ooh, nice! I'll start :D

I was born in Mexico and I'm still very loyal to the particular city where I come from. My family includes Mexicans, Americans, and people who are a combination of both, so I grew up with both cultures. I don't think either culture ended up shaping me totally, though. I grew up feeling kind of separated from both of them. I heard and spoke English at home, and I always just felt different from the other kids around me - probably because even though I did speak Spanish, the fact that at home I spoke a different language from them made me feel like there was a fundamental cultural difference between us. There was also something of a difference in lifestyle too, I think. But then again, my family's radically different from most Americans', in lifestyle, culture, beliefs, etc., so I don't really feel completely connected to the people in the US either (partly because I spent the first six years of my life living in a place they have no idea about). It's like I've always just watched each culture from the outside, even though I'm accepted as an insider, and though of course each one has certainly shaped me a little bit, it's not like i'm totally a product of them. But definitely the place shaped me a whole lot. I think there's always a tie between you and the place where you were born, because it's the place where you saw your first light and breathed your first air, and that counts for something. And if you live there for years, that tie is even deeper. The sunlight, the flowers, the air, the colors, and the sounds of my home are still fundamental to who I am. I've always had a close connection with places. Metaphorically speaking, t's like each place has a soul of its own that I discover and connect with. But the place wehre I used ot live is where I have the closest connection, and I really miss it. Other sights and sounds are wonderful and moving, but the ones that mean most to me are the sight of bougainvillea against a brilliant blue sky; skyscrapers and fancy hotels glowing in the distance; cars passing ceaselessly in a soft whispering sound past my grandmother's house; sitting in my grandmother's room and watching a Real Madrid game with the commentator shrieking hysterically "GOOOOOOL!!!"; being able to walk to the store and pass rose gardens and palm trees and houses painted beautiful shades of orange; fountains bubbling into basins of blue and white tiles with stone rims; houses with courtyards and arched doorways that are hundreds of years old; the shouts of the guys who wash cars on the street; the taste of papaya; warm nights filled with stars and the moon; sunsets that look like the sky's a flower that burst into flame; the mountains; the beaches we'd travel to; my grandparents' voices and ways of speaking, even their ways of coughing; the doves that never stop cooing all day; the hummingbirds; the particular kind of music they had in our favorite mall...

Anyway, I lived in Mexico for years, and we were really happy there. We had friends, a home, family, a beautiful place to live, and all the rest of it. However, it got really dangerous to keep living there, because these horrible drug dealers have basically taken over the country and are committing crimes left and right, and no one does anything about it. It's not like here where the police and government take care of things like that. Not to mention the fact that Mexico's water supply is running lower and lower thanks to global warming. So we decided to move. We considered various spots, but eventually came to the US. I was about six, and I was super excited because I wanted to live in a place where it snowed :) 

It was a huge adjustment, but we settled down and made the best of it, and enjoyed living here too. There are so many good things about the United States, even though a lot of things do drive us crazy. At first I went to a public school, and I really enjoyed that, and then we took up homeschooling and that was great too :) And that's the story, folks! Keep an eye out for The Sequel, coming soon to a bookstore near you! *bows to thunderous applause*