My friend Olivia looked at me like I had two heads.

    I had been telling her a story about my weekend, but I stopped when I saw her face. She was clearly confused. Had I slipped into speaking Spanish again? I smacked my palm on my forehead. Poor Olivia had no idea what I was talking about.

    Later that night, I was with my family. I kept having to remind myself to speak Spanish. That’s what we speak at home because my mom doesn’t know much English. 

    Once again, I felt like I was always speaking the wrong language. It was like I was too American for my family but too Mexican for my peers. Would I ever feel like I fit in anywhere?

    My friend Olivia looked at me like I had two heads. 

    I had been telling her a story about my weekend, but I stopped when I saw her face. She was clearly confused. Was I speaking Spanish again? I smacked my palm on my forehead. Poor Olivia had no idea what I was saying.

    Later that night, I was with my family. I kept having to remind myself to speak Spanish. That’s what we speak at home because my mom doesn’t know much English.

    I felt like I was always speaking the wrong language. It was like I was too American for my family but too Mexican for my peers. Would I ever feel like I fit in anywhere?

    My friend Olivia was looking at me like I had two heads. 

    I had been telling her a story about my weekend, but I stopped when I noticed the confusion on her face. Had I slipped into speaking Spanish again? I smacked my palm against my forehead. Poor Olivia had no idea what I was talking about.

    Later that night, I had to remind myself repeatedly to speak Spanish with my family. That’s what we speak at home because my mom doesn’t know much English.

    Once again, I felt like I was always speaking the wrong language. It was like I was too American for my family but too Mexican for my peers. Would I ever feel like I fit in anywhere?

    In a lot of ways, I’m a typical American teenager. I spend time hanging out with my friends. I like to paint. I talk a lot, and I love making people laugh. 

    But despite all that, I often feel out of place. 

    My family is one of a few non-White families in our suburban neighborhood. Most of my friends have parents who grew up in the U.S. My parents, on the other hand, came here from Mexico before I was born.

    Every weekend, we gather at my grandmother’s house. She cooks delicious food. My favorite is her tamales. In our culture, tamales represent family. Sometimes I help her fill the dried corn husks with a corn dough called masa. It’s a project that takes hours. 

    Being in the kitchen with my grandmother makes me feel proud. She shares her secret recipes with me so that I can carry on our traditions.

    In many ways, I’m a typical American teen. I hang out with my friends. I like to paint. I love making people laugh.

    Still, many times I feel out of place.

    My family is one of a few non-White families in our suburban neighborhood. Most of my friends have parents who grew up in the U.S. My parents came here from Mexico before I was born.

    Every weekend, we gather at my grandmother’s house. She cooks delicious food. My favorite is her tamales. In our culture, tamales represent family. Sometimes I help her fill the dried corn husks with a corn dough called masa. 

    Helping my grandmother makes me feel proud. She shares her secret recipes with me so that I can carry on our traditions.

    In many ways, I’m a typical American teenager. I enjoy painting and hanging out with my friends. I talk a lot, and I love making people laugh.

    But despite all that, I often feel out of place.

    My family is one of only a few non-White families in our suburban neighborhood. While most of my friends have parents who grew up in the United States, my parents came here from Mexico before I was born.

    Every weekend, we gather at my grandmother’s house and enjoy the delicious food she cooks. My favorite is her tamales. In our culture, tamales represent family. Sometimes I help her fill the dried corn husks with a corn dough called masa. It’s a project that takes hours.

    Being in the kitchen with my grandmother makes me feel proud. She shares her secret recipes with me so that I can carry on our traditions.

    The traditions of my Mexican American family are important to me. But being the child of immigrants can be hard. I sometimes feel like my parents have a hard time understanding me. I think this is because my life is nothing like theirs was at my age. 

    For both of my parents, the teen years were not about having fun. They had big responsibilities. My mom had to take care of her younger siblings. There was no time to hang out with friends. 

    Now that I’m a teenager, my parents don’t want me to be stuck with the same burdens. They came here so we could all have a better life.

    But that can also mean I feel a lot of pressure. They want me to succeed. To them, that means focusing on my education. They say my only job is to go to school and stay out of trouble. They can be much stricter than many of my friends’ parents.    

    The traditions of my Mexican American family are important to me. But being the child of immigrants can be hard. I sometimes feel like my parents have a hard time understanding me. I think this is because my life is nothing like theirs was at my age.

    For my parents, the teen years were not about having fun. They had big responsibilities. My mom had to take care of her younger siblings. There was no time to hang out with friends.

    My parents don’t want me to have the same burdens. They came here so we could all have a better life.

    But that can also mean I feel a lot of pressure. They want me to succeed. To them, that means focusing on school. They say my only job is to go to school and stay out of trouble. They can be much stricter than many of my friends’ parents.

    The traditions of my Mexican American family are special and important to me, but being the child of immigrants can be challenging. I sometimes feel like my parents have difficulty understanding me. I think this is because my life is nothing like their lives were when they were my age.

    For both of my parents, being a teenager involved more responsibility than fun. My mom was too busy taking care of her younger siblings to hang out with friends.

    Now that I’m a teenager, my parents don’t want me to be stuck with the same burdens—after all, they came to this country so we could all have a better life.

    But their hopes for me can also mean I feel a lot of pressure. They want me to succeed—and to them, that means focusing on my education. They say my only job is to go to school and stay out of trouble. They can be much stricter than many of my friends’ parents.

    When I first started noticing my life was different from my friends’ lives, I felt alone. It was like I didn’t belong anywhere.

    Then one day, I was talking with my aunt. She’s 10 years older than me and was born in the U.S. too. I told her about how I felt out of place no matter where I was. She sighed, like she knew exactly what I was talking about.

    “People don’t get it,” she said. “For White people, we’re too Mexican. But for other Mexicans, we’re too American.”

    Finally, she had put into words what I had been feeling. Now I know there are many children of immigrants who feel the same way I do.

When I started to notice that my life was different from my friends’ lives, I felt alone. It was like I didn’t belong anywhere.

Then I talked with my aunt. She’s 10 years older than me and was born in the U.S. too. I told her that I felt out of place no matter where I was. She knew what I meant.

“People don’t get it,” she said. “For White people, we’re too Mexican. But for other Mexicans, we’re too American.”

She had put my feelings into words. Now I know that many children of immigrants feel the same way I do.

    When I first started noticing the differences between my life and my friends’ lives, I felt alone and like I didn’t belong anywhere.

    One day I told my aunt, who is 10 years older than me and was born in the U.S. too, that I felt out of place no matter where I was. She sighed, like she understood exactly what I was talking about.

    “People don’t get it,” she said. “For White people, we’re too Mexican. But for other Mexicans, we’re too American.”

    Finally, she had put into words what I had been feeling. Now I know there are many children of immigrants who feel the same way I do.

    It’s not easy growing up between two cultures. But I wouldn’t change a thing. My parents love and support me. They’ve done their best to prepare me for a world that isn’t always kind to people who look like us. 

    I think being a teenager would be a lot easier if we all tried a little harder to understand each other. Learn about your friends’ cultures. Ask questions. It will only bring you closer together. 

    It’s not easy growing up between two cultures. But I wouldn’t change a thing. My parents love and support me. They’ve done their best to prepare me for a world that isn’t always kind to people who look like us.

    I think being a teen would be easier if we all tried harder to understand each other. Learn about your friends’ cultures. Ask questions. It will bring you closer together.

    Although it’s not easy growing up between two cultures, I wouldn’t change a thing. My parents love and support me. They’ve done their best to prepare me for a world that isn’t always kind to people who look like us.

    I think being a teenager would be a lot easier if we all made a greater effort to understand each other. By asking your friends about their cultures and learning what you can, you'll be able to develop closer relationships with them.