Para los Sueños of My People

Cassidy Reyna, Managing Editor of Arts and Design at DÍG en Español taking a picture outside of their graduation ceremony with their grandparent and sibling. Photo Credits: Cassidy Reyna

Buenos días a todos and good morning everyone! First off I would like to congratulate everyone in this room; please give it up for yourselves! My name is Cassidy Reyna; I am from East Los Angeles, CA and I am a transfer student from East Los Angeles College (go Huskies) and now, a graduate from Cal State Long Beach.

Cassidy Reyna’s graduation cap saying “Final Girl” (in reference to the horror movie character trope) with pictures of her loved ones. Photo Credits: Cassidy Reyna

Since I was a little girl, I’ve had so many dreams and aspirations. When I was 4, I wanted to be a princess, and when I was 8 I wanted to be a surgeon because I would watch Untold Stories of The E.R. with my dad. As much as I love shows about doctors and horror movies, I’m actually quite squeamish, so that aspiration/dream quickly went out the window. No aguanto ver sangre o órganos en la vida real; me dan miedo, aunque me encanten las películas de terror, ¡qué irónico!

When I was 14, I honestly lost my way due to mental health struggles such as anxiety and depression. 

Cassidy Reyna pictured with their mother outside of their graduation ceremony. Photo Credits: Cassidy Reyna

He superado estos obstáculos y no ha sido nada fácil pero ahora se donde quedo parada. Como estudiante universitaria de primera generación, y gente Chicana de segunda generación por parte de mi mamá de Guadalajara y Jocotepec, y tercera generación por parte de mi papá de Sonora con sangre nativa Yaqui. Elegí luchar, no solo por mí, sino por mi familia tambien.

Cassidy Reyna pictured with their partner outside of their graduation ceremony at Cal State Long Beach. Photo Credits: Cassidy Reyna

To be completely transparent, I was supposed to attend the University of Oregon, but decided to stay home in East L.A. to help me/my family save money. It was hard, but I knew it would be for the best because, looking back now, I would not be who I am today, without my loved ones, who are sitting in the bleachers today; they know exactly who they are and I love them so much, without staying, I wouldn’t be, what I like to call myself, an Emo journalist, una periodista rockera. like the meme “Soy rockera como Alejandra Guzman!”

I am a firm believer that even though what we’ve gone through has put us through hell and back, it’s built us to be stronger. 

Cassidy pictured with her family outside of Angel Stadium. Photo Credits: Cassidy Reyna

I think it’s important to note that all of us standing here today with our future ahead of us, it’s okay to take it easy and make mistakes. It’s okay to lose your way and find it all over again. Nothing is simple.Nothing is easy, if it was, I think we would be experts at this thing called life. Just like the theme of our ceremony, “For the dreams of my people,” I find that all of our dreams, no matter what they are, make our people proud because we are doing it for us and we are doing it for them.

Es como mi abuela y mi mamá siempre han dicho: "No hagas cosas malas que se ven bien y cosas buenas que se ven mal". With that in mind, I encourage all of you to do things for you;, for your own dreams and happiness. At the end of the day, we need to take care of ourselves. If there’s anything we’ve learned from the pandemic, it’s to care for yourself. We have fought to be exactly where we are today, everything we’ve done to get here matters. Don’t belittle yourself because these are your dreams. This is why we’re here.

Cassidy Reyna taking a selfie outside their graduation ceremony. Photo Credits: Cassidy Reyna

Whether we took our time to get here and finally found our place, or knew right away. 

Para nadie es perfecto el camino y eso está bien.

We have all fought some sort of fight to be where we are now, nothing will ever diminish the hard work you have all put into being here. This isn’t just for our dreams and the fight for our families, but for us, as well.

For me, it’s for the little girl who was kind to all despite the roughness of the world. I am being the person that little me needed.

As quoted by my favorite artist Halsey, “I gotta recognize the weapon in my mind,” and I have.

For the class of 2023 this is for us.