Sharlena Piña / Mexico
I'm privileged today to share my story about my Hispanic heritage. I grew up in a home were Spanish was our primary language, and was cared by my two cousins. I was born in Los Angeles, and my family moved to Simi Valley when my mom was expecting my younger sister. My parents wanted us to grow up in a better community than were we were living. My memories as a child were being involved with Folklorico dancing, listing to Spanish music in the house, and novellas in the evening.
When I attended elementary school, I only spoke Spanish and remember being enrolled with ESL classes. I don't even remember how I got through school without speaking English, and I can only imagine how insecure I might have felt. I believe I was enrolled with ESL classes up until first grade, and then we moved for a short time to stay with family in Los Angeles, and at this time I was part of a different classroom setting where the class was divided by a Spanish group and English group. I remember some of the Spanish speaking kids would speak to me in Spanish, and as I had conversations with them, I would be made fun of for not saying some of the words correctly, and that definitely discouraged me to continue to speak Spanish at school, and not to mention my older cousins we visited frequently on the weekends would also tease me for living in the "Valley” and not staying in LA to learn how to speak “real Spanish” whatever that meant.
Once I went to middle school I was asked to be a teacher's aide as an elective to help out in the ESL classes. I was privileged to help a group of students who needed some guidance in the classroom setting that I once was in. I continued to be asked to help out in the ESL classes up until high school. I realize now how very important it is for me to be able to speak Spanish and English, and the impact I have made in my community. I work for a satellite clinic for Ventura County Health Care Agency and have worked in different departments that have assisted many of our patients with their healthcare needs. I currently work with patients that are pregnant and I help develop a care plan for their pregnancy and refer them to community resources. I'm a lactation counselor educator, and help empower many families of various cultures and backgrounds. I also offer many services in Spanish which there is a need in our community. I've learned to speak Spanish at work with confidence. I encourage our clients to enroll for English classes and to not be intimidated by speaking English with me. Practice makes us better at whatever we put our heart into. Thank you for allowing me to share this, as I don't really think I have ever reflected much on this. They say we all have a purpose and there is always a silver lining in what we were meant to do.
When I attended elementary school, I only spoke Spanish and remember being enrolled with ESL classes. I don't even remember how I got through school without speaking English, and I can only imagine how insecure I might have felt. I believe I was enrolled with ESL classes up until first grade, and then we moved for a short time to stay with family in Los Angeles, and at this time I was part of a different classroom setting where the class was divided by a Spanish group and English group. I remember some of the Spanish speaking kids would speak to me in Spanish, and as I had conversations with them, I would be made fun of for not saying some of the words correctly, and that definitely discouraged me to continue to speak Spanish at school, and not to mention my older cousins we visited frequently on the weekends would also tease me for living in the "Valley” and not staying in LA to learn how to speak “real Spanish” whatever that meant.
Once I went to middle school I was asked to be a teacher's aide as an elective to help out in the ESL classes. I was privileged to help a group of students who needed some guidance in the classroom setting that I once was in. I continued to be asked to help out in the ESL classes up until high school. I realize now how very important it is for me to be able to speak Spanish and English, and the impact I have made in my community. I work for a satellite clinic for Ventura County Health Care Agency and have worked in different departments that have assisted many of our patients with their healthcare needs. I currently work with patients that are pregnant and I help develop a care plan for their pregnancy and refer them to community resources. I'm a lactation counselor educator, and help empower many families of various cultures and backgrounds. I also offer many services in Spanish which there is a need in our community. I've learned to speak Spanish at work with confidence. I encourage our clients to enroll for English classes and to not be intimidated by speaking English with me. Practice makes us better at whatever we put our heart into. Thank you for allowing me to share this, as I don't really think I have ever reflected much on this. They say we all have a purpose and there is always a silver lining in what we were meant to do.