Hispanic_Essay-ICS16SPI

Have you ever met a Hispanic or are friends with a Hispanic? Have they told you their challenges that their family faced to getting to the United States? I ask you this because for years, many Hispanics that were born in another country, besides the United States, have gone through many obstacles. One main obstacle that Hispanics have to overcome is stereotypes. A stereotype is to believe unfairly that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same. I'm going to discuss in the essay, what are stereotypes? How are Hispanics effected by stereotypes? I will also be discussing, who is Lionel Messi? What challenges did he overcome? People think that Hispanics major issue in their life is immigration, but you're wrong. If you read this essay you will figure out their top issue.
 * Hispanic Heritage Essay**

Feisty. Seductive. Intelligent. Used to describe individuals, these adjectives pose no particular problem. Used to describe groups of people, however, these adjectives may constitute stereotypes. For the people who don't know what a stereotype is, stereotypes are qualities assigned to groups of people related to their race, nationality and sexual orientation, to name a few. Because they generalize groups of people in manners that lead to discrimination and ignore the diversity within groups, stereotypes should be avoided. In a recent study about the effects of the public attitudes toward immigrants on United States immigration, University of Cincinnati researchers found that Latin American stereotypes have the biggest impact while perceptions of Asian, European and Middle Eastern people were not strongly linked to immigration (Overcoming Racial Stereotypes).

The most popular Hispanic many soccer fans know is Lionel Messi. He had to overcome many obstacles to get to where he is right now. For the people who don't know much about Lionel Messi, lets first know some basic facts about him. First of all, he was born on June 24, 1957, in Rosario Santa Fe. On this present day, Messi plays for Barcelona's soccer team. Who influenced Lionel Messi? Influence as a player came from his maternal grandmother, Celia, who accompanied him to training and matches. As a Catholic, Messi has been involved in charitable efforts aimed at vulnerable children. Since his grandmother died, he has celebrated his goals by looking up and pointing to the sky in tribute of his grandmother (Wikipedia). One of the main obstacles Messi had to overcome was when he was diagnosed with hormone deficiency. Without giving up, he grew the right mindset. Where most would have given up, Messi thrived. Lionel Messi was always shorter than his teammates and opponents, but instead of making it an excuse or feel self-pity, he used it to give him that extra boost of drive (Lionel Messi 's Story). In response to Messi’s own childhood medical difficulties, through his charity, he has the privilege to support Argentine children diagnosed with medical conditions by offering treatment in Spain and covering the transport, hospital, and recuperation costs. Messi had the right perspective as he used his adversity as a means of motivation that ignited his success. Messi has his own charity, donates often and is even an ambassador for UNICEF. His generous and humble ways have made him a well-rounded leader and role model. This is what makes him a genuine star. Messi understood that he had to help himself first, and when he was strong enough he was capable of helping others (Wikipedia).

In you opinion, what do you think is the top issue for Hispanics? I will give you a hint it's not immigration. Since 2007, about one-third of Hispanic registered voters have called immigration an “extremely important” issue to them personally. Even among Hispanic immigrants, the share was 35% in 2012. The economy has been another top issue among Hispanics, who said the recession hit them harder than other groups (Hispanics in America). Among Hispanics in 2012, the economy and jobs (54%) ranked about as high as education (55%) as an issue “extremely important” to them personally. The unemployment rate among Hispanics peaked at 12.3% compared with 8.9% among non-Hispanics. The unemployment rate for Hispanics has steadily fallen since then (8.9% in 2013), but remains above per-recession levels (4.9% in 2006).

In conclusion, Hispanics face many challenges when coming to the United States. One type of obstacle they need to overcome is stereotype. Stereotypes are qualities assigned to groups of people related to their race, nationality, and sexual orientation. For instance, Messi was diagnosed with hormone deficiency. But, like I said before, he didn't give up he just took that obstacle and made it into something he can strive to beat. In my opinion, that is what many Hispanics should do. Once they run into an obstacle in their life, they should find a positive outlook from it and use that to beat the obstacle. I hope you realized that Hispanics face many challenges throughout their lives and how they are effected by stereotypes.

"Hispanics in America." Infocus Magazine, National Academy of Science, Web. <[]>. "Lionel Messi's Story: 3 Success Lessons | FeelingSuccess."FeelingSuccess. N.p., 10 June 2014. Web. 08 Apr. 2016. <[]>. "Lionel Messi." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2016. <[]>. "Overcoming Racial Stereotypes University Counseling Center University of Notre Dame." University Counseling Center. University of Notre Dame., n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2016. <[]>.
 * Work Cited:**
 * From the National Academy of Science provides many sources of information.
 * Feeling success provides information from many famous people. They got the information from many different sources of information.
 * Wikipedia provides links to their sources.
 * It's University of Notre Dame, which is a successful school with resources from their website.