Hispanic American?

Courtesy: havanatimes.org

I have read countless quotes, excerpts, and lines of poetry that have inspired me. But, no line of poetry, no paragraph from a fiction piece, no “quote of the day” has ever resonated with me the way Richard Blanco’s poem, “América,” did.

This poem discusses a Cuban family’s struggle with balancing, and accepting two cultures. I have a strong attachment to this idea because I often find myself in the same situation. I, like the characters in Blanco’s poem, am Hispanic. My mother was born in La Habana, Cuba, and my father in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. I was born in Jacksonville, as an American, but my parents raised me with their Hispanic customs. We celebrate Hispanic holidays like Three Kings Day and Hispanic Heritage Month the same way Americans celebrated Veterans Day, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. But we never celebrated them both. It was either Veterans day, or Hispanic Heritage month.

As I got older I began to reflect on my past and realized the significance in all of these differences. I began expressing interest in learning about my background as an American Citizen. I’d spend my entire childhood embracing the Hispanic side of me, so I never got the chance to explore the American. My family soon tried to adopt the beliefs. Simple things like having turkey on Thanksgiving, and putting American Flags on our lawn during Veterans Day. Studying American history and culture in so much detail that it became engrained within us in the same way Hispanic culture was. After this period of self-discovery, I realized that balancing both cultures was harder than I thought. My attempts, though genuine, did not feel natural. I could not be only Hispanic or American. I am a Hispanic American, and I’m allowed to be both.

The cultural resonance and applicability of this poem gave me justification in my realization. Blanco expressed to me, with excruciatingly vivid detail that is hard to balance two cultures at once. That it is impossible to rid of my roots. But that it is possible, to learn to accept both cultures for what they are, and how they play a role in my life. This poem completely captivated me and gave me a sense of self-realization that I had never experienced before.

Now, when someone asks me where I’m from, or what I am, I tell him or her, with pride, that I’m a Hispanic American. I embrace my roots and enlighten others about my Hispanic and American heritage, rather than hide it. I now celebrate all holidays not just “the Hispanic way” or “the American way” but both ways. I wear red white and blue to display pride for America, and also for Cuba and Puerto Rico as well. Cuba, Puerto Rico, and America all share the same colors on the flag, and I share all the same colors in the complex, layered concept of my identity.

-Briana Lopez, Junior Social Media Editor

Read it here! Follow the link:

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/245318

When We Least Expect It

stephanieThey told me that you can never run out of ideas. That writer’s block was a myth. That you can find inspiration if you just try enough.

I wish that they had all told me the truth.

My biggest concern last year when I was going to be the marketing editor was how was I supposed to come up with creative ideas whenever I wanted to. And now—two commercials, a stockpile of merchandise, and one print book later—I still sometimes worry. Sometimes my fellow members of Élan come and ask me for marketing strategies. They do not know that inspiration rarely comes when I want it to, and sometimes it doesn’t even come when I need it to.

I always want the ideas—for writing, for marketing—to come immediately; I want them enter into my mind before I lost the hunger for them. I want to digest them before I forget how the creative spark tastes in my mouth.

When I was younger I didn’t have strict boundaries of homework, school, and deadlines. As a senior, I’ve lost some of that urge to be spontaneous, to be willing to sacrifice so much for the sake of something so simple, like finding out what happened to Harry, or if Percy made it to the labyrinth. I used spend hours beneath the covers with a book propped between my elbows, so that I could hold the flashlight and not have to worry about the pages turning on their own accord.

I’ve found that sometimes inspiration comes to us when we least expect it; it guides us along the raging rapids of our thoughts so that we can plan the next Homecoming commercial or create a new t-shirt design or even just help a fellow Élan staff member with their marketing goals.

-Stephanie Thompson, Head of Marketing 

Moving Forward

I’old-computerm seeing right down the barrel of InDesign already, even though the adulthood is in my peripheral vision. With a new year comes a new focus, and I couldn’t be more excited about taking the sole leadership in Élan’s Layout and Design editorial position. I wouldn’t feel as ready as I do now to fight the computer’s quirks and glitches, without the life lessons I learned from my former lead editor, Emily Leitch. I’m waiting to receive a successor of my own to continue the lovely tradition of “layout lessons.” It’s the feature that brings this staff together over the painstaking, sophisticated masterpiece that is Élan.

Last year, right at the final stage of the yearly print edition – the very last day of school – we lost our computer just as we hit save. It was probably the most tragic thing to ever happen all year. That computer was a real dinosaur, I’m sure you’ve seen one half its age at most. There’s no telling how much blood was shed from the nail biting minutes of anxious saving, how many tears fell from the disparity of a frozen screen, or the sweat drops that rolled down the furrowed ‘brow of the crazy-eyed perfectionist. That computer was the diabetic heartbeat of Élan for the first year of true continuity.

It will be greatly missed.

But this year, as I walk into the classroom empty handed, I am fully minded. I am going to do everything I know how to do to continue making our publication carry the inspirational individuality and professional beauty that our breathtaking art and writing are worthy of.

I’m here to show the world that Élan is not just an impressive magazine made in the corner of a library after school, but a true representation of the merit brilliant teenage artists deserve.

-Taylor Austell, Layout and Design Editor