By Ana Ruiz Brictson | Staff Writer
Race representation is an important aspect of the media that has often found its way in both the right and wrong hands of people.
As a Latina, moving to a new country for college has expanded my panorama of diversity and has allowed me to reach the conclusion that race representation matters both in the media and in real life.
When I was home in Mexico, it was easy to never think about my race as a minority, given that I was always surrounded by everyone who understood my lifestyle. Once I moved, everything changed.
It had never occurred to me that in a country whose first language is English, random people at the airport, H-E-B or gas station would approach me assuming I spoke Spanish because of the color of my skin. Yes, I can honestly say that this was because of the color of my skin because I specifically asked each person what made them think I knew Spanish.
It has never bothered me when people risk themselves by reaching out to me in Spanish because at the end of the day, they assumed correctly. Moreover, it has made me realize that being Latina means I can help others and embrace my culture and background even more in countries that don’t have Spanish as their main language.
As my perception of the world continues to change, I have come to realize that race is such an important thing to represent. Having in mind the millions of stereotypes that contribute to each individual’s background, it’s important to speak up and prove that most assumptions aren’t true.
To be Latina at a university where most people come from a white background gives me the responsibility to not give others the impression they expect from me. I often work hard to prove to others that I am just as smart and able to do great things as the majority of the people at this school.
I represent my race with pride and consciousness that even though I was not born and raised in this country, I have equal capability to those who were.
The media holds great power in representing race. When you picture an individual behind each account on any platform, you realize race surrounds us in every possible way. It plays such an important role in the things we consume from the media and the amount of learning we take from each post.
It is important to continue sharing the ways in which minorities continue to get treated unfairly, to educate others on what individuals go through and to never stop representing where we come from in a prideful manner.
