{"id":5,"date":"2016-04-12T04:50:02","date_gmt":"2016-04-12T04:50:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/imiranda\/?p=5"},"modified":"2016-04-15T23:58:24","modified_gmt":"2016-04-15T23:58:24","slug":"hey-whats-up-hello","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/imiranda\/2016\/04\/12\/hey-whats-up-hello\/","title":{"rendered":"Hey What’s Up Hello!"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

My name is Isabel and I was born in Mexico City. I moved to California when I was five and a half with my parents and two little brothers. I distinctly remember my first day of kindergarten on Valentine\u2019s Day. I received a ton of chocolate and colorful cards, but I didn\u2019t understand why or what was going on because I didn\u2019t speak any<\/p>\n

\"My
My kindergarten class.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

English yet.\u00a0It was only\u00a0later that I learned that in the United States it\u2019s typical for kids to bring Valentine\u2019s Day cards and chocolates to pass around to their fellow classmates, something I had never seen in Mexico. When I moved to the United States, I didn\u2019t just move to a different country, I had to learn a new language and adapt to a different culture. While my parents encouraged me to embrace my new culture, they instilled in me the value of staying connected and fostering my Mexican roots and heritage. Although I became a United States citizen about three years ago and have primarily grown up in the Bay Area, I have never let go of my Mexican background and still hold strong ties to those roots. It\u2019s usually a shock for others to learn I am Mexican and speak fluent Spanish, but I was lucky enough never to be treated differently because of it and it gave me the freedom to blend both the American and Mexican cultures and lifestyles. Growing up it was as if I had two homes: one in Mountain View where my immediate family was, where I went to school and where I was making friends and the other in Mexico City where I was from, where all my extended family lived, and where they have tacos al pastor<\/em>.\u00a0At times, this<\/p>\n

\"My
My family dropping me off at Santa Clara University.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

was difficult. For example when I started college and moved out, I often felt like my parents didn\u2019t understand me and we couldn\u2019t relate to each other because they never had the typical American \u201ccollege experience\u201d that I was going through. Similarly, I had to get used to difficult goodbyes every time I visited Mexico. While I struggled at different points in my life having two homes, I\u2019m grateful my parents were insistent on teaching me Spanish and about Mexico even if we were living in the United States, because it allowed me to be more sensitive and culturally aware as well being able to relate and communicate to both Americans and Mexicans. Ultimately, I hope that my mixed cultural background will allow me to build a career that allows me to bridge the best of both worlds in order to make a positive impact.<\/p>\n

In addition to my cultural background, martial arts has played a huge role in my life. Again, it comes as a shock to most people to find out that someone as shy and small as me could ever be a black belt, but it\u2019s one of my proudest accomplishments. Not only did I earn my black belt but I was also awarded best tester out of everyone<\/p>\n

\"First
First place at a tournament.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

testing in 2011.\u00a0The theme of my black belt test was dedication and commitment. At the beginning of each training session we would recite a phrase: \u201cI commit to constant and never ending improvement \u2018till black belt excellence.\u201d The black belt test was two long and rigorous days in which I was tested on the entire curriculum in front of a panel of judges in addition to having to break three boards, spar and end with intense conditioning. In that moment, the lessons I learned in my studio came together. I committed myself to perform at black belt excellence and be the best. This was no easy task. Many people didn\u2019t or couldn\u2019t complete the test because they lacked the self-discipline and dedication that I had. My martial arts studio taught me\u00a0more than<\/p>\n

\"Practicing
Practicing my side-kick at a park.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

just how to defend myself; I learned the value of searching for my passion, having self-discipline, being responsible, the value of hard work and dedication, the importance of committing to my goals, being resilient, and building self-confidence. After receiving my black belt, my instructor offered me a job at the studio. I was thrilled to accept.\u00a0I wanted to be an instructor at my martial arts studio so I could help others achieve their black belt and pass down all the knowledge I had received. Most of all, I wanted to serve as a good role model and inspire others\u00a0in the same way my instructors did for me. The same attitude and dedication that allowed me to earn my black belt, is mirrored today, in my work ethic and has only propelled me to be more driven in all aspects of my life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  My name is Isabel and I was born in Mexico City. I moved to California when I was five and a half with my parents and two little brothers. I distinctly remember my first day of kindergarten on Valentine\u2019s Day. I received a ton of chocolate and colorful cards, but I didn\u2019t understand why … Continue reading Hey What’s Up Hello!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1580,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"qubely_global_settings":"","qubely_interactions":"","kk_blocks_editor_width":"","_kiokenblocks_attr":"","_kiokenblocks_dimensions":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"gutentor_comment":1,"qubely_featured_image_url":null,"qubely_author":{"display_name":"Isabel Miranda","author_link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/imiranda\/author\/imiranda\/"},"qubely_comment":1,"qubely_category":"Uncategorized<\/a>","qubely_excerpt":"  My name is Isabel and I was born in Mexico City. I moved to California when I was five and a half with my parents and two little brothers. I distinctly remember my first day of kindergarten on Valentine\u2019s Day. I received a ton of chocolate and colorful cards, but I didn\u2019t understand why…","post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/imiranda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/imiranda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/imiranda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/imiranda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1580"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/imiranda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/imiranda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/imiranda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5\/revisions\/23"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/imiranda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/imiranda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/imiranda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}