Dallas, America
The Texas Story Project.
The city you were raised in is often hard to replace.
Throughout her life, my grandmother has experienced living in nearly all parts of Texas. It is safe to say she is a Texas girl at heart. Although she finds positive qualities in each part of Texas she has lived, there is nothing that compares to the beauty of her hometown of Dallas, Texas. It was the piney woods and greenery that attracted her to East Texas. True, she is also fond of the rich history of West Texas as well as its strong winds. Central Texas gave her a love for the abundant wildlife, climate, and overall beautiful nature. At the age of 58 my grandmother lives where her heart is - Dallas.
My paternal grandmother, Victoria Garcia, was born in 1961 to a family that happened to be one of the first few Hispanic families to move to East Oak Cliff. Oak Cliff is a neighborhood in South Dallas full of culture despite the low socioeconomic status of the population. Born to a middle-class family of 9, my grandmother experienced struggles that would lead her to enjoy the beauty in her life. The beautiful aspects of life would hold little value if there were no struggle. Her family sought to give her a better life, which included an education and a positive environment. This was not always the case considering that she and her siblings were considered outsiders and were faced with the challenge of breaking barriers.
During the time my grandmother was raised it was more common that children went outside and played with their siblings and neighbors. This was one of the ways that helped their integration into a community where they were the only people with brown skin.
Dallas became where my grandmother would later raise her two children. They would also raise their children there and much of the same culture, such as eating dinner together every night or spending a large amount of time together as a family, is still valued.
Amanda Garcia is a junior at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio earning a B.S. Biology degree with a minor in Chemistry. She is from Dallas, Texas coming from a family of 5. One of her goals is to conduct biomedical research back home.
Posted September 17, 2019
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TAGGED WITH: St. Mary's University, stmarytx.edu
