Career, Growth, Lifestyle

First Gen Voices on Finding My Own Direction

As first generation in my family, I was looking to go places no one in my immediate network had ever gone. My dad started this journey immigrating from Mexico, creating a new life for himself in a country that wasn’t his own, not speaking the dominant language. My mom grew up in Los Angeles where she navigated a broken school system, neglected community, with seemingly low expectations that pushed her out the education pipeline. I can draw so many parallels from my parent’s experience to my own: learning to navigate foreign spaces like college or working jobs where you’re an invisible workforce- disregarded. Furthermore, navigating my own identities, the professional world, personal finances and the social ladder all were loaded with trekking uncharted territory, loaded with a new language and set of norms I had to learn from scratch.

In the midst of my own insecurities and the ambiguity of each new experience, one strength that I’ve had to increasingly rely on is on my ability to quickly adapt and pick up on context for the situation or spaces that I am in. For many years, my focus was largely centered around deficits in my life, however, in order to feel like I am moving forward and build a life that was centered around my values I needed to honor and trust the knowledge that was instilled in me from a young age. With this mindset shift in mind, three guiding lessons surfaced for me:

  1. Every new encounter or problem has a solution. While I may not have the resources always at my finger tips, I have do everything I can to remind myself the intelligence and fortitude to get myself to the other end of whatever obstacle I encounter.
  2. I don’t do it alone. I can create community, connections, and solutions to whatever I encounter. I could never experience the same transitions and culture shock that my parents must have faced as they quickly grew up to provide for themselves, however, I gain so much strength and hope from the sacrifices they made for a future they did not have fully realized.
  3. Create your village. By drawing strength and inspiration from my village of mentors, peers, colleagues, and family I know that I am not alone and I can find an answer to situations in front of me. My mentors and peers give me the foresight and strategy that I may not be considering at the moment.

My hope is that every first generation young professional can build a community of their own. To honor what knowledge and talents live within themselves and use the strength and ingenuity that our families utilized to build a better something that extends outside of themselves.

@browngirltherapy seriously a gem and an inspiration behind this story.

That same strength, wisdom, and fight from my ancestors has always been present. While I continue to experience new pathways I have never encountered, I do everything in my power to confront the discomfort and pay more attention to anything seemingly foreign to me. In my current stage of life that currently looks like better understanding how I can break a cycle of poverty in my direct family, establish intergenerational wealth, and harness my talents and passions to make an impact beyond myself.

My parents’ sacrifices afforded me the opportunity live outside of survival-mode and has allowed me to be creative about with new pathways I carve out for myself. There is no way of knowing what dreams they may have given up but I believe that those dreams, their talents and wisdom live and grow within me. While their sacrifices and strength are a form of inspiration and hope, I have also battle with thriver’s guilt, perfectionism, and knowing when it’s okay to rest and draw boundaries. In our communities, we all have flaws, wounds, and insecurities we need to grow from and confront. Through grace, a growth mindset, love, and patience I believe we can collectively get places we haven’t yet imagined for ourselves.

If you’re enjoying my content so far, would you mind taking a second to share it with your audience or comment down below? I appreciate you time and investment in the CM community.

2 Comments

  • Reply israelnightclub.com May 15, 2023 at 1:04 pm

    Itís nearly impossible to find educated people in this particular subject, however, you seem like you know what youíre talking about! Thanks

    • Reply Marivel June 8, 2023 at 12:41 pm

      Thanks so much for your insights! Hopefully you find a growing community in this area. I enjoy many first gen voices in social media spaces who really seek to advance others holistically. Let me know if you need recommendations 😀 Or if others have suggestions, comment down below! I’d love to hear them.

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