In the essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldua, she talks about self identity between her mom and the rest of her family. In the section of “Si le preguntas a mi mama, “¿Qué Eres?”, she explains how “Chicanos” express themselves as an identity. A form of expression is calling themselves “Mexicanos”. However, it does not necessarily mean they are citizens of Mexico or have national identity of Mexico, but it is mainly to express their race. This is relevant to me because I am a person who has a Mexican background and when I am asked what I am, I tend to say I am Mexican. Similar to what Gloria said, that does not mean I am a citizen or that I am born there. I say I am Mexican because my parents are born in Mexico and my family is Mexican which means I am a Mexican race.

I was able to relate with the specific section mainly because I have given a similar response when I am asked “¿Qué Eres?”. Gloria states, “Si le preguntas a mi mamá, “¿Qué Eres?” te dirá, “Soy mexicana.”.  My brothers and sister say the same.” Growing up I’ve heard many different kinds of self identity involving a person with a Mexican background. I’ve heard “Mexican American” or “Hispanic”. When I was younger I would get confused on what to respond to. I knew saying just American would be wrong because being an American to me meant being white. I was not white so I knew that simply saying American was incorrect. Therefore, I would say I am Mexican American. However, recently I started to wonder whether Mexican American was a correct term. Nowadays I say that I am simply Mexican. In the essay it states a quote, “Identity is the essential core of who we are as individuals, the conscious experience of the self inside.” I believe that identity is very important for a person to know and feel comfortable with. I personally am not ashamed to say that I am Mexican because I honor my parents background and culture. But in some cases it is not always like that for me. When I go to Mexico for vacation and I tell my cousins I identify as Mexican, they slightly disagree and they tell me I am simply just American because I was born in the US and in that case it makes me American. It makes me realize that maybe if you are born in a specific place you should identify as that specific place. Sometimes I feel confused on what exactly to identify myself with.