@katallages
“You and I aren’t so different. Rather than viewing changes and differences as a threat, an open mind will get us farther in life. Whether it’s a butterfly or your neighbor, we all look beautiful together.”
My submission consists of photos taken in Angangueo, showcasing the monarch butterfly’s migration. I found these photos to be fitting, as it shows two different species interacting with each other with love and curiosity. Despite the differences, humans and butterflies connect and share many similarities. Both of us are complex creatures that go through changes in our lives, wandering around for a place to fit in. Rather than push away the things we don’t understand, we should celebrate and encourage the ways we move and adapt to the world around us. The same way tourists from all over the world flock together to experience a butterfly’s migration, our cultural differences should be accepted and shared.
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My parents deserve all the credit for the long and soul crushing journey they made to get to where they are today. It’s a reason that repeats itself over and over, but a chance at a new and better life is a driving force for many. From train cars, planes, and long winding roads, my parents crossed it all. Everyone that has attempted the journey knows that waiting on the other side is a chance to participate in the American Dream. To have not one, not two, but a billion chances to try and start all over again.
It took a while for me to understand how important and dangerous the journey to America was for a lot of people. I feel very grateful for my family, and the unwavering amount of support I grew around. On top of that support, I feel very blessed to have been born into a family that put my needs first and did the best they could to make sure I had a happy upbringing and bright future, planned way before I was even born. My community is strong and tightly held together. There’s an understanding of how much has been risked. With all this, I have learned to give more than I take.
As I grew older, my relationship with my home and culture has changed dramatically. I feel life connected than I used to be. I’ve always felt connected to my culture, but there are certain things that only time and age brings. I can empathize better with those surrounding me and better repay everything that has been given to me.
Apart from the obvious answers of feeling the string attached to me and my culture when I speak Spanish or talk to my family back home, I find that I feel it in very weird and unexpected places. I feel it when I try making plans with friends. I feel it when meeting someone new or going over to their house for the first time. I feel it when trying foods from other cultures. And I feel it when im away from home and have to adapt to a new environment, a realization that the things im used to aren’t commonly used and not around me. It’s weird, not fully fitting in either places. I try to comfort by reminding myself that im not the only person dealing with these feelings and thoughts. And a pull between both places is normal. Rather than allowing it to make me feel alienated, I try to allow myself to feel empowered and lucky to have such a complex background.
What is your hope centered around? What dreams are you building for yourself?
This is a tough question. I want to answer with an answer that I think almost everyone will answer with. I’d be lying if I said anything else but my family. My hope is centered around becoming someone I can be proud of. Centered around the goal of building something for myself that allows me to care for those I love and respect deeply. I’m working on the dream of graduating, having a career, and teaching myself the things that other people had help with. I want to take what my parents gave me, and multiply it by a thousand. Ultimately, if I manage to secure a future for my parents and myself, I’d break a cycle of poverty and loss. Currently, I am studying to be a social worker. I’d love to advocate for those who don’t have a voice and guide those that are alone.