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Julisa Franquez

Coyle

H Adv Composition

14 February 2024

My name

I grew up hating my name. Everyone has their own unique way of pronouncing my

name. I have never been the type of person to correct someone when they don’t pronounce

my name correctly. In Spanish my name sounds beautiful with a sweet ring to it. In English on

the other hand my name sounds painful to pronounce. I let people pronounce my name the

way they feel they can say it best. If I can at least understand that they are calling me there is

no point in correcting the person.

I always think to myself “If I could change my name would I”? I believe I would keep

my name because I love the way different people pronounce it now. It’s almost like I have

different variations of my name. I also pronounce my name in different forms depending on the

mood I’m feeling. Sometimes I chose to accentuate the U or to pronounce the J so aggressive.

Most of the time I say my name angelically, softly, with an innocent tone. My mother told me

when she was choosing my name, she loved the way my name was pronounced so dreamy and

heavenly. I have a dear love for my name, and I appreciate the effort everyone puts in

pronouncing my name.
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My Experience with Education

Ever since I was a little girl, I was excited to finally go to school. I remember begging my

mom if I could go to school already, I wanted to be just like my older brother. Growing up made

me realize that school isn’t just as simple as I thought it was.

My favorite grade of all time was kindergarten I had no real worries. My life consisted of

going to school painting playing and taking naps. If only it was like that throughout all the

grades. For as long as I can remember I was horrible at reading. I hated taking test. I can never

understand the concept of taking test and being punished for the grade we get. I was always the

kid that got the lowest grade on a test. This made me hate going to school because no matter how

much I study for some reason as soon as I got the test in front of me my mind went blank.

One specific moment that has stuck to me was in sixth grade. The worst test ever was the

MRI which was a reading test. This determines how well you are on reading and comprehending.

The score determines the grade level you are reading in. I remember the day we were taking it I

was so anxious. I took the test, and I was submitting it and I got a low score. I was in sixth grade

reading at a fourth-grade level. Everyone in the class was telling each other the score they got.

Every single person exceeded to test. That day I went home crying thinking I was dumb.
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Where you’re from

The most famous question everyone is asked time and time again “Where are you

from?”. Every time I get asked this question, I contemplate my answer. I can answer it one of

two ways I can either say I’m from Mableton or I’m from Mexico. Whenever I say I’m from

Mableton they are usually looking for a different answer, so they ask where my parents are from.

That’s when I follow it with my parents are from Mexico. I don’t understand why that’s so

important for them to know it’s almost like they want to have an impression of what I’m like. Or

if I fit into the stereotype that comes with the place my parents are from.

When I say I’m from Mableton I explain that I grew up in a trailer park with all my aunts

and cousins living around us. This was my happiest moments I was never bored and was always

running through the streets playing hide and seek or kick ball. Although we weren’t living in

luxury with the little that we did have as a family we were happy. When I was fourteen, we

moved into my current house that is in the middle of Mableton and Smyrna. This was an

enormous change since we went from living in an environment with people, we know to a place

that is very quiet with no one we know. When people ask me about Mexico, I don’t have much

to say since I have only visited. My proception is more touristy than how it’s like to live there.

People should not be judged by where they are from, but by the person they are because of where

they’re from.
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How You see You

Julisa Franquez-Mejia is an 18-year-old high school student. Julisa is an honor

roll student that strives to be on top of her academics. She is independent and hardworking which

lead her to have an exceptional GPA of 4.01. In her yearly years of life, she despised reading, but

as she grew older, she loved writing and creating narratives. Julisa gives credit to her parents for

raising her to be independent she always remembers what her mother has always told her “The

only genuine friend you have in this world is me”. Julisa shows that mindset in her everyday life

as she doesn’t rely on anyone for anything. She wants to go to a university to pursue her dream

of becoming a dentist. Julisa’s primary goals in life is to be successful and to give her parents the

life they’ve always dreamed of.

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My Culture

Whenever I get asked about my culture my mind goes straight to my Mexican

culture. In reality I’m apart of various cultures. The culture that I love the most is my Mexican

culture. From the food, music, and the traditions the Mexican culture is truly alluring. Our

parties are truly an amazing experience. The sounds of melodic but roaring noise that blend to

create a ethereal atmosphere makes the event lively. The kids running around playing while the

adults conversate and dance the night away.

The key in all Mexican households is that family always comes first no matter the

circumstance. Even if you have little to give if a family member is in need, you give whatever

you can. I never understood the great significance of giving to family if they don’t give to us. My

mom told me “If your family asks for something you give only what you can because god forbid

if we need help one day, we know that they will return that favor.” What my mom said that day

really impacted me because how am I supposed to know when I’m just being used for what I

have? That is something I have seen first-hand with my dad’s family. Just because someone is

your brother you don’t owe them anything if you say no, they should accept that and still thank

you for considering.

The Mexican culture has many beautiful aspects, but it also has a negative side. With

family being the priority, we can face a huge family destruction. With all the negative my

Mexican culture is truly something I have pride of.

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Your Goals

Throughout my whole life everyone has always asked me about what my goals

are I never know what to say because I feel like I do not have any. The reason I felt that I had no

purpose in my life was because I was not striving to accomplish anything. As I grew older, I

started thinking about more about aspects that I want to accomplish. Instead of living my life in

ignorance I wanted to shift my purpose. Creating personal goals was a step to start to create a

purpose in my life.

Primarily I want to have academic goals. My goal for every school year in high school

was to make the honor roll for each semester. I worked hard to get all A’s and B’s I

accomplished this goal every semester. I studied during my free time and if I was unsure about

a topic, I would ask my teachers questions to clarify everything. I huge goal I had for myself was

also to be able to get a car. With the help of my parents, I was able to get a car. I saved up all

my money to be able to afford the car I wanted. That was a huge accomplishment that I am

very proud of. Having goals truly changed my aspect of what life is about.
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Your Family

Like most people family is everything to me. When I talk about my family I’m

talking about my mom, dad, and siblings they are the only people I truly consider family. For me

family is a lot more than just blood related. Family is always being there for you without

judgement in times in need. Family is giving constructive criticism without bring each other

down or slandering one another. The word family is not something I use loosely it’s something

that holds great significance that is truly earned.

My family has shaped who I am as a person. My dad has always told me to be humble

no matter how much we have. He always told me to never brag about having something

because many people do not have the same. Both my mom and dad have really influenced me

to be a hard worker. They are the true example of coming from nothing to working extremely

hard to have everything they have ever wanted. My brother has always taught me to be

independent and not fear doing something alone. Being the first generation to immigrate

parents and being the oldest of the siblings he was forced to figure his life out to create a

pathway for my sister and I. I can’t fathom the pressure he felt with trying to do everything

right. My sister has inspired me to speak whatever is in my mind. She always says the hard truth

that in the moment feels unnecessary but looking back at its what you need to hear. My family

is dear to my heart, and I can’t imagine the person I would be without them.
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Family Traditions

In my family we have various traditions which by default comes with the

Mexican culture. From having small gathers to huge parities is how we celebrate some

traditions. Some traditions are ones we create as a family that we do every year. A lot of the

traditions change as the years go by. Having these traditions make me proud of my roots and

heritage.

In our culture we celebrate el dia de los reyes magos (Three Kings Day). This day is

celebrated every year on January 6 on that day we cut a rosca de reyes. The rosca de reyes is a

sweat bread that is a shape of an oval that has little plastic babies in it. It is tradition that if you

get a baby in your slice, you must cook tamales for everyone on February 2. A small tradition

we have in our family is in new years when it hits twelve o’clock, we give everyone a hug. It

symbolizes the love we have for them and how grateful we are to enter the new year with

them. Another of our traditions is nine nights leading up to Christmas we do posadas. Posadas

are a reenactment of Mary and Josephs pilgrimage and leading up to the birth of Jesus. These

posadas include singing, acting, and eating. Many people contribute to bring various food to the

posadas.

These are only a few to many traditions we have in our family, but they make my life

beautifully eventful. All of our traditions gather all of our family together and makes for a great

bonding experience. In times where you might feel lonely these traditions really make you feel

connected to your relatives. It is amazing how these traditions pass from generation to

generation for years. Many of our traditions have to do with our catholic religion. Having a
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tradition allows our family to bond with people in our Mexican culture so we will not be

disconnected from it.

Most memorable day

For years I didn’t have a day I found that was most memorable to me. During

recent years I have exposed myself to going out more and experiencing new places. I put my

fear aside and created new memories that I can look back on with gratification. With all my new

experiences I developed a day I hold as the most memorable. The first day I spent in Mexico

was my most memorable day. On that day I had a mixed or various emotions all the way from

sadness to a sense of jubilant.

On my first day in Mexico overall I felt confounded. The first few hours I discerned a

sense of joy. After going to my aunt’s house and settling in I had a realization that I was going to

be spending two weeks living with complete strangers. I knew they were my family, and they

would never harm me, but I didn’t feel safe. Later that same day we went out to walk the

streets of Mexico. I couldn’t help but feel sorrow that I was where my parents grew up and they

couldn’t be here to personally show me the grounds they once walked. The most I could do is

take endless amounts of pictures to go back and show them. My aunts and uncles will tell us

stories and take us to the places my parents loved going to. I was grateful that I can at least

experience a little bit of the life they once lived in Mexico. Ultimately this day was the most
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memorable to me because I experienced and discovered new perspectives of what its like to be

somewhere and not feel fulfilled.