Question 1- From the inside looking out.

Interestingly enough, being of a multi-cultural descent there have been plenty of times I have been on the inside of something but felt completely like an outsider. I believe a large part of this feeling is my Hispanic heritage mixed with the fact that the only language I am fluent in is Spanish. There have been many many times where I was either in a Spanish ceremony, or a Spanish dance, singing a Spanish song, or dancing to Spanish music and although I knew the main idea of all the the words, I felt a bit alien to the true emotion of the piece. I grew up singing in different choruses and choirs and was very much into Spanish music in elementary and middle school. When asked to sing a few pieces in the talent show, I studied several songs to the last note and had my pronunciation perfect. Nonetheless, my sketchy understanding of the language in it's entirety, in the end, made me feel a bit like the player of an instrument and less like the instrument myself.
I know in my life I try to accentuate my identity and its different aspects in as many ways as possible to try and seperate me from some and group me in with others. In terms of music, I like to listen to and play a great variety of types of music. Growing up, all that my peers listened to was rap, hip-hop, and r&b. Even band members only considered the pieces they played for band "school pieces" and nothing they would listen to outside of rehearsals and practices. I found myself intrigued by all different types of music at a young age though as i mentioned before, I loved Spanish music both lyrical and non. I also developed an appreciation for punjabi and Indian music when I was in the school multi-cultural. Again I knew nothing of the language but the song swept me away every time.
My mother was the first to interest me in stepping away from the standard vantage point. In her playing what we called low-rider oldies and alternative and rock music, I became more interested and open to different sounds. She also taught me to dance to many of the lowrider oldies and faster tempo old songs she loved from the late 80's and early 90's. The rhythms intrigued me and the variation in instruments gave me chills.
With family and school being my primary methods of hearing music and helping to develop my identity through music, I became what I would like to consider, a very open minded and all appreciating if not loving musician.