Hello and welcome to a new episode of Teacher's Off-Duty. We have a very special one today. I'm excited about it, but to get started, let's introduce ourselves.

I'm Tell Williams, our Mr. Williams pre-K. I'm Lauren Wolley. Mrs. Wolley in fifth. And our guest today. I'm Sophia Bella. I am Sophia Bella.

That's like the easiest handle to do. Oh, it's what's your handle? I am Sophia Bella. That's how I feel like with your handle. That's what that's made for. That's me.

So our fun episode is it is officially Hispanic Heritage Month or even the term because we're going to talk about a lot about our identities. And we're going to talk about how even the term has been

heritage month is controversial. There's a controversy over Hispanic and the use of the term and the term and then Latino or Latinx or Latina. So we're going to talk about that today. But it's just we're going to get started with some fun facts. I think maybe we should introduce the identity of us though.

So I'm Puerto Rican. My mom was born in Ibonito. And then her family moved to the Bronx and then to Indiana for some reason.

Bronx, I mean, the Bronx. She is Jenny from the block, but she's like, she was Betty from the block. So yeah. We love that. I'm still Betty from the block. We can use that because it's funny. It's. Yeah.

Give us the money. So I'm Puerto Rican. So who wants to share? I am Cuban in Mexican. So my dad is actually from Mexico. And then my grandma is from Cuba. Lavana. So then actually Cuban in Mexican on one side. And then I'm Mexican on the other side because my grandpa is Mexican. So lots of that's all I am.

Where it's like it's like that's all honey. That's fun. I know I'm more. I'm off. And then mine is kind of like, you know, a little bit different. Like I am more like European Hispanic. My my mother's side of the family is from Spain from Salamonca. Very small town.

And it's a very small percentage of myself, but I still am very proud of that. And I still like I remember little things growing up here and there and like stories I was told, but like I did not grow up speaking Spanish, which is something I.

You don't learn at school right? Yeah. I took all four years of Spanish in high school, which I know it's not like learning Spanish in the real world. That's not always how people are going to speak it.

It's, you know, I wanted to try and, you know, learn a little bit more about my background a little bit. But yeah, it's it's hard for me a little bit because I know some people are, you know, very concerned about people, you know, with, you know, appropriation and things like that.

And, you know, although I am white, I have like Spanish in my background. And I really enjoy that about myself. And I kind of have been just in recent years, like trying to learn more and more about that because it hasn't been kept alive in my family as much.

And I kind of want to stop that from happening. I don't want it to die off and just, you know, be forgotten.

And I feel that because like with me being Cuban in Mexican, like I was my grandma is Cuban. So that's all the Cuban that I have, like everything behind that is Cuban as well, my great grandma, my grandparents, like my grandpa, all of them going back is Cuban, but my dad is Mexican.

So, like growing up, the only Cuban I would get was when I was with at my grandma's house. And then when I was home, my mom would, you know, like moms, they make what your husband likes to eat.

So I would eat Mexican food at home. And I feel that because I try to keep that Cuban alive because my kids, if I mean if I marry a Cuban man, we'll see.

But as of right now, it's not looking like that. So, you know, the Cuban is kind of dying. And then the Mexican as well is going to start getting less and less.

Doesn't that seem so sad? Like, and you want to keep it? Yeah, I want to keep it.

I want to keep it. I want to keep it. I want to keep it.

It is, it's hard like when we're talking about like people get it's a very personal thing to talk about your identity.

And I feel that way though, because like I never want anyone to be offended by anything I say or do.

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