Thank you for this thoughtful response! I often hear “disenfranchised,” and I wonder, from what? From whom? Are the majority the “franchise” I should seek acceptance from or approval from? Perhaps there’s a “franchise” that I fit into as I am. And you make a compelling case with the statistical hypothesis about Latinas falling. It got my attention!

After some thought, though … what if falling isn’t something that’s inherent to being Latina? What if it’s other factors? What if there isn’t a true common thread between all of them? Maybe it isn’t causal. I consider my own trek. Did the girl who said no when I asked her out in high school do so because I’m Latino — or because I’m unattractive to her?

Did I miss jobs or invitations based on my race? Or do I smell funny to them? I don’t know.

The only true factor I know is me. Not Latino me, or Broncos fan me, or left-handed me. Just, me. To speculate otherwise could become exhausting. And it’s already enough effort to just make it by to day in this beautiful journey of my life.