As I mentioned previously, I am Hispanic (Black Hispanic), so taking this course has not changed that perspective for me. Instead, it allowed me to reflect on my own life, and how it may have been different from everyone else’s (here in America). At the age of 15, I had my quinceanera, which for regular Americans is something akin to a Sweet 16. I had come of age and was being presented to the world as no longer a child, but a woman. It was a rather large and wonderful occasion, which consisted of a church ceremony and a reception afterwards. I had THREE wardrobe changes. For the church ceremony, I wore a beautiful pollera that my aunt in Panama made for me. And though “pollera” translates to “skirt” in English, it was a dress. For the beginning of the reception I wore a layered white dress, and for the second half of the reception, I word a red pants suit (the party suit). The memories make me happy, and I appreciate having been able to have an upbringing that wasn’t quite like everyone else’s.