Self Portrait

Many people as myself look on the outside physical features and not so much as what is on the inside. In that case I decided to draw a picture of myself with the Mexico flag on half of my face and the America flag on my other half of my face. I chose the two flags because of my ethnicity, Mexican American. I also have words around me in the picture that represent some of the comments I get when talking about my ethnic. I wanted people to see that one shouldn’t be too quick to assume ones identify. Also wanted people to see that one doesn’t have to have certain physical features to identify as a certain race if they care for the race and its traditions. Although I identify as a Hispanic on most test forms when the option is there, I get it is hard to back up that identification. I know that for me it is hard to keep a strong base of who I am when I am not totally confident of the way I should look. I remember my brother who is in the same boat saying that it is hard with our race because we have to be more American than the Americans and more Mexican than the Mexicans. That saying sticks with me because it is very accurate, I know that when I am with my Mexican side of the family I try hard to fit in and when I am with my American side of the family I try just as hard to fit in. I try not to care about the judgement I get, but for me it is hard to ignore the judgement when it is reoccurring. I hope that my picture can make people change the way they see me and think about me. Honestly for me the hardest part is when you try to stand up for your ethnicity, but people can’t look past the outside.