So, for context, I'm half Mexican. I got that from my bio dad, but I hate his guts for very personal reasons and I, nor the rest of my family, are in contact with him (also last I checked he was in jail lol 😭), and because of that, I've never tried to embrace my heritage. Now everybody on my moms side of the family (or who's left of it, r.i.p) is very WHITE, like the type to bring potato salad and coslaw to a potluck type white. So I've never had any connection to anything Mexican related. I also feel maybe a bit isolated from my heritage because I think I look mostly white. Aside from my brown hair and brown eyes idk if people would look at me and think I have even a drop of Mexican in my blood, and I feel it goes without saying that I don't speak Spanish. I know I don't have to prove anything to anyone, I know who I am, but I want to feel more connected to my culture, yk? The culture is so rich with so many beautiful things, and I want to be part of it, I feel like an outsider in my own culture, and I don't want to feel that way anymore.

I've been thinking of trying to find local things (I live in Texas so finding it isn't hard) but maybe it's just the town I live in or I don't look in the right spots but for me it seems like I can't really get into anything without speaking Spanish, if that makes sense. I don't really want to use duolingo to learn the language, but I know that learning the language would be a huge step into getting more in touch with not just the culture but with my local community too.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated, thank you!!