Not Just Maria

Maria?

Am I the person who I dreamed to be?

Or am I just a vase full of others’ thoughts?

Or the flower, which blooms from others expectations.

Am I just the molding of what others expect of me?

If so, molded by whom?

Am I the follower of those around me?

Am I just a individual who desperately wants to fit it,

but has all the qualities to stand apart and away from the crowd?

Am I just the Latina who wants to be the opposite

of the assumptions for her culture?

Am I a person hiding behind a mask afraid of who she is?

Am I chained to a wall where I cannot see beyond,

beyond the wall, the limits, that others have placed upon me.

Am I the gentle, but powerful woman

I always dreamed of being?

Am I the woman that got the highest grades

in school because of the countless hours of work?

Am I the determined girl who has accomplished

everything which she set her mind to?

Am I the individual who is inundate in scholarship money,

from countless universities?

Am I someone who is making a change and

showing society who Latinos truly are?

Or Am I just as confused of who I am as I was 3 years ago?

No

I am Maria Alejandra Martinez Amariles.

I am the president of a Forensics Club.

I am a person molding her own thoughts.

I am the molder.

I am not just a leader or just a follower,

but both.

I am sometimes like those around me,

and at times completely different.

I stand out, while fitting in.

I am a girl who finally understands what it is to have

Self Worth.

I am a Latina, who is proud of her heritage.

I am the proud daughter of a single-parent Colombian woman.

I am a girl who currently breaks

the chains and walls that have been placed in her way.

And will continue to break them.

I am a proud Colombian.

I am the daughter of the Latino culture.

I am the embodiment of a race that is often forgotten.

I am a girl who

I am a girl who values women,

because of the strong single woman who raised me.

I am my mother's daughter.

I am a girl who values time,

because of those lost to it.

I am a girl who values pictures,

and their ability to capture time.

I am a friend who always has an open shoulder,

because of all the times I didn't have one.

I am a curious person who will always wonder about life!

I am the person who I never envisioned being,

but always hoped I could be.

I am, I am Maria.