When asked who I am, I answer with my name: Kiara Nicole Cordero Del Valle. Because that’s who I am. That’s what I assume we’re supposed to answer. But, are we really just a name? Are we really defined only and solely by something that was given to us and not by what we’ve chosen and decided for ourselves?
If I were to answer more in depth about myself when asked who I am, I’d say I’m a Puerto Rican, a feminist, a Political Science major, a bookworm and a movie buff. That’s the way I see myself as an individual walking around the world. However, when asking how other people perceive me I was described as: smart, driven, a lover, but also a fighter, overprotective, caring and supportive.
I believe that everything we are is just the result of a compilation of events and experiences that have happened to us. Every single choice we make is persuaded by how we were raised and what we’ve been through. That’s why I believe I am the way I am.
Certainly, the person that’s had the most effect on how I turned out is my mom. She’s been a single mother since I was four years old. She had me when she was sixteen and my brother when she was seventeen. After she graduated high school she used to study and work full time and still manage to check mine and my brother’s backpacks and take us to school in the mornings. I know it was very difficult for her because my dad had moved to the United States, so it was just her. Having seen how hard my mom worked and how determined she was to give me and my brother everything we needed and wanted is why I am so determined and so driven.
I have four brothers, but I live with three of them, and I’m the only girl and the oldest. That’s why since I was twelve years old I used to take care of my brothers after school when my mom was at work. I believe that’s what’s made me so overprotective and caring. That’s why I take care of everyone around me even when it’s not my job. I’m used to having to take care of everyone and everything, so that’s what I do. I’ve always worked hard at being the best version of myself so I can be a good role model to my younger brothers. Therefore, I’ve always been good at school, or at least I assume it is.
Because I’ve always dealt with anxiety, as a result of bullying, and I read in an article that reading helped with that, for my thirteenth birthday, I asked my mom for my first book: The Mortal Instruments. Once I finished that book I went on to read more and more. Now I’m able to read a three hundred page book in two days because it calms me. I like the idea of being in someone else’s world for a few hours. I guess that’s also the reason I love movies so much.
However, the thing I think what represents me the most is my feminism. I’ve considered myself a feminist since I was fifteen and I’ve worked on it everyday since. I grew up in an environment where my mother always made sure I knew women were capable of everything men were able to do and maybe even more.That’s why I decided to study political sciences, because I believe there should be more women working in politics, especially here in Puerto Rico. I guess you could say my mom guided me to it, even though she didn’t consider herself a feminist until I started talking to her about it.
Along with my mom, two of my biggest influences were Dolores “Lolita” Lebron and Pedro Albizu Campos. Reading their stories I understood that we, the people of Puerto Rico, are not being respected and I think that Puerto Rico should be freed from our colonizers. I’m a patriot and I sincerely love my country like I love my mother. That’s why I believe we deserve better than what we’re getting.
My mother influenced my life choices by just showing me indirectly her beliefs and I never really noticed until now. My mom never pushed anything on me and allowed me to be my own person with my own sets of ideals, but I still managed to turn out almost exactly like her. And I guess that’s a good thing, because my mom is one of the smartest people I know.
