Sofrito by Amanda

Sofrito by Amanda - January 2022 Scholarship Essay

As a first-generation college student and Latina, being considered as an applicant for Varsity Tutor’s Scholarship is an honor. A challenge that has been ingrained in me since I was a child, and continues to have an impact on me is my connection to my culture and a struggling sense of identity. However, I was able to embrace this challenge and create a goal to use my relationship to my culture as a way to serve my community as well as it serving as a motivator for personal, academic, and career goals.

The aroma of blended peppers, onions, cilantro filled the air. In our small, squared kitchen my grandma and I prepare sofrito-- a cornerstone Puerto Rican seasoning. Observing this one-of-a-kind recipe that has been passed down from generation to generation, I was curious as to why it had such importance to the quality of our food. This question was the start of memorable cooking lessons taught by my grandmother.

As I hurried to the kitchen, my grandma laid out all the ingredients for my first lesson: empanadas. With each session, I began to familiarize myself with textures, colors, and smells--how soft a pot of rice should be or how tender pernil (pork shoulder) should feel. Each recipe my grandma taught me I began to document in my owl-printed lined notebook. With each moment spent learning, I fell in love with cooking foods that were so prominent in my culture.

"El amor que pones en la comida lo sirves.”

Throughout each experience, the values my grandma instilled resonated with me for years to come. She would repeatedly say “The love you put into cooking shows in the food you serve.” As a Hispanic-American, the tether to my heritage had been damaged by self-hatred and insecurities. While I was stereotyped by my non-Hispanic peers, I also felt excluded from my Spanish-speaking family. Yearning for a sense of belonging, I would desperately attempt to fit into the expectations of both my family and friends; however, cooking became an outlet that birthed a new way of connecting to my culture. I now felt proud to prepare and serve foods that represented my identity to my family and community. As an officer of my school’s Spanish Honor Society, I had the opportunity to showcase my cooking skills. The empanadas I learned to make at my first cooking lesson, formed the smiles of hundreds of people. Each tray sold out in minutes, only leaving crumbs.

The euphoric feeling on that day persevered in other meaningful ways as I sought to follow in my grandmother’s footsteps. I wanted to inspire my community and had the chance to do so by coordinating World Thinking Day, an event that celebrates the rich culture and art of various countries. Witnessing the vibrant smiles and curious eyes of younger Girl Scouts was an unparalleled experience. Each table was swarmed by curious onlookers participating in cultural activities ranging from origami to decorating crêpes, all proudly displaying and appreciating diverse traditions.

While these practical skills gifted happiness and fulfillment to those around me, they also provided a blanket of comfort. Knowing that the recipes I learn will forever be ingrained within me, I am constantly reminded that cooking is a form of my cultural expression that will never be erased. The insecurities that once taunted me withered, and I began to develop my cultural individuality as an independent and prideful Puerto Rican girl. Fascinated with this learning experience, I crossed a threshold that revealed my passion for learning about various cultures.

As I further my academic career, the same burning curiosity that started life-changing cooking lessons fuels my desire to explore outside my country. Currently, I am a freshman at Johns Hopkins, studying International Studies and Economics, with a possible minor in Computer Science. I am learning Chinese and plan to further my knowledge in Spanish as well. Throughout my college years, I would like to focus on economic and environmental issues occurring in the Caribbean and Latin America, more specifically Puerto Rico. I hope to intern abroad in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic at a company that focuses on globalization and the impact it has on the socio-economic realities that affect the development of islands in the Caribbean. Due to these flexible research and internship programs, I can study the consequences of globalization and the rise of private sectors not only in Latin American and Caribbean countries, and in turn collaborate with like-minded students, and learn from the environment, culture, and people around me.

According to popular belief, food is where the heart and soul is. I await the endless possibilities my academic path holds--from being able to connect with other students and form cultural ties, to researching how cultural factors affect political and business affairs, the foundation provided by my grandmother’s teaching guides my understanding of the world around me. The unforgettable lessons taught by a woman I deeply admire motivates me to not only put my love into the food I serve, but implement it in my own passions, culture, and intellectual curiosity- which all started with the blending of vegetables.