Jessica Torres

So as soon as my dear friend Karla gifted these super cute Forever21 shorts I knew what I would write about on the blog. But before I do, I wanted to share these amazing pictures of my little trip to Zamora. I went there once about 10 years ago and remember being dumbfounded by how beautiful it was. I knew I wanted to go back one day.

 These pictures were taking on our way there, which is my favorite part. You can see a variety of waterfalls on your way there. Oh how I wish I was there again! Enough of my nostalgia. Here goes what i really want to say…

  While being in one of my native countries, Ecuador, and as i enjoyed my family, the food, the scenery, and my friends I have to mention a few things about being an immigrant in both of my native countries.

I was born originally in Loja, Ecuador. My parents migrated to the states when I was only 7 months old. I grew up in The Bronx, New York. As I got older and interacted with others I came to the conclusion that I have been and will be an immigrant everywhere I go. It doesn’t seem to change. When I was 13 my parents and I moved to Ecuador for a couple of years. I always say it was one of the best times of my life. I learned so much about my country of birth. However everyone referred to my siblings and I as ” Los gringos,” which is a nickname given to Americans. I had used it before towards others. For some reason I never saw myself as a “gringa” since I came from a spanish speaking country. It was funny to see how even though I was ” one of them” I was singled out as a gringa. Don’t get me wrong, I never took it offensive nor did they mean in such way. If there’s one thing I can assure you about Ecuadorians is that we have a great sense of humor and love to joke around, or at least the ones around me.

I remember always saying it loud and proud that I was Ecuadorean to everyone and anyone, whether they asked or not. As a child I always remember being called the spanish girl, though it was wrong since I’m not from Spain.

After analyzing the situation and much thinking I asked myself: where am I from? And I realized that no matter where I went I would always be an immigrant. In my native country I was a “gringa” and in the USA I was an Ecuadorian. Which made me come to a conclusion. I am an eternal immigrant. It’s true. I am Ecuadorian-American but no matter where I go I will always be a foreigner.

Don’t worry, I  have no problem being the immigrant, for some reason I tend to cheer for the underdog and though Latinos are the biggest minority we still are slightly neglected.  I write this to create awareness of who we are and to prove that we are all the same. When we die we either all go to heaven or hell ( for those who believe) an we are not separated by an American or Ecuadorian heaven or hell. Love your neighbor and accept them.