La Estrella I am the product of a first-generation Mexican-American. My family comes from a small pueblo in Mexico named Yahulica De Gonzalez Gallo, Jalisco. My family feels such pride and endearment towards their homeland. My family persevered in order to have what I have now. How can I be a disappointment? This is a statement I repeated to myself my whole life. While my family never intentionally pressured me to succeed; from a young age, I was the golden child. My Abuelo(grandfather) always told me that I was “su estrella,” his star. While that could have been perceived that I was a light in his life; I, as a child, perceived it as a rewarded name coming from the accomplishments and talents that came so naturally to me. I had to live up to that name. I could not let them down. My family gave great importance to the necessity of a respectful education. As I grew up my Abuela(grandmother) would always tell me that I should become a doctor or a teacher. It was a dream of her to see one of her future generations be successful in a “holy” career, but I never wanted that for myself. I daydreamed through the days with my head in the clouds. I would twirl through the hallways, wishing that I could afford a ballet class. These dreams I ignored for no one to see, it was only for my pleasure and I thought I was satisfied with so. I always kept my grades up in school because it made my family so happy and that was all I ever wanted was their approval; that their sacrifices were worth the fight. As I got through elementary this passion for singing crept its way to the public's eye. I began to sing every opportunity that I could. I became obsessed, from a young age I was working, studying, and learning my craft on my own. We never had the money for voice lessons nor did I ever ask. My elementary school is the primal definition of an education system lacking the funds to create better and more diverse experiences for the students, but they did give us one thing, music. In our last year, we were given the choice to take choir, band, or orchestra. This was the first leap, I could not wait to take the next step towards my improvement in my vocal quality. That's where I thought I would stay, choir but I wanted more. For middle school I decided that I needed to go to a school that was going to nurture artistically, that is when I found the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts. Here I found that I did not just want to be in choir, I wanted to perform. In a Hispanic household, it is rare to be introduced to Musical Theatre. Mexicans stick to mariachi or banda. My family was shocked at my sudden interest, they started uttering statements implying that I was not their daughter; that I was becoming white-washed, too American they said. I began gravitating toward the sensation that I was disappointing them, yo no les iba “sacar de pobre”(I was not going to take them out of poverty) like they always told me. I was so conflicted with myself because it felt so right. It took everything that I was so passionate about as a child and was contained into one simple idea. Theatre transformed me, the energy and the transgression between the actors and the audience is so fulfilling in itself. I came to a point where I stopped worrying whether or not my family wanted me to pursue this, but rather working to my goal. Eventually, with my confidence and growing strengths as a performer, I did not have to try to make my family proud for the pride appeared by itself.