my phases in which I would listen to all genres of music and try to be a part of that specific
culture during that time. The Mexican culture has shaped me to be a respectful hardworking
individual, while Music and its many sub-cultures have shaped me to be outgoing and trying new
stuff.
I was born in Mexico on November 16, 1998 in a small town named Copandaro de
Galeana which has an even smaller town named El Salitre. This is where I was taught by my
parents the many morals that I still exhibit to this day. Most of the morals and ethics that have to
do with my Mexican culture usually are all related to respect towards your elders. Always respect

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your elders is what my parents taught me. My aunts and uncles usually go to my house so when
they get there I must get out of my room, or stop whatever I am doing. I have to do this to either
greet them or give them a hug because if I do not do this it is disrespectful. Not only has it
shaped me to be a respectful person but it has influenced me in the manner that there is always
going to be family there for me. Our family is quite large and whenever I have a problem that I
do not feel comfortable talking with my parents I go to my older cousin. Two of my cousins
come to CSUN, they always tell me if I ever need help with something or a ride anywhere to just
ask them and if they have time they'll take me. Not only this but I have a cousin who is a college
graduate, so he knows what I am going through right now. This is quite helpful because I know
that he wouldnt give me bad advice. Family is very important in the Mexican culture because
family is always going to be there no matter what.
Mexican culture has taught me to always work hard no matter what the circumstances,
this is the United States the country of opportunity as many people say it is. At the age of two, I
was brought to the United States as an illegal immigrant. My parents taught me to work hard and
they did this telling me that one day I would have to go out to Ciudad Juarez to get my visa and
later my citizenship. They motivated me to always try my hardest because it would help me but
after I got my citizenship I realized something. I realized that you always must work hard if you
want to become something in life. My grandparents showed my parents that the only way to
make it in the world was to work hard in everything that they did. Having this in mind I came to
remember that my dad who doesn't speak English, would always study the Citizenship questions
and go to adult school to be able to pass the Citizenship test. His hard work paid off because I am
now a citizen of the United States and my mom will hopefully be one by this year. After seeing
my parents work their butts off for me and continuing to work hard to be able to send me to

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college, the least I can do is work hard to get a degree and hopefully tell them one day that they
do not have to work anymore. I know that my parents deserve all of this and more because some
people dont have parents like the ones I have.
Nevertheless, this isn't the only culture that has influenced me, music and its many subcultures have changed me in a positive way. By sub-cultures I mean the different kinds of genres
that music has. When I was in elementary I would never talk, I would be too shy and scared to
talk to other people. This was because I was still learning the English language, so sometimes I
would say words that wouldn't sound how they were supposed to. So, my cousins introduced me
to Barney, Sesame Street, and Teletubbies which had music now to this day I can still sing these
theme songs. This helped me because these theme songs were obviously in English and it helped
me grasp speaking the English language better. Also, it influenced me to not give up and stop
getting frustrated because by learning these theme songs I understood how easy learning English
was. Later in my Jr. high days the raver subculture was in. This meant that we had to go to raves
and show off our super cool shuffling skills; personally, I wouldn't like going to them because
that would involve talking to people but my friends would force me to go. As I started to go to
more raves and interacting with much more people I was starting to blossom and become less
shy. This helped tremendously because I could now go out and talk to people without being shy.
Music influenced me to do this because if I hadnt started listening to that kind of music and
making friends who knows if I would still be shy today.
High school was the place where I learned not to be shy and just be myself I started to
listen to many popular sub-cultures that included rap, dubstep, country, and Corridos. Corridos
for those of you who dont know what they are. They are "a Mexican ballad or folksong about
struggle against oppression and injustice" so they talk about what goes on in Mexico they sing

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about all the injustices. Now in rap songs and Corridos, I would find confidence and the ability
to talk to anyone. In these songs, I would hear the lyrics and I would visualize the story that they
would sing about. This made me think to myself if these guys can do it why can't I, so I started to
go out more and talk to people making more friends as I interacted with them. I personally love
to hear Corridos because they talk about the truth about what goes on in Mexico, listening to
them is fun but dancing to them is even better. To do this I would have to get over the obstacle
that stood in the way which was being shy; so, one day I finally got the courage to ask a girl to
dance and she said yes we danced for the whole night and I felt proud of myself. This was the
most fun I have ever had in a while because you just get into the music and the time flies.
Showing how fun dancing to this is. Sophomore year was when I let loose I was on the football
and wrestling team and I was meeting new people every day it was like I had completely lost my
shyness. This was all thanks to music and its genres that got me out doing new activities and
meeting new people because of the lyrics.
In conclusion, I am proud to be a Mexican because of the morals and ethics that the
culture has shown me. As a result of that, I am respectful towards my elders, and I thank my
parents for that because respect is a good life trait. Not only that but people don't have to tell me
to work hard because I continue to do that no matter what, also thanks to my parents. Even if my
parents wouldnt pressure me to work hard I know I would have to do it. They have done so
much for me and its the least I can do. Although sometimes I get lazy I never stop trying my
hardest. Music and its many sub-cultures have changed me to be an outgoing person, I guess you
can say I went from a shy person in a cocoon to an outgoing one blossoming into a butterfly.
This is beneficial to me because in the world it's all about making connections and who you

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know. These cultures have made me the way I am today and I believe myself to be a good person
that one can trust and talk to.

Works Cited

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"The Definition of Corrido." Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.