As a group, what do we wish to achieve? What, as first-generation students, can we bring to Wesleyan that other groups have not or cannot? What does it mean to be first-generation? Society constantly tries to confine us to a single space, but what if you do not “fit in” or refuse to accept the space given to you? We all have different experiences and ideas and thoughts that transcend political, cultural, financial, and racial borders provided by the same society that wishes to confine our abilities. We cannot allow society to force an identity or definition upon us. When we are described as X-American, the use of the hyphen is no coincidence. The hyphen separates both words but in essence separates both worlds. Whatever our heritage may stem from, we will not be fully recognized as belonging to the “motherland” due to our “Americanization.” Yet in America we do not “embody the ideals of Americans,” instead defined as “other,” someone who literally sticks out of the crowd because our skin color does not quite match the “right tone.”
The use of the hyphen attempts to restrict our access to the many elements that we all encompass and it is in our group that we may seek to break that very hyphen and establish our own signifiers.
Contrary to “popular opinion,” race is not innate, nor is one’s view of the world. We all provide different but equal trains of thought. An old proverb states: “Para cada cabeza es un mundo”: “Every mind is its own world.” We can bring together all of the great and diverse things that we provide and let Wesleyan and maybe even the world know that we refuse to be defined by cultural terms that limit our identity and individuality. Whether it is critical or analytical essays; papers on culture, society, nationality, economics or what have you; whether poetry, art, or photography; short stories or favorite cooking recipes, we all can provide elements that may raise awareness to the different psychological state of mind that comes from being a first generation student. We are not trying to state that we should be considered superior, but that we have our own unique understanding of who we are and the people at Webster should not have the final say. We are First AND Next, leading the way to a bright future that will prevent society from abusing the use of the “hyphen.”
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