I never thought of describing myself as a scholar until today when asked who I am. The first thing that comes to mind is my name, but my name is only a title and doesn’t really have any significance as to who I am.
I am still trying to figure out who I am through my academic journey. I am learning about my history and generally about myself. A few years ago, I didn’t know whether to identify as a Chicana or a Latina or even American.
“Having learned about the history behind these identifiers helped me learn about Me.”
I am a mujer with a Chicana foundation but with “modern” beliefs, a scholar, an activist, a daughter, sister, and friend. As time passes, my identity will be shifting in correlation with my life. My answer to this question will most likely change five years from now because I am constantly evolving.
I love my family, I love my close friends, the people that have taught me lessons in life, animals, children, food, feeling happy, supportive relationships. I love my freedom to dress the way I want, to express my own beliefs, to love the person I want to love, I love having access to resources and opportunities. Being in control of where I want my life to go and I love being in a space where I can reflect on the good and the bad, on what can be changed.
If I knew I was going to die tomorrow, I would probably make the best out of it today. Even though I will not die tomorrow, hopefully, (que Dios quiera) knowing that death is in the future I would move on, forget the past, the heavy burdens, the grudges, the mistakes. I would aim to be healthy in my mind, body, soul. I think I would worry less about what people think or about pleasing others but rather about working on self-exploration and my own sources of joy. I would probably travel to all of the places that I plan to go to (pretty much everywhere I can). I would attempt to be a better person by helping others, perhaps being more of an activist. After taking a course on Family in Society, I realize that family isn’t only blood.
Storyteller Lili S is currently pursuing a BA in Sociology at the University of California at Santa Cruz and is from Los Angeles
