Book 2 Post 1

 The second book I decided to read was American Like Me by America Ferrera. At the beginning of the semester, I was leaning to reading this book, but after reading so many great posts and reviews, I knew this was going to be my second book to read. Being Latino, I come from a diverse background and I know how it feels to live in a mixture of both American and Latino culture. I knew this book would revolve around diversity in America and how people would adjust to try to fit in. This was something that really interested me. I wanted to learn more about people’s stories and be able to relate to them on similar experiences. Knowing that the book was essentially a collection of people’s stories and finding their cultural identity made it much more appealing to read. I wanted to learn about different cultures and learn about the different ways people have gone about adjusting as first-generation Americans. 

After starting to read the book and learning about different people’s stories, it has been such a great experience. It’s so interesting to read about different perspectives. Everyone has a different story but essentially has the same theme. The theme is trying to figure out your cultural identity knowing you want to be American, but knowing you also have a diverse background. It’s about going through the process of defining what being American really means to you and this is something I can relate to. I really enjoyed Reshma Saujani’s story because I was able to put myself in her shoes. Just like her, I always enjoy looking for my name on keychains whenever I visit different places. Sometimes I find it, but sometimes I don’t. Reshma brings up the point of how easier life would be if her name was Rachel and how the little things would change such as finding a keychain with your name on it. Whenever I look, the name I do find most of the time is Peter. Fun fact: Peter is the English form of Pedro. Sometimes I wonder how different it would be if my name was Peter instead. However, Reshma brings up the great point of learning how to embrace your diversity and being comfortable with who you are. I’ve learned to do the same. Stories like hers make the book so great and I’m really excited to continue reading to learn more about everyone else’s journey on being American.