Cultural Autobiography: Growing Up In A Military Family

Growing up as the son of a career Naval Officer, I have experienced a background that varies greatly from that of an applicant who has grown up in a strictly civilian family. The constant relocation, the exciting places I have lived, and the countless great, unique people I have met, have all contributed that that he unique childhood I have enjoyed. While at times my identity as a military child has made life challenging and difficult, I strongly believe that it has made me a stronger, more adaptable person because I have been molded by past experiences and I don't think that my application would be complete without this information.

In today's world, there are translators by the dozen available in every known app store. People use them to pass foreign language classes before they even consider using their dusty, brittle textbook. It is virtually unheard of to be a monolingual English speaker in 2017. However, the question is still brought up pertaining to the advantages of being a monolinguist, are monolingual English speakers at a disadvantage? Scholars have brought up the assertion that it will help them understand the English language more adequately (Source D), even to examine if it will help you think better. Moreover, they object, being able to know and understand multiple languages may be your passion and help you entangle yourself with the world. Whereas in

At first, speaking English was a bit difficult because I did not feel confident using it with others. The most advanced students sometimes made fun of my English. The students who spoke my own language made more fun of me than the ones who were fluent in English. The teasing by the students made me feel embarrassed and shy to speak the English language, giving me a fear of being made fun of or looked at differently. Practicing the English language with my own siblings and playing with the neighborhood kids who already managed the language gave me more confidence to speak English. Taking Spanish courses in school was also an advantage, which helped me to get better at my native language and kept me from losing it.

I’m a military child. Change was instilled in me since my birth in Spain. My childhood was spent briefly in Europe, the east coast of the U.S, and eventually the Midwest. This change of scenery, schools, friends, and just about everything else in my life led me to be the person I am today. Travelling was amusing and I enjoyed change of pace every couple of years, but it wasn’t easy. I learned early on that getting attached to people wasn’t a good idea and should be avoided in preparation for the next move. This led me to being an incredibly shy child who couldn’t open up to people. The world I come from is an adventurous but problematic one. When I concluded making friends would assist with each transition I found myself too terrified to attempt

From the age of two till I was five I lived in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. This is where I gained my southern draw (which still comes out if I happen to be speaking to someone else who has one). At the age of six to nine I had the opportunity to live in Anchorage, Alaska. This is where I learned to want to always be outside exploring or building things. At the age of 10 my father was stationed to Fort Hood, Texas where I followed suit. Texas would eventually be where I would call home. I went to middle school at Smith Middle School and High School at Ellison High School. I graduated Ellison High School in 2002 and worked various jobs from a warehouse manager to a janitor. While some of the management jobs paid well they did not have any sense of fulfillment or pride. Just after graduating High School I began to date my now wife Marissa. We had met at a BBQ that one of my fathers soldiers had been throwing. Both her father and my father were in the same unit together. I moved from Fort Hood to Fort Huachuca when my father was

I was born in Dallas, Texas but when I was 3 years old I was taken to my parents’ home country, Mexico. My mother took my younger sister and me to Mexico while my father stayed in the United States and worked to provide for us. I spend 6 years in Mexico and I went to school there. I had an amazing childhood in the place my parents were born and had the opportunity to grow up around my family and culture. I became a fond lover of the traditions and the peaceful life of what I consider my country. I have many amazing memories from living in Mexico. The way everything called for a celebration where everyone was invited. The dedication that every festival I attended showed. Simply all the traditions that even when I live miles away from Mexico have stuck with me, things I still celebrate with my family every year. I love to be able to call myself Mexican American and to be able to share my parents. My love for Mexican culture plays a role in my decision to want to go to Spain. I want to see where some of the customs I know originated from and see where my ancestors came from.

I am very fluent in Spanish now and I my young children are as well. So even speaking another language is helping us grow. Diversity in society helps us grow as individuals and opens our minds to different ways of life.

When I first saw in the syllabus the type of paper we would be writing for this course I thought about what culture means to me. What was the culture of my family? Where did we come from? How did we end up in Virginia? How did we end up believing some of the things we believe? To me culture was basically how I was raised—my behaviors, beliefs, values, and ideas cultivated during my youth and its evolvement as I grew into an adult. This truly was to be a very interesting and involved quest for information. Though I attempted to use websites such as www.genealogy.com and www.ancestry.com, I found most of the information from a couple of the adults in my family. Adults? I, too, am an adult, but in my family, age comes

Growing up as a military child and living all over the world, I was afforded many

As a result, speaking Spanish opens a greater door of opportunities by simply being able to translate and communicate information in Spanish. I have the advantage of reading an article or book in Spanish and being able to acknowledge every piece of information a monolingual would not be able to do. For my natives class I was able to read books and do projects that had to do with my heritage and language. For example, some books that I was able to read were Macario, Bendiceme Ultima, and Cuando era Puertorriquena by reading this books it helped understand the Spanish language. I realized that by talking and reading in Spanish it has helped me alot in my communication and fluency skills. Spanish goes beyond communicating with my family and community because of its diversity I can apply it to other academic subjects. For example, in history I am able to make connections on past events that have now became a

If immigrants were required to learn the English language, it would be beneficial to them in the long run. To begin, knowing two languages can help the students at school. If a new student moved to Butler County High School, it would be difficult to make friends if they could not speak English; therefore, knowing English can help make friends at school. Also, knowing English can make classes easier to understand, and easier for teachers to lecture to the immigrants. If the teachers do not know much about the language, it will make their job of teaching them very, very difficult. Next, immigrants who are bilingual have a better job experience. Working in a care-giving facility, the employees’ job becomes complicated if a patient speaks a

At an early age, I have always thought not having English as my first language was a disadvantage. I always wish I was born in America where I can have English as my first language so I would easily fit in at school and not have people making fun of mine accent. But now looking back I’m glad that I was be able to still know how to read and write Vietnamese. Being a bilingual is an advantage rather than disadvantage. By knowing two different languages I can be able to help translate to people in the community.

If you were in America and you needed a job but you didn’t speak english well, your job options would be limited. In the past you would be subject to a form of labor. Nowadays, though, the language you speak is not as big of a deal. That is because of modern technology and more people who speak multiple languages. Speaking of which, if you speak multiple languages fluently that opens the door for a lot more opportunities. Many large companies need translators. You could get a job, having very little education, just for being able to fluently speak multiple

How does a person begin to write a narrative of their own life, relating events and ideas back to their own culture? Well, first, I’d like to give some baseline information about myself. I am a white, middle-class, educated, mid-western, Christian female athlete. I come from a traditional family with a mother, father, one brother, and two sisters. Taking those characteristics into account, I would say that I am a privileged member of society, and being privileged has been part of my culture. In addition, the largest influences on my life and worldview were my family, school, church, and the area I grew up.

I was born and raised into a hardworking family that are the complete opposite of culture alienators. My siblings and I are all first generation in America on my mom's side and second generation on my dad's side. Life was very hard for my parents to raise all seven of us and depended on my grandparents for most of their help. Being that my grandparents brought all nine of their kids to America from Belize it was also very hard for them so survive and find stability. Most families that come to America from a third world country usually find it very difficult to keep up family traditions and sometimes lose all contact. My family found a way to stay very close and keep the Belizean culture very alive still to this day. As you can tell by now