Do not, I repeat DO NOT, let professors, dentists, guidance counselors, your boss/employees, anyone for that matter, make you question your intelligence. We are all bright and intelligent people with different roots within us. If you get into an amazing school then it’s because you worked hard, you dedicated days and nights to studying, working and stressing. Don’t let people get into your mind saying you got accepted because of “affirmative action” because that is a load of crap. We’ve been breaking and fighting stereotypes constantly. From the Chicano and Chicana students protesting to the Nuyorican activists fighting for Latino students to be allowed into certain classes, we have been proving to society that we can learn anything and everything.
In grade school, I was constantly questioned about my “perfect English accent,” my parents’ education, where I learned English, and how old I was when I came to America. As always I had to correct them, “I was born here,” “My parents went to school and my dad was in college and got amazing grades,” “I learned both languages around the same time,” and their response was either shock or embarrassment because of their assumptions. It’s cool, I would always think, but deep down the assumptions always bothered me. These tiny micro-aggressions felt like small needles to me. Has this stopped? No, it’s still around me, but I’ve learned to let my actions prove them wrong. My academic performance, my way of speaking, my intelligence proves them wrong. I understand the saying, “kill them with kindness,” but instead I go by “prove them wrong with intelligence.” And I do. Every single day.
So for the students who get questioned, get marked wrong or get some passive aggressive response: Prove them wrong. Take action, speak out, show them that you are not just some stereotype, and educate them. The greatest thing that we can do as students is to educate people. Show them different sides and give them facts instead of assumptions. Our community is forever growing with a blend of beautiful people and countries. Let us show everyone that we, in fact, can use the word “hence” without copy and paste and attend Stanford on account of our excellent grades that we’ve worked immensely hard on.
In the words of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, a message for all Latinos and Latino students, “!Si, se puede!” or “Yes, you can!”. Never forget who you are, what you stand for, and always stay humble and smart.