Thirty-Something

As a first-generation Mexican-American, Yvette says she grew up in two different worlds—one foot in Mexico, the other in the U.S. "At home we would cook Mexican food, my dad would listen to music [from] Mexico," she says. "But at school I had friends from all backgrounds. We watched MTV. We listened to Madonna."

Yvette says that experience allowed her to see different perspectives of life in America. "I was fortunate that because I had mastered the language, I wasn't discriminated against," she says. "But my parents had a lot of difficulties because they couldn't speak English as well."

For Yvette, like many Hispanics, family is everything. Almost every weekend, she drives two and a half hours to visit them. "Family is not just about Christmas and special occasions," she says. "It's about having that connection on a regular basis."