I was born in Miami to a Cuban family. I am a first generation American.

Throughout my childhood I was regularly teased about my low level Spanish mainly by my family and, sometimes friends when speaking to their parents. This made me very self-conscious and I avoided speaking and practicing.

When I was around 19-20 years old, I started passively working on becoming a better speaker. I am 24 now, and I am currently speaking my best Spanish.

My frustration comes from the fact that I feel stuck at a low B2 intermediate level. I feel the gaps in my vocabulary as I speak, and my grammar needs improvement. I can't communicate as effectively as I need to.

This is especially relevant in my life now, as I recently started working in an office in downtown Miami with a lot of people from Latin America and Spain. Some people will speak to me in Spanish, and others won't due to the perception of my proficiency. I don't want to be the only person here speaking English.

Do you have any general advice on being confident, and not getting nervous in speaking situations where I want to prove myself?

Also any advice on how I can get to a C1-C2+ level? How can I structure my learning? Are there any highly respected study materials/sources/strategies?