My whole life I've been looked down upon simply because I do not speak Spanish. I am a Mexican-American, and I do not know Spanish. Not only do my friends and potential employers look at me differently because of this, but so does my own family.

My abuelita and abuelito are from Mexico and my dad and all his siblings learned Spanish as their first language. My tíos and tías all taught their kids, my cousins, Spanish as well. Then there is me. I'm almost 20, and the only Spanish I know is a few things I've picked up from my family over time and what I've learned in Spanish class in high school and college — which isn't much when your whole family is full of native, fluent speakers.

For as long as I can remember, I've begged my parents to teach me Spanish. I know a little now but not enough to say, "I speak Spanish." I've missed out on a big part of my culture, and I've missed out on having that language connection with my family. That being said, I am still Mexican. I celebrate Cinco de Mayo and Día de los Muertos. I get my tacos from the Taquería, and I eat my pan dulce with Atole just like everyone else. Most importantly, I get my elotes from The Elote Man too. I can make my own tamales and my own tortillas. Food doesn't make a culture, but it is definitely a huge part of Mexican culture.

I may not be able to speak the language of my family, but I can understand a lot of it. I don't let the language barrier hinder me too much. I still try every day to learn the language. I'm even minoring in Spanish — that's how dedicated I am to, one day, being fluent. One day, I will get all the little Spanish inside jokes within my family. One day, people won't think of me as less of a Mexican because I can't speak Spanish. One day, I will teach my kids Spanish as their first language. One day, I'll be a real Mexican. Until then, I will still be a proud Mexican American who embraces my beautiful culture each and every day. Nunca es tarde para aprender.