Tag Archive: texan

1. What Makes Me Texan By Nature – Estela Lopez

   June 28, 2023 10:09 pm Leave a Comment

    

    

   

   

   I never knew the impact of growing up in the Rio Grande Valley had on me until I moved away for college. had always heard the saying “you know you’re almost in the valley when you take the exit in Corpus”, but I wouldn’t understand the emotional meaning of it until I drove home for the first time and took the exit myself.

   

   I was born and raised by two of the most hard working individuals I know, Rosa Maria Lopez and Fernando Lopez, in the not so little city of McAllen,Texas. I never knew the sacrifice my parents made for me until I started sharing my story in college. My mother was born in Mexico and courageously came to the United States with a dream and a prayer. She has been the greatest role model in my life and has always encouraged of all of my dreams. My m​​other and father did not have the opportunity to attend college, and always made it a goal of theirs to have their only child attend college. They sacrificed continuing their education to provide for their family, and now that I have the ability to attend college and pursue a higher education, I dedicate everything I do for them.

   

   

   Growing up in the Rio Grande Valley has been a blessing. It has given me the ability to appreciate the beauty it holds even though the weather is unbearable at times. The proximity to the border and the Gulf of Mexico blesses us with an abundance of biological diversity. The true beauty of the RGV is in the people and the culture. The Tex-Mex culture has always been a defining and influential part of my life. Most of my childhood was spent traveling to Mexico to visit my mother’s side of the family. My greatest childhood memories include spending time at the ranch in Mexico with my family and eating all the delicious food I could possibly consume prepared by the locals in my grandparent’s hometown. My favorite thing to do was ride around with my grandpa in his old truck listening to corridos and looking at all the cattle and the surrounding vegetation. One of the most beautiful aspects of the ranch is a bougainvillea tree that my great-great grandfather planted for his wife, Rosa Ramirez, who I get my middle name from. This tree has survived droughts, freezes, and the hardships that ranching families face. It shows the true power and perseverance that nature has. This tree has always been so symbolic in my family because if this tree can survive anything, so can we.

    

   

   Traveling and discovering the beauty of nature is one of my favorite things to do. One of my favorite quotes comes from John Muir, “Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees”, and I couldn’t agree more. Traveling with my family across the U.S. has been one of the biggest blessings in my life. Pictures cannot describe the awe that encompasses an individual when you see first hand the beauty that nature graces us with.

   

   My time at Texas A&M University has afforded me the ability to learn more about the great state of Texas. Throughout my undergraduate and graduate education, so many professors have highlighted the diversity that Texas has. Through case studies and group discussions, it’s quite evident the pride that we all hold to be Texan. Nothing gives me greater joy than to tell my story and what it means to me to be from Texas. Walking into a room knowing that growing up in Texas has given me the strength, courage, and ability to conquer anything I set my mind to, empowers me to overcome any obstacle in my way. This is what makes me proud to be Texan by Nature.

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

2. What Makes Me Texan by Nature: Danielle Blanco

   April 25, 2023 3:59 pm Leave a Comment

   What makes me Texan by Nature? I have lived most of my time outside the great state of Texas, but the adventure that is my life eventually landed me here and taught me a whole string of lessons along the way.

   I grew up by a small lake just outside of Chicago, IL. My brother and I spent time fishing (with our Mickey Mouse fishing poles) during the summer and ice skating during the winter. We had a small foot powered paddle boat and I remember riding alongside my mother and watching the ducks as she did all the hard work paddling. Every year, we took a trip to Lake Michigan to enjoy the sunshine and the beach. I have since been told by my Puerto Rican husband that I can’t call the shores of Lake Michigan the beach, but us Midwesterners did our best!

   

   Years later, we relocated to a suburb just outside of Atlanta, GA, and my brother and I went from fishing and ice skating on the lake to goofing off in the woods behind our house. My parents always encouraged us to explore and discover, but to also respect the environment surrounding us. What we brought into our outdoor adventures always came back out with us. Leave-no-trace principles were a part of my life before I even understood what that truly meant.

   

   After college, I joined the Peace Corps. In July 2012, my plane landed in the Republic of Guinea in the middle of the night, and I started an adventure that would completely change my life. I spent the next two years in a remote village, with no cell phone service, no running water and no electricity. 

   

   When I wasn’t teaching at the local school, I was hiking the mountains in the Fouta region and riding my bike to local markets. I learned how to cook over an open fire and to use ingredients that I had never tried before. During the dry season, I would sleep outside in my hammock, so I could catch tiny amounts of breeze and appreciate the beauty of the stars. I lived my life at a slower pace, not worrying about what was next, but rather, how I could enjoy my Guinean friends and family in that moment.

   

   Texas was always part of the plan and in 2016, my husband and I finally made the move to Dallas. I remember the first time I drove down highway 75 and saw hundreds of colorful wildflowers lining the streets. It certainly made the drive to work each day more interesting. Fast forward a few years, a few houses, a new city, and two children later and now my oldest daughter picks the same colorful wildflowers to present to every friend she meets in her life. Texas has shown my family true hospitality and kindness and we are so thankful to have found our home here.

   

   My life moves at a much faster pace these days, but we do our best to stop, slow down, and appreciate the beauty around us. Just like my parents taught me, I encourage my girls to explore, learn and discover, but to respect the world around them.

   

   While I may not be Texan by birth, I am grateful to be a part of the Texan family. I am proud to be Texan by Nature and to help make my impact on our mission to support conversation across Texas!

    

3. What Makes Me Texan By Nature – Neema Mugofwa

   July 1, 2022 3:22 pm Leave a Comment

   By Neema Mugofwa, Texan by Nature Intern

   

    

    

    

    

    

   For me, Texas has always been home. No matter where I go, Texas is the place I’m most excited to get back to. I grew up in Cedar Park, going to feed the ducks at the Arboretum, begging for endless rides on the Zilker Zephyr, and stomping out new trails on the preserved land behind our house. Texas is the first place I learned to miss, and every time I’m away the Texas-sized well in my heart slowly empties until I return and can refill it with hours in the Texas sun.

   

   I went to boarding school for high school in Carpinteria, CA; a small, slow beach town that’s 15 minutes from Santa Barbara and home to the California Avocado Festival. The school was a tight-knit community on top of a hill, with mountains to the east and the ocean to the west. It was there that I went on my first backpacking trip, tended to the garden on campus, and ate honey from the hive run by the beekeeping club. Moving away from home at 14 is a pretty big step, but if Texas has taught me anything it’s that bigger is better.

   

   After fourteen years in the suburbs and four by the beach, my next stop had to be a city. I chose to go to school in the heart of Washington D.C.; a city so different from what I knew, but still allows me access to the dirt and fresh air I so need. I’m majoring in Environmental and Sustainability Science and minoring in Data Science with the hope that I can transfer the knowledge I gain in the classroom to give back and protect the nature that recharges me.

   We all know that everything is bigger in Texas, and I think that’s part of why I don’t shy away from big changes. Embracing the “big” is the Texas way. This doesn’t mean that we should disregard the small things. Instead, they become that much more important. Just like in nature, the big picture cannot be complete without each of its parts working together. From the bees to the trees to the humans that occupy any natural space, we all have to do our part to ensure the health and longevity of our planet. 

   

   Texan by Nature does just that. We embrace the big challenge of merging conservation and business by lifting up smaller initiatives that work towards a shared goal. Our mission is to make Texas more invested in conservation and sustainable development through innovation and entrepreneurship. Tackling the big by appreciating the small.

   The relationship I have with Texas is symbiotic. It has given me a home that I know well but about which I will always have more to learn, and in return, I will work to maintain the natural qualities that I, and many others, take pride in. That’s what makes me Texan by Nature.

4. What Makes Me Texan by Nature – Kayla Gillen

   June 22, 2022 2:30 pm Leave a Comment

   By Kayla Gillen, Texan by Nature Intern

   

   It seems I have always reflected upon the impact that “place” has on formulating personhood and personality. I was born in Austin to parents who had moved down from the plainlands of Kansas in search of a warm and inviting place to start a family and make some memories. The earliest moments in my first home were not too out of the ordinary: running through the fountains made by sprinklers in the prime of summer, flying endlessly and weightlessly on the swingsets at the park, and the smell of sunscreen slathered on at the pool. Most of these moments were tied together by a backdrop that characterizes Texas nature: the blue skies without a single cloud, the beating sun on the asphalt, and the relief of a shady oak tree or cold spring water.

   

   Later on, we moved just north of Austin to the Hill Country, where houses swam in a sea of green trees and the drives were fun. Each summer, I went to camp, and despite my protests to be indoors (there always seemed to be a heat warning), I made close friends and learned about the joys of telling stories on a hike in the woods or playing on the slides in the lake. One night in Girl Scouts, we got to spend the night at a zoo, seeing nocturnal animals awake and lively. I held snakes and saw an armadillo scurry around the room. I absolutely fell in love with the wildlife of my state.

   My love for adventure both locally and globally grew as I got older. As we traveled, my parents began to take my family snorkeling, changing my life and fostering the confidence I needed to become my own explorer. I fell in love with marine life and the feeling of being underwater. I knew then that all these experiences with the environment in the background would play a large part in finding my future direction.

   

   Leaving Austin proved to be extremely difficult for me, as I packed my bags to move up north to Boston (and to the cold!) for college. At Northeastern University, I am studying Environmental Engineering, and hoping to minor in ecology with a focus on Marine Biology. I am interested in using technology to enhance conservation and optimize the positive effects that humans have on their surrounding world. Even in my new environment, I think about how grateful I am to have been shaped by Texas from the start. It is hard not to miss the beautiful starry night and day trips across the state that filled me with wonder and curiosity.

   

   This deep wonder, curiosity, and long-lasting connection to the place that I call home, is what makes me Texan by Nature.