I'm not un coco....

 

 

I am a chicana, but I used to not believe it. I know my family, where they came from.

That's not the problem. It's others. To them, being Mexican is a checklist: Speak Spanish? Uncheck. Eat spicy food?  

Uncheck. Brown skin? Uncheck

 

 

 They called me coconut jokingly,

but I let it get to my head.

 I started feeling unhappy; my face hot when I couldn't 

talk to my abuelos,

when my mom had to make the rice plain, or when my skin lost its tan during winter, and I became pale. Using their standards, I felt more like a Gringa than a Mexicana. It took me awhile, a long while, to feel confident with my title, in my skin. Now, I'm not insecure. I realised, I don't need to prove my worth to others.

 

I know who I am,

 my culture,

 my ancestry. 

 

I know,

soy una Chicana.