In the last year alone I have gone out of my way to take courses in college that are based around women's literature and latino literature. I wanted to shape my college experience around being hispanic and Latina, but it was harder than I thought it would be especially being and english major. The rules and the meta that the English language must adhere to didn't fit my character. It felt like I was trying to be someone I wasn't, trying to sound smart speaking in English only, trying my best to work on my "Miami" accent. Reading about Anzaldua's life, her background and her fight for her education and the education of other immigrants made me feel represented. The way she didn't back down from her Chicana culture despite institutions like the college she attended trying to force her hand. It felt empowering reading her work. Being able to read both the spanish and the english portions of it felt like a reminder of my own authenticity, that there is a place for people in the inbetween, in the "borderlands" as she put it. It felt really good, finally, to read someone that gets it, that I can personally relate to, even moreso because I'm in college myself. The way she writes is beautifully unapologetic and I found myself in a way rooting for her(?) as I kept reading.
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