Zaragoza 1

Dianna Zaragoza
Professor Ditch
English 113B
4 May 2015
Reaching Success
Cultural identity can be defined by race, ethnicity, belief system, background, love of
music, the college life, anything can define cultural identity and the way it is viewed. While
growing up my family and I were always crammed in a tiny room with little space to live in and
little food to eat. Till this day, there is no stability with finances. I live in a mobile home less than
twenty-five feet long with my father, who in fat is an alcoholic. I know I havent had the worst
nor the best in life; I was shaped by my socio-economic status. I began to believe that education
was my only option to reaching success within myself and because of this, I became a person
that knows she is worthy of success. Although I never had a beautiful home to live in, I have
become an individual who strives for success because I know that education is my path to
reaching my full potential. In a way living in poverty has had a positive effect on me and because
of this, I have grown closer to figuring out my path to reaching success, through college.
While growing up, I encountered obstacles that encouraged me to pursue my dreams. I
am the first in my immediate family to pursue my dreams and attend a four-year university. My
co-workers are all high school dropouts that found school to be something negative. In my eyes,
college is a way of creating a safer environment for myself and my family in the future. College
has always been heavily influenced on me since I am the youngest out of four siblings. This
reminds me of an article by Sandra Winn entitled, Student Motivation: a socio-economic
perspective; in this article Winn talks about how students that come from demanding families
were able to work around their academic life-style and students that come from not so

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demanding families were not able to work around their academic life. In a way, this relates back
to my cultural identity and how my family has not been financially stable. This has influenced
me to work as hard as I can to achieve my desires. Because of my demanding life-style, I can
strive for success as a student knowing I can take on the responsibility as an adult.
When I was younger, I would hear stories about how my father never had a chance to
attend school; this is part of the reason I believe education is my way to make him happy. My
father talks about his childhood every so often and comments on how since he was the oldest of
all his siblings, he had to help my grandpa make an affordable living for all his brothers and
sisters. My father stated that he is happy living the way he is because he has his family close to
his heart. This reminds me of the documentary Happy directed by Roko Belic. This
documentary questions how people of different cultures react to happiness and what they believe
happiness is truly about. There is a story in this documentary of a man and his family and their
socio-economic status. Statistics prove that this Indian man may be happier than a person who
lives in a mansion here in the United States. Cultures cross-country have different meanings of
the word happiness, happiness can be a difference between having enough space to live in or by
simply having so much youd want to share with people. This Indian man states My home is
good. He explains that although he may not have the best living situation, he is still happy
because he has his family and friends there for support. It is commonly misunderstood that
money can buy happiness; in my opinion happiness is about having family as a support system
and reaching success as an individual.
On the other hand, education is a culture in which you grow knowledge that prepares you
for an intellectual and mature life. Reaching my full potential is not only one of my dreams but
its also a way of challenging myself. Since I am just ate the age of nineteen, I have a lot more

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maturing and preparing to do and this is the beginning of my journey as a college student. In an
essay by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez named, My Hips, My Caderas Valdes talks about how one
day she dreams that Latinas can set standards for beauty and success, this is motivation within
itself. I found this to be interesting because I do to believe that one day I can set standards for
success and beauty throughout the country. I know that while growing up I had struggles that I
overcame that made me the person I am today. I am more self-sufficient, responsible, and
knowledgeable.
I believe that growing up without a proper home has motivated me to become a
successful person, my background influenced my need for success as a student. My dad has
proved to me that without education, its hard to find a job. I believe that if he had a chance to go
back to school, he would have taken advantage of it. So this is why I focus on education.
Sometimes I reminisce of when I was younger; I loved playing teacher unlike many others I
always liked the idea of school. Learning new things every day is a part of growing intellectually.
Growing up with the encouragement from my father and my background is a part of my culture
and this has in fact affected me into reaching success within myself.
Some obstacles that I overcame as a student was knowing when to ask for help. The
choices I made while I was younger like moving schools for the wrong reasons, had a heavy
impact on my grades. So asking questions was a must in my case. I didnt have the proper
mentors to guide me through the choices I made in my early life but because of this, I take
myself to be independent and a hard worker. In a video on Malala Yousafzai, Malala talks about
education and how education is a deserving right in all children and young women. She is a
womens rights activist and because of her motivating words and respectful demeanor she fights
to make education available for all those young girls and children who do not have access to

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education. In a way this is has motivated people all around the world to make education available
for the generations to come. Education is powerful, and for this reason I look to education as a
path to my success.
My academic culture is influenced by my friends here at CSUN, they inspire me to do
better as a person and motivate me to reach my success. My cultural identity was shaped by my
background and has encouraged me to work as hard as I can to achieve my goals. I know that I
am constantly going to be on the move, working as an independent young woman to satisfy
myself. I didnt grow up with financial stability and because of this I know that reaching my full
potential as a person, wont come easy. I have learned from past experiences that focusing on
myself, my own work, and bettering myself as an individual will eventually lead me to success. I
am eager to see what the future has in store for me, but for now school is my life, homework
keeps me busy, and work is my hustle.

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Works Cited:
ABC, News. "Girl Shot in Head by Taliban, Speaks at UN: Malala Yousafzai United Nations
Speech 2013." YouTube. YouTube, 12 July 2013. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.
Belic, Roko. Happy 2011 Full Documentary. Youtube. Youtube, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.
Winn, Sandra. "Student Motivation: A Socio-economic Perspective." Studies in Higher
Education. Vol. 27. N.p.: Routledge, Part of the Taylor & Francis Group, 2002. 445-57.
Print.
Valdes, Alisa. My Hips, My Caderas. Contemporary Reader. Apr. 2000: n. page. Print.