Multicultural Action Plan by Kelly Gutierrez

My full name is Kelly Denisse Gutierrez Aguilar. I was born in a small city named Victoria in Tamaulipas, Mexico. Although I was born in Victoria I have very little familiarity with that city, I was raised in a smaller town named Tula, where most of my family resided. I was raised by my mother until I was 8 and was influenced by her beliefs, including religion, without questioning it. She was Christian, therefore I considered myself Christian until I was like 12. I have memories of attending church and being enrolled in church classes for kids, which I was really scared of for some reason. Regarding my father’s beliefs, I was aware that he was raised on Catholic church and his parents were really strict on him following that religion, but as my father I never considered him religious. Things changed when the pandemic hit. We would attend a catholic church every Sunday for a couple months until his work schedule changed drastically. As of now I do not consider myself religious. Considering the different religions that my mother and father are part of I do try to respect both and attend church with my dad when invited or getting rosaries for my mother, because I know the importance it holds for them.

Growing up the until way I would identify myself with was Hispanic, being younger and living in Mexico that was all I knew. Then when I came to the United States my race was asked on documents which had to be answered white. I think as a Hispanic filling out white feels a little off. Most of us Latinos and Hispanics although being mestizos feels like a sense of erasure to our indigenous ancestry.

A former curiosity of mine has always been the origin of my ancestry and ancestors. I have always wondered and dreamed of sitting down and conversating with my ancestors and asking them about their life experiences, getting a good grasp of how I came to be. It is known that Spain ancestry dominates majority of Mexico alongside native Mexicans.  I know both of my last names have Spanish descent, both being widely known and used throughout Hispanic countries.

 Race can be described as a concept used to describe a group of people who share similar social or cultural identities, ancestral backgrounds, and physical characteristics, such as skin color and facial features in a person. I believe the United States has grown a lot when it comes to diversity, and the respect grown for one another. The concept of race might have been created long ago to separate and discriminate against one another, to create barriers between people that should never have been created. We should never try to erase the history and struggles races have been through because that would be insensitive. I believe the differences of one another such as culture, ancestry, and qualities from around the world make our planet a beautiful place. Getting to know people who differentiate from you who are enriched in their own way, people who value things and aspects of their own can be very important, something they take pride in.

The very first experience I had with different races was when I first arrived here. I had just completed a bus ride for 2 days from Mexico to little York, Texas, and had to wait in front of gas station for my dad to arrive. My father unfortunately got in a car accident as he was going to pick us up, so we had to wait longer than usual. I remember being afraid and cold. An empty gas station lot and the vast dark sky, it felt like I was being swallowed whole. We didn’t know any English, how currency worked, or how to socialize correctly with anyone that passed by. Two young African American men approached us in a gray car, I’m sure they thought we were homeless now thinking about it, they offered us two sprites and peanut butter crackers they had bought in the gas station. My mother expressed her gratitude, in Spanish of course, and went on with their drive. Shortly after that we got sheltered by the gas station owner for the rest of the night until my father arrived. Only communicating through hand gestures, and face expressions. I remember this night so vividly, feeling a knot in my throat, it feels so emotional. At that moment I had no idea what was going on, but after a whole decade has passed by, I have never forgotten them, I wish I could hug those two guys and the gas station owner for being so kind to me and my mother.

I have always been taught by my family to be respectful to everyone and anyone just how I would want to be respected. It was never detailed, I never got my parents to explain the differences people have, but as I grew older myself, I ended up researching everything. I had a really close friend, whom to this day I love dearly, we had an art class together and we would laugh so hard during class that our stomachs would be sore until the following period. There was an instance where we would have to do group project with different classmates, and this person was making fun of him and using “gay” as an insult. My friend noticeably looked down and was affected by the whole situation, I had never seen him in down spirits, so I felt like I needed to do something. I told the person that comments like those should not be made and that it was disrespectful to do so. I hadn’t known my friend’s sexual orientation prior to this, we talked about how he got picked on for being open about it recently. At that moment I knew I had to inform myself about it, for respect and self-awareness. I think this is a good example as to why discriminating against someone for their sexual orientation angers me, people do not give one another chances to develop friendships or be acquaintances when that shouldn’t be a problem. I hadn’t known my friend’s preference before that incident, and his preference would not have changed the way we got to bond.

I have always taken the principle of never judging anyone, from younger years I never spoke badly of anyone. Whether it was personality wise, looks wise, socioeconomic status, religion, etc. because I knew it was wrong to do so, and because of the damage it could do to someone. I have gotten to see the hate people give one another, and it seems so sad and unnecessary to me. I’ve gotten to learn and educate myself in many ways due to the diversity of my friends and community. Everyday there’s always something to learn from different groups of people and I do so joyfully.