Book 1, Post 1 - American Like Me by America Ferreira

I have been reading America Ferrera's book American Like Me which is a collection of 32 first-hand essays from close friends and acquaintances in the entertainment industry of Ferrera's who were somehow impacted by immigration. Each essay tackles the question of what it means to be American and although some essays are lighthearted and funny others are more gut-wrenching and dark. America who is a well-known actress and human rights activist and has appeared in hit television shows like Ugly Betty and films like Barbie , also writes her own essay in the book, talking about her tough experience growing up in the U.S. as a daughter of Honduran immigrants. 

America's own personal essay that she wrote in the book talks about how she faced discrimination as a young child because of her Honduran background. She says that many use to make fun of  her name and it drew lots of attention from both kids in school and her teachers, especially during the pledge of allegiance as her name is America. She says one heartbreaking moment for her was when she was just six years old and she had developed a deep crush on a boy who never reciprocated her feelings however he did one day tell her that he didn't like her, he liked another girl, because of the fact that the other girl had blue eyes and lighter skin than Ferrera's which was difficult to read. Even though they were just young kids at the time, it still had a massive impact on her self-esteem and added more emphasis to her questioning on what it means to be American. After reading Ferrera's story and many others like it, I am saddened to hear of what goes on with racism and discrimination in this country, especially in our schools. As a young child, I grew up in a predominantly white small town, so I never got to see first hand anyone being racist or discriminatory to anyone so when I would hear stories like these going on at other schools I would be shocked and would wonder why I hadn't seen anything like that. It just goes to show how many people in this country, like myself, grew up sheltered and may not know truly the extent of how bad these issues of discrimination are in our country until we have to read about it in books, watch it in film and television or watch it unfold on the news.