Sweet Fifteen

By Cecilia Sarnowski '22

February 2019

As some of you may know this past October I celebrated my Quinceañera, my fifteenth birthday. In Latin and Hispanic a young lady celebrates her fifteenth birthday instead of her sixteen birthday, however, the ages are celebrated in similar ways. Some similarities include a party, a dress, friends, family, and various traditions.

In my family the most valued tradition is the gifting of something that would contribute to my party. For example, my tía Kataya's gift was makeup, which she later applied to my face the day of the celebration, my other aunt, Carol, made over a hundred cookies, that resembled my dress, that served as my party favors.

My dress was red, however traditionally a purple dress is worn in Mexican heritage. Another factor involving my dress that was not done traditionally traditional was the making of my dress. Traditionally each dress worn at a quince años is partially sewn by the young woman. My dress was not partially sewn by me due to the fact that I have no talent in sewing.

At the end of my party I personally said goodbye to everyone who had come and thanked them for making me feel special. That night I came to the realization that parties party’s like the one I had just had are not about the decorations, gifts, cake, or anything else that supposedly made a good party. They are about celebrating how a family and a community can come together to make the party. Without everyone who was there I would have just been a girl in a red dress sitting in an empty white room.