Gabriela Quintero

Ms.Jennings

AP Language and Composition

10/16/19

Holding On

Helen Keller once said: “The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even

touched, they must be felt with the heart”. Regarding the invaluable, irreplaceable beauty of

diverse cultures within our nation, this must always be the case. Historically, we have all been

blind to the fact that although it takes effort from all angles, integration is something

fundamental to peace within humankind. Learning our differences and what makes each

difference special is the first step to respecting one another. It’s evident that there are people that

are opposed to other cultures being welcomed in America. They would argue that they will only

bring problems, but what these people don't realize is how important integrating other cultures

into our nation is, for both our society, and for those residing in marginalized communities to

feel accepted. Parents from studies about maintaining cultural traditions at home agreed that by

doing so, it “will reinforce in your children a sense of identity and will build their

self-esteem”(Growing Up Bilingual 2). Having a culture be a large part of what makes up who

you are is a valuable blessing. It allows one to have a community of people they could share

similar experiences with, and the painful process of assimilating would result in a world without

diversity and giving up that identity. Imagine what that would mean for ​us, ​for everything ​we

know​. I​ t would mean our traditional music, dances, food, communities would all be...gone.

When I think about the precious distinctiveness of my heritage, I can hear the sound of salsa
lasting until sunrise, I can smell the scent of the infamous mentisan said to heal any injury there

is, I can see the paletero rolling his cart up the sidewalk as we chase after him, and I can feel the

resentment of having to take what feels like forever to kiss all my tios and tias on the cheek. I

cannot imagine my life without these aspects that have formulated my identity. And it saddens

me to think that in most other cultures, these aspects are dying due to assimilation.

Let's look at the loss of languages, for instance. More than 562 indigenous tribes in North

America are facing an extinction of their language. In certain tribes, language has the most

impact on their cultural values. In a way that is impossible to translate, they are able to utilize

their language as a tool for “insights into the nuances of the people who speak it”(Native Hope

2). Thousands upon thousands of underrepresented cultural groups are not only facing the

disappearance of a language, but of their culture as a whole, and it should not have to be this

way. We must be able to keep these beautiful languages alive, and a way to do this is with

storytelling. One of the beauties about allowing cultures to continue to flourish comes through

the imperative artform of storytelling. If it weren't for the passionate words of my grandfather, I

would not have had such a deep longing to find out for myself what about the beauty of

Colombia makes him tear up each time he tells me his stories. “You must be proud of your roots,

always”, he’d explain to me at the end of each story, with one hand on the side of my face, I

could always tell he really meant it. You see, stories act as guidelines, they act as a vast field of

lessons curious children could explore forever. We don't realize it when we are on the other end,

as the listeners, but it is fundamental to teach these stories. However, we must always be

cautious about being careless in letting any of the stories be documented in the wrong way,

because that’s how they could be lost forever. These lessons are gifted to us by our elders to
reassure us that we must always keep our cultures alive, since they are the invisible forces that

compose the beauty of America.

We have come to a point when immigrants with unique cultural backgrounds arrive in

America just to be pressured to give this all up. Instances when mothers don't teach their children

their language so that they could “fit in” better, occurs too often. To give up the aspects that

make up so much of their identity is to stop the flow of individuality to continue for generations

to come. Immigrants should not feel that the process of assimilation is their only choice in order

to succeed in this country. The pressure to assimilate comes from the stereotypes these

communities do not wish to feed into. They are harmful in the way that they “are often infused

with affective valence, have behavioral implications, vary in their accuracy, bias information

processing, and are difficult to change​”(Perspectives on Psychological Science 429). These

problematic social issues have sparked international discussions of assimilating versus

integrating. The mayor o​f London commenting on the immigration process even stated that

“people shouldnt have to drop their culture and traditions when they arrive in our cities and

countries”(Immigration Reform 1). By breaking the chain of cultural identity, we are giving into

ongoing disappearance of what makes America beautiful. Through defying harmful conformist

stereotypes, we must empower each other to surpass them. If you recall what I mentioned about

achieving a state of equality within the controversial debate between assimilation versus

integration, it takes effort from all angles to make such a dream our reality. Is it possible to

believe that we are doing everything we can to create enough awareness on acceptance of all

kinds of identities from diverse backgrounds? To make sure that little boys and girls can feel

comfortable wearing and embracing traditional clothing from their motherlands? To free
ourselves and others from the influence of historical prejudice towards other races? We can start

by demanding that our education systems do a better job at teaching not just european history,

but the history of all peoples, so that differences are rightfully represented and they become

something we are familiar with from the start. We can make sure that we are building bridges

instead of barriers. This may come in a multitude of ways. Just some ideas are to translate all

materials in the workplace, welcome your new neighbors into your town, and offer them

resources to ease their transitions. And for those within the silenced immigrant communities, I

want to reassure you that you will and must continue to be heard. And it is in your hands to carry

on the beauties of your cultures. You must keep the languages, traditions, and stories pridefully

alive in order for them to be maintained. The fact that immigration is set to rise within our nation

is something we cannot change, but what we can change is our treatment towards them, and once

and for all change the perspective pressuring immigrants assimilating, into one empowering their

integration for the betterment of our country.

 Work Cited

Burke, Trisha. “Keeping Culture Alive.” ​Native Hope Blog​,

blog.nativehope.org/keeping-culture-alive-0.

Bendfeldt-Diaz, Paula, et al. “The Importance of Keeping Your Culture and Language Alive.”
Growing Up Bilingual,​ 24 Apr. 2018,
growingupbilingual.com/2011/latino-parenting/the-importance-of-keeping-your-culture-and-lang
uage-alive/.

Cox, William T. L., et al. “Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Depression: The Integrated Perspective.” ​Perspectives
on Psychological Science,​ vol. 7, no. 5, 2012, pp. 427–449. ​JSTOR​, ​www.jstor.org/stable/44280793​.

O'Brien, Matt, et al. “The Important Difference Between Assimilation and Integration.”
ImmigrationReform.com,​ 28 Dec. 2018,
www.immigrationreform.com/2016/09/29/the-important-difference-between-assimilation-and-int
egration/#targetText=Assimilation%20is%20generally%20defined%20as,difference%20is%20su
btle%20but%20significant.