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Melany Gutierrez

Professor Lasley

CTW 1

4 November 2022

Essay Draft

The song I chose that relates to the book My Time Among The Whites by Jennine Capo

Crucet is Vienna by Billy Joel. The song talks about first gen students and it is telling the

audience (first generation students) to take it slow, that they are doing fine, and that everything

will be okay. Which relates back to the book My Time Among the Whites because the book is an

autobiography telling the author's upbringing and her experience in university. How she dealt

with struggles like imposter syndrome , minority, white privilege and misogyny. It also talks

about how culture shock it was for her. However the song and the book have some similarities.

The similarities they have are that they both target the same audience and same topics. Which is

what this essay is about

In the first chapter of the book Crucet talks about her first English assignment and she

experienced imposter syndrome. She experienced imposter syndrome because she did not under

stand her assignment and started doubting herself. She states “I called my mom at work and in

tears told her that I had to come home, that I'd made a terrible mistake, that I should've gone to

UF, where everyone seemed to be having a lot more fun than I was”. (page 15) The reason why

this story is important is because it is talking about the first time the author felt imposter

syndrome. Imposter syndrome is when someone doubts their skills. The song Vienna also talks

about imposter syndrome. It states “You're so ambitious for a juvenile but then if you're so smart
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Tell me why are you still so afraid, hmm?” This relates back to the main idea that the song and

book are similar, because they are both talking about imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is a

very common thing among the first-gen community, the students get intimated and believe they

can’t make it. Which is why it is a critical topic, since many first-generation students get

imposter syndrome and end up dropping out. However that is far from the truth, first gen

students should now that they are capable. A way of doing that would be to spread awareness,

give first-gen students a space in where they are reminded that they can do it. Most of first-gen

students come from immigrant families, and since their families come from rough backgrounds

they feel want to make their families proud and have them know that their sacrifice was worth it.

They should also know that they are not alone in this journe, that it is okay to ask for help, take

things slow, and that they deserve to be there. It is also another reason why people drop out

because they don’t feel seen or not worthy enough.

In chapter two in page forty two the author talks about the pep talks we should give

first-gen students who her read book and went to the book signing she did. She states “We have

yet to face anything as hard as what they’ve faced and overcome. They’ve left behind — some

by choice and some by force and some through a combination of both — more than we have to

yet to leave behind.” The author is saying how first gen students carry all this weight on their

back about being perfect and doing everything they can because they acknowledge their parents

or grandparents sacrifices. Which also is talked about in Vienna “Where's the fire, what's the

hurry about? You'd better cool it off before you burn it out Slow down, you're doin' fine You

can't be everything you wanna be Before your time”. This relates back to the main idea of the

book relating to song. The book is saying how as first gen students they feel like they have to do

everything perfectly and quickly. Since their families probably sacrificed a lot, they leave their
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whole life behind in order to help them have a better life. So automatically first-gen students

want to do everything so they can make their families proud. However the song is telling them

that they are doing fine and they should just enjoy life, everything will fall into place. Frist gen

students should know that their is no “right path” or “easy path”. Everyone is at different

stages/paths in their life and that is okay, the right path is their path. It is okay if takes more than

anticipated or quicker than anticipated, there is no race. Most first gen students don’t realize that,

which is why it is important to talk about it, since it is another factor as to why they drop out.

They see other people suceeding or doing things they think they should be doing or done already

and they get discouraged because they are struggling. However they deserve to know that they

are not alone and that they will be able to persevere.

In sixth chapter The author talks about how she found out about Fidel Castro’s

death(Cubas ex regime leader) and how it affected/inspired her. “Many of us out on the streets

the night Castro died and the morning after there as symbols, too. We were there as witnesses, as

bearers of memory. Many of us were out because we had family that couldn’t be there —

mothers, abuelos, cousins who died at the hands of the Castro regime or who haven’t been

allowed to leave. We were there to comfort each other and to honor the sacrifices these family

members made.” The author is talking about how due to Fidels Castro’s regime in cuba many

people suffered since the regime limited a lot things such as healthcare, food, money, etc. Which

made the people suffer immensely and some ended up leaving but some were not able to leave

and had to be left behind. The death of Fidel Castro made the author realize how much cubans

suffered during his regime, and it made her appreciate more the sacrifices her family made.

Which is what many first generation students go through, they realize that their family made a lot

sacrifices and they want to make their family proud inorder to honor their hardships. Which is
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what the song vienna talks about as well “And you know that when the truth is told That you can

get what you want Or you could just get old You're gonna Kick off before you even get halfway

through, ooh Why don't you realize Vienna waits for you?” The song is talking about how you

should go after what you want, it doesnt matter what circumstances or how long it takes. It uses

the word vienna as a metaphor to age or time so it is saying that it will wait for you. It is telling

first gen students to take things slow, since first gen students want to do so many things in order

to make their families proud because their families scarified. It doesnt matter how much you get

done or when you get things done but what matters is that you do the best you can. Which is

why it is important that first-gen students know these things so that even if do the “minimum”

they still feel like they are honoring their family. It is also telling them to take it slow because

they will end up getting burnout. Many first-gen students dont pay attention to their mental

health due to overworking. Which is not okay because students should take care of their mental

health, because mental health also affect grades. Since they are burnout, students would not have

the motivation to get assignments done or go to class. Which is it is important for them to take

things slow, so that they know that they dont have to so many things at one and get overworked.

Its also important for them to know because it will motivate them to push through and continue

with their studies.

In conclusion the song Vienna by Billy Joel and the book My Time Among The Whites by

Jennine Capo Crucet are similar because they talk about the same topic. They talk about the

struggles of being first generation. As well as telling first gen students that they are doing fine

and to not give up. Things like these are super important because it helps motivate first gen

students to continue with their studies. Most of the time their communities don’t give them the

motivation they need or the support they need. Their communities don’t give these things
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because they dont want to but because they dont how to since they haven’t been through that sort

of thing. However it is still important to have a space for first students where they feel seen,

loved, etc so that they know they are not alone. It would also help first-gen students to build a

quicker and stronger relationship with someone since they have a similar background. You

immediately bond with them more since you understand each other better. These types of

relationships help first gen students continue with their studies, since they dont feel alone. They

see other people like them struggle and succeed and they think to themselves “if they can do it,

then so can I”. Which relates back to the book, My Time Amoung the Whites. My Time Among

The Whites tells the story about Jennine Capo Crucet, her exepericence in college. The hardships

she went through being first-generation student, minority, misogyny, etc Which relates to the

song vienna because it targets the same audience, they also cover the same topic; struggles of

being first-gen student. As a first-generation student, bringing awareness to the topics like these

are super important. Knowing these types of topics like imposter syndrome, minority, misogyny,

etc has been super beneficial for me. I think it helps because you know you are not alone and

know that experiencing these things will help you in the long run to know what to expect, how to

overcome it, and how to phase it. It will make you a resilient person, however you should be

prepared as to what to expect when you go through these things. If students are prepared or know

what will happen they will most likely not consider dropping out. It will push and motive them

and show people that it is possible and you could also do it. Since many first-gen students dont

get the motivation from their families, spaces in where they feeled valued will impulse them to

continue with their students. Many first-gen students endup dropping out because they think they

are alone, but in a space where they dont feel alone they wouldn’t consider dropping out. Since at

the end of the day we are all human and should be in support of each other. Things should not be
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race, because ultimately we all want what is best for us. One way or another we all have the

same goal, so instead of making it a competition we should encourage each other. Which is what

the book and the song are saying, as first students we understand each others struggles so we

should help each other out. Remind ourselve or others that they are not alone, it is okay to ask for

help, and know that you are worth it and deserve to be there. As someone who has a space like

that in where I feel seen, understood, safe etc without it I know I would not be able to continue

further. I have met incredible people that will help me and motivate me, which has helped me to

stand strong. It has helped me continue where I am right now and feel positive about myself and

my abilities. I think everyone should have a space like this so they feel more confident in

themselves and that way we have more people in political postions, eduation system etc and

there is more diveristy and inclusion for younger generations. We have to leave this pace a better

place for future generations.