“Just because we are ilegales doesn’t mean we cannot dream.”

Reyna dreams of being a professional writer, having a home, and building a family, which she pursues with single-minded focus. Despite his shortcomings, Reyna’s father encourages her to dream. In this quote, he emphasizes that the family’s lack of legal standing in the US should not prevent them from dreaming. It was his dream for a better future that prompted him to leave Mexico and to legalize his family’s status in the US.

“Where are you from?”

This seemingly innocent question is highly fraught when a white person asks it of a person of color. Reyna is unsure how to respond when her college roommate, Carolyn, asks her where she is from. Like many immigrants, Reyna’s sense of identity is complex, encompassing her place of birth, nationality, culture, the city where she currently lives, and other factors. The question underscores Reyna’s foreignness, prompting her to raise her guard. 

“Having the name Reyna Grande, ‘the big queen,’ when you are only five feet tall sets you up for a lifetime of ridicule.” 

This quote addresses a key theme in Reyna’s memoir: identity. Reyna is apprehensive when her Theory and Interpretation professor takes roll call at the end class, bracing herself for ridicule. Instead, her professor calls out the name Renée Grand. As embarrassed as she is about her name, she resists its anglicization. Reyna longs to live up to the grandiose name her mother gave her at birth.