Vanessa Ramirez

Cultural Belonging
I am Mexican-American. My mom is from Los Angeles, California. My dad is from Mexico City. I
was born on August 3, 1994. I share a birthday with my younger sister, Samantha.

My family on my mom and dad’s side of the family are fluent in Spanish. Even though my mom
and dad speak fluent spanish, me and my sister never learned. Being around Spanish speakers my
entire life, I never picked it up. I do understand, but I can’t have an entire conversation with
someone. I do try and learn, but my words get all mixed up and I get tongue-tied.

All my young life, I lived in Victorville, California. When I was 20 years old we moved here to Las
Vegas. We have lived here for 4 ½ years now and I love being here. Living in Victorville, it was
such a small town, so when I moved here it was a big difference. There was a lot to do, different
people, and more than one mall.
 Cultural Belonging
My family is loud, crazy, and always there for one another. In my family we celebrate Christmas
the 24th and on the 25th we go back to my grandmas house and eat left overs and talk. We
celebrate Thanksgiving, birthdays, and really anything to have an excuse to get together. We all
have very strong personalities and it does cause us to butt heads and get into heated arguments,
but at the end of the day we are all family.

I love Mexican food. I am not just saying that because it is my culture. I love posole, tacos, sopes,
enchiladas, ceviche, albondigas, caldo de pollo, tamales, champurado, arroz con leche. These food
are my top favorite
 Life Experience
For my life experience, I would have to choose experiencing life in my 20’s. I am only 24 but I
feel like these years, have been my years of growth and change. When I entered my 20’s my life
really changed. I moved away from the only place I knew, that had all my friends and family. I
moved to a place where I basically had to start all over. My relationship of 2 years had ended,
which left me heartbroken. I came to a city not knowing anyone or anything. When I moved here
I got my first job. It was a new experience for me. In Victorville, I was going to college, but never
had a job.

While being in my 20’s, I am learning about myself. I feel myself in a confusing time but also in
a time where I know who I am. I feel like I am falling behind, but, at the same time, in the right
place. I have people around me who have full families and married or barely graduating college
and finding themselves. I have grown up with people who are all doing life at their own pace.
 Life Experience
For me, it is hard because I have stressed so much about where I am in life or where I should be.
Experiencing my life while in my 20’s has taught me, that I am on my own timeline. I am learning
to stop comparing myself to everybody. I am on my own and no one else is worried about where I
am at in life. I am learning to embrace who I am and being in love with the results.

Getting a job and being able to take some time to be by myself, really helped me with loving my
own solitude. My 20’s have been fun, confusing, stressful, full of anxiety, break downs,
accomplishments, and a time of breaking myself down and building myself up. These years are
teaching me to be myself and to do things foe me and not for anyone else. Everyday is a day I
learn something new about myself and grow into the woman I am meant to be. These years for me
have been tough but worth it. Even though I have days where I struggle and contemplate my life, I
remember that these days are the days I need to continue to build me up.
 World View
Growing up, I was always told that I was Catholic. We went to church a lot when we were little and
as we got older we stopped; but I never once stopped believing in God. When my mom was younger
she attended church every Sunday. She was the one who taught us what she knew and we went by
that. Now, I feel like I am closer to God than before. I have a feeling these past years and my
relationship have brought me closer to God.

I feel like living my life the way I want is what helps me make choices in life. I have realized that
in order for me to live a full and happy life, I need to make myself happy first. That is the most
important thing I want to take out of this life. If I am happy, I have everything.

In life, I want to earn my degree, get married, and have a family. I can’t wait to have my own
classroom. It has been a dream of mine since I was in Kindergarten. I dream about my wedding,
and having my own family.
 Cultural Artifacts
The people in my life are what represent me most. They have been by my side through everything
and have been the ones that help me get through the tough days. They make my days better and
bring so much light to my life. My family, friends, and boyfriend.