5TheJournalOctober2011 Column

>>Between a rock and a hard place

Jackie Trujillojackie.trujillo@gaggle.net

! ere’s just something about being assumed that I’m good at something when I’m not, that irritates me. I’m not one to complain, but it all began to happen at the beginning of this year. Since there is no longer French, I was required to enroll in Span-ish I. I don’t have anything against the language itself- just the fact that because I’m Hispanic does not mean I’m a genius in regards to the subject. Sure, my parents are " uent but I was raised learning English # rst. I still have the bene# t of pronouncing the majority of the words but I struggle with as much di$ culty as the rest would when pertaining to grammar. Ever since I could remember, my father was a primary in" uence in my speaking English. He learned it as a sec-ond language and always spoke to my siblings and me in both languages. I used to sit in front of a T.V. watching shows like Doug and Franklin. I think that’s where I lost my accent. Because my grandparents and distant relatives only spoke Spanish, I learned to adapt in order to un-derstand them. Eventually every little word stuck in my head and I grew to instinctively know what they were saying. I never actually learned to write or physi-cally read words o% a page. I could only speak it. To this day, whenever I attempt speaking only Spanish in my household, my mother always cor-rects me. Some might say it’s embarrassing because of who I’m supposed to be. Students presume that because of the color of my skin, I must already have this language perfected. ! ey believe that I know all the answers when prompted during class. Truth is, I don’t. I’m usually about as lost as every-

one else. My other family members like my cousins and aunts frown upon my way of speaking. ! ey tell me things like “you’re Hispanic so you should already know this” or “learn your language, girl!” It gets to the point where I don’t even want to show my face. And they always correct me on every little detail, sometimes speaking to me like I’m an infant who can’t tell the di% erence between le& and right. It’s downright mortifying when a younger cousin of mine speaks to

me like I’m dense. In a way, it feels like I somehow don’t belong. I look so Mexican that I never truly # t in with English-speaking so-cieties, but I speak Spanish so roughly that I never blend in with Hispanics either. I’m forever stuck between a rock and

a hard place. ! e term “stereotypes” has been preached way too

many times and I never really gave it much thought until all this assuming began. Now I guess that I’m just

tired of telling people “No, sorry I can’t help you” and explaining why I don’t know the answer. I’m so reluc-tant to even try to give them help because I’m afraid I’ll get blamed for giving them the wrong response.

It’s been a complicated ride this year so far, more tir-ing than anything else, really. And although this is the # rst time I’ve been in this situation, I’m certain this ex-perience taught me a lesson, one of which will probably stick with me for the rest of my life. It’s cliché but I’ll

never judge a book by its cover ever again. I’ve been on the other side of the picture and it’s de# nitely not fun. Truthfully, I feel sympathy for those who are misjudged- I know I’m not the only one in this school

who has been.

Sta er takes look at personal stereotypes

People thought I was stupid

because of cheer-leading.

>>sophomore Morgan McGee

�“�”

They think I�’m either emo or goth

because I wear skinny jeans and

black all the time. >>freshman Lydia

Vazquez

�“�”

Someone thought I was mean be-

cause of the way I looked at them

but I�’m really not.>>junior Letty

Fernandez

�“�” The biggest one

that I can remem-ber is before I

moved here. I had my hair cut short-

like a pixie cut and I had my gen-

der questioned.>>junior Lyndsay

Franke

�“

�”People think I�’m preppy and stuck

up because of how I dress and walk.

>>sophomore Valerie Thompson

�“�”

I was stereotyped when...