Hello, it’s me

Hello! My name is Karen Gutierrez and I am a public relations major (just like everyone else in this class!) and I am minoring in business and Spanish. I was born in Dallas, TX but both my parents were born and raised in Monterrey, MX and came to the U.S in 1992. Growing up with a Mexican culture in an American society really makes me believe I have the best of both worlds, like Hannah Montana would say!

Growing up with two cultures made me the person I am. Mexican values are very traditional and conservative with very rich culture, while America values can be seen as more free and open with opportunity.  Two main facts that show I am an American child with Mexican parents 1) I love Tex Mex, but I will not eat there if their salsa isn’t near perfection. 2) I have developed a really bad case of Spanglish. Having the best of both worlds can be difficult, having very tradition Mexican parents it is hard for them to adapt to everything in the U.S. There is definitely a lot of compromising that goes on but that’s why I think there’s something so unique about my family.

I wish I could say I’m a super adventurous person that hikes mountains every other weekends and runs marathons twice a year but that’s a no from me. If I’m not in class or doing homework I am most likely watching some sort of reality show or Netflix. My favorite shows include the Bachelor, Friends and New Girl (so basic, it hurts). I also love watching YouTube videos of any kind, I just click whatever video is recommended and it’s an everlasting cycle. And if there’s some sort of technology outage I love organizing and cleaning my room.

I grew up always following the rules and always going with the flow of what I was supposed to be doing. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school where everything and everyone around you changes. Everyone my age was taking big decisions whether continuing their education or going straight to work and that’s when I kind of realized that I wanted to strive beyond my peers. I am a first generation college student and that’s sort of my drive behind everything I do. I didn’t have anyone to look up to and I want to be that role model for other kids in my family. My parents and little bother are definitely my motivation. I work very hard just to make sure I can make them proud and know that this sacrifice they made of sending me to college was very well worth it.

Design is something I wish I was good at. I love being organized and I love the idea of creativity and imagination but creativity is something I lack. I think design is very important to an individual because it allows us to express ourselves in a different way, but in a way that we feel represents us completely. Learning what kind of person we are through design will allow us to create ideas and projects that will allow other people to see a reflection of our work. I am very excited for this course and hope that the work I produce will be Pinterest worthy!