Personal Narrative: Destinee Belle De La Cruz

I, Destinee Belle De La Cruz come from a mixed multicultural and multi-racal background. My mother immigrated to America from Dominican Republic, when she was about 3 years old. She grew up in a Spanish speaking household and growing up in the lower east side of manhattan, which is predominantly a Spanish majority area of New York, she grew up very immersed in the Dominican culture. My father on the other hand, as I, comes from a mixed background, as my fathers mother is white, of Irish decent, and my fathers dad, is of African American decent. My fathers parents are both from the south, Virginia, and they moved to New York City together in their early 20’s as there relationship was not accepted by the people in the south, nor their families.

I grew up in the East Village in Manhattan, which is a predominantly white neighborhood, although it has become more racially mixed in the coming years. I went to schools, where I was the minority, and there were only a handful of Blacks and Hispanics, let alone children of mixed race. My parents found it very important to make me a well rounded person, and made it a point to always immerse me in activities that helped me learn about, not only my own cultures, but also other cultures and religions. I grew up with a single mother, most of my life, until my parents got back together in high school, so many of my experiences were mostly those pertaining to Dominican