advice please

Student Lounge Hispanic Students
1

<p>I was recently accepted to Cornell. I love its academics and its atmosphere. My visit there made me love the place. But allow me to tell you a bit of my story:</p>

<p>I have Hispanic ancestry.<br>
My dad and his parents were born and grew up in a Hispanic country. My grandmother on his side was Mestizo (a mix of Amerindian and White). My grandfather on his side was Chinese.<br>
My mom and her side of the family is completely Chinese.</p>

<p>I am racially 75% East Asian and 25% Mestizo.
I am ethnically both Chinese and Hispanic.
But I look, almost completely, East Asian.</p>

<p>On my Common App, I identified myself as Hispanic(Central America), Asian(Chinese) White(Mestizo), and American Indian(Mestizo). I identify with my Hispanic side because my dad speaks Spanish fluently and has shown me a lot of the Central American culture he experienced as a child.</p>

<p>Recently, I was invited to attend Diversity Hosting Weekend and the American Indian club. I'm not sure what to make of this. Although I love being a person of mixed culture, I'm not sure if I'll get "weird looks" because of the way I look. Also, I identify with the ethnic Hispanic culture of my family, but I don't know much about the Amerindian traditions. </p>

<p>I grew up in a mostly Hispanic neighborhood. I was ostracized when I was young because of the way I look. I hope to not see that at Cornell. I have faith that Cornell kids are more understanding. But I would still feel bad if I go to DHW and see people giving me weird looks.</p>

<p>I would appreciate any advice on this.</p>

2

<p>I can fully understand your position. While my kids don’t have any NA background, they are half Hispanic (Argentina from Spain and therefore white) and half Asian. D1 looks like a ‘mix’, and people have a hard time figuring out her background, she’s even been asked if she’s Pakistani. D2 looks 100% Asian. </p>

<p>I don’t know what you can do other than be straightforward and honest. The CA includes Original Peoples of the Americas in their NA racial category, so you should definitely be included. More and more, people are smashing the old stereotypes of what a nationality/ethnicity/race should look like or what their surname should be. I can only hope that your generation is growing up with this kind of diversity and so has fewer of the prejudices of my generation. </p>

<p>Go, have fun, and bust some barriers!</p>