Experience of a Lifetime

I started to notice my social class for the first time at the age of ten. This all happened after visiting my elementary school friend. Her house was twice, or maybe three times bigger than the little apartment I lived in. She had her own room, while I had to share rooms with my siblings. She had a yard, two dogs, and a cat. I longed to have a pet, but was not allowed to, due to the small space in our apartment.

That day when I went home, I started to notice how small our apartment was; for the very first time, I felt poor. I know I had everything I needed. I never went to sleep hungry like my parents did when they were little, but I knew that I was “different.” In my ten year-old way, I began learning about social class.

This experience brought to mind a time when my mother took my siblings and myself to Guatemala.

Some children there had no shoes and were begging for food. I remember there were children that worked cleaning car windows. According to the World Food Programme website, “There are more hungry people in the world than the combined population of U.S., Canada and the European Union.”

Visiting Guatemala opened my eyes. It was shocking to me to know there are so many people living in poverty and it made me more aware of the plight of the hungry in the U.S. as well.

Even though poverty in the US is not as visible in most communities as in other countries, this doesn’t mean we don’t have people living in poverty. The poor live in all countries, but there is one thing they share in common: the feeling of hunger.
Growing up, I never faced hunger, like my parents did when they first arrived to California from Mexico.

At the time they had difficulty finding a job and struggled to survive by only eating inexpensive ramen noodles. Like my parents once did, there are a lot of people here in the United States that struggle to put food on their table.

Poverty can even be found close to home in Benton County. Benton County reports that 18 percent of people are living below the poverty level according to a census taken in 2009; that is almost 1 in 5 people. These numbers represent people living in our community and many students.

Did you know that in 2010, 17.2 million households(approximately 1 in 7), were food insecure; the highest number ever recorded in the United States according to the latest government report released by Hunger Notes in September 2010.

There are many things we can do to fight against hunger. Even small things such as can drives in schools, jobs, and communities can make a big difference.

If you are interested in helping out you can visit our local campus OSU Emergency Food Pantry located in the Snell Hall International Form on campus. To learn more please visit their website or follow them on Twitter @FoodPantryOSU and be sure to check out the OSU Food Drive events happening this month.

Angelica Perez, Community Relations Facilitator

Throughout my undergraduate experience, I have learned a lot about myself and my culture. Before coming to Oregon State University, I had no idea there was a “me” to explore. My identity was something I never bothered to “discover.”

Now I understand identity it is much more important than I realized. My identity is not only who I am but also what I stand for because of my values. Thinking back, I can rationalize that I never placed real importance on my identity because I did not know what it meant. Now, I can only imagine how many other first-year students did not and do not know the meaning of identity as well.

In my K-12 education, I do not remember ever learning about myself or where I came from in any class. As a young Latina, I was curious to learn more about my history. I was finally given the opportunity to learn more about my culture at OSU; it was an opportunity I was hungry to explore. I took classes that were never offered in high school such as ethics of diversity through the philosophy department, sociology, and anthropology, where I was introduced to the topic of identity. I was glad to engage the topic but did not anticipate that it would also cause much confusion and anxiety.

As a Student of Color, I hated talking about my identity because I felt I didn’t know how to identify my multiethnic identities. Not knowing my identity made me feel like I had no past; I was ignoring my ancestors.  I felt like a tree that had no roots. I also started to realize that my identity consists of what makes me unique as an individual and different from others. I started to realize how important it was when I would talk about myself. Even answering a question such as, “where are you from?” was difficult for me to answer.

The process of identifying myself made me feel closer to my family because I was honoring them by learning where we came from and where our values are rooted. It also made me realize how much I have grown and learned at OSU. As a Community Relations Facilitator, I have picked up on several helpful tools that have helped me understand my identity and how I can help others in their own process of self-discovery.

It was a challenge for me to realize I was missing pieces of myself, but I am glad I am working towards finding all of the pieces of my identity.  I know classes I took helped me to reflect on my identity and on how I would identify myself to others. I feel these courses could help many other students who wish to explore their own identities.

If you are interested in exploring this topic, I recommend that you look courses that are offered in departments such as ethnic studies, philosophy, anthropology, women studies, and sociology. I encourage you to discover the courses, workshops  and events offered by these departments. I know courses from these departments have made a difference in my life; I hope they can inspire you to explore your identities as well.

Thanks for reading,

Angelica Perez, Community Relations Facilitator