I found myself being able to relate on a very personal level to two of these stories. I am a first generation immigrant; my mom emigrated from Norway when she was little. She has lived in the States virtually her entire life and does not speak or look like she is an immigrant (due to the very homogenous white, middle to upper class population of Norway), but she always says how she used to have to translate for her mom when she was younger. She did not experience the same difficulties Mendez did in obtaining a higher education (nor did her two sisters) but I am sure that if she had visibly looked or talked like an immigrant she would have experienced similar issues. While thinking about this I at first thought it was a ridiculous thought, but upon further reflection it does not seem that ridiculous to me anymore. Especially in today’s society where we are experiencing a lot of illegal immigration, I do not doubt that certain institutions discriminate against immigrants. The other story that I could relate very easily to was Kaminsky’s. My mom, coincidentally, went to school for nursing and was an orthopedic nurse up until I was born. I have talked to her about the role of doctors and nurses and she has always said that the doctors and surgeons she worked with were always very respectful of the nurses and she never had an issue with it. After my mom had my older brother she continued to work part-time and enjoyed the flexibility that Kaminsky discusses, but once I was born she decided to stay at home. Once my little sister grew up and was at school all day my mom was repeatedly asked to be a substitute school nurse or even return to the hospital she used to work at and be a “head nurse” (despite not having worked in over 10 years). My mom never took any of the jobs because she enjoyed being a stay at home mom, but I think this also very clearly shows the shortage of nurses that we are experiencing today.
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