Word to Mi Madre

Spanglish translation: Word to my mother. That's right. I dig my mom big time, mostly because she is so good at letting me be ME. Por exemplo, when I was in the 7th grade, I wanted to be a Chola (Mexican-American gangsta' girl). There were some Cholas in my typing class, and so I sat by them every day. After I told them I was 1/8th Mexican (a total lie), they kinda-sorta tolerated me. They even let me walk with them during the passing period, and that's when big changes started happening in my life. I thought to myself, "I'm going to show mis amigas that this 1/8th Mexican girl can rock that Chola look." I went home and did the following:

1. Got some huge claw bangs goin' on.

2. Bought some black old skool Vans and wrote mi barrio, Casa Blanca, around the white rubber part. (It's a real barrio, look it up.)

3. Carried in my purse: Aqua Net, the darkest shade of Wet 'n' Wild lip liner available, and a black permanent marker, just in case I needed to write a message on the bathroom wall. You know, things like: new boyfriends, girls I (we) didn't like, or the ever changing "list" of amigas in "our" group.

4. Gave myself a nickname: La Tiny (usually given to you by your homegurlz, but I was cool with naming myself).

5. Practiced saying tough things like: "Don't be lookin' over here. I saw you lookin' over here."

Monday came. And when I walked out ready for school, mi Madre said, "Your hair looks taller. That must have taken hours." She was right. I went to school and told mis homegurlz that

I had a Mexican boyfriend and my nickname was La Tiny. Our conversation went something like:

La Sad Girl: I like your shoes.

La Casper: I like your bangs.

La Flaca: Casa Blanca, rifa!

La Tiny (me): I know, huh!!!!

I said goodbye to mis dias de las Chola at the end of 7th grade. In 8th, I was a total Valley Girl. Like, oh my gosh! Gag me with a spoon! To this day, mi Madre says: "Like, totally!"