Essay On Other America

Life is about making choices, but some of them can even change our life. Two years ago I decided to come to America for my higher studies in Western Kentucky University. Although I knew it was really a challenge to me, this significant decision that I’ve made was going to change everything about my life and me. There are many things in life that can change the course of a person’s life. It can either make a positive impact or a negative impact on a person’s life. It’s always best to have the positive impact though. For me I have had a positive experience that has changed my life forever and that is coming to a different land and culture.

Harrington describes the many factors contributed to about 20-25% of the nation facing poverty in America in the 1960s. The loss of mining jobs caused most of the inhabitants of the small towns in the picturesque Appalachian Mountains to lose their livelihood and become poor. The inner city slums in cities like Chicago and New York were (still are) home to many African Americans, minorities, and poor whites that left their hometowns seeking jobs. These areas were high crime prone areas with rodent infested dilapidated buildings, poor sanitary conditions, inferior quality schools, and dismal healthcare (poor people got sick more often compared to middle class). The poor were thought of as “underclass” by the Middle Class America

Transitions are never an easy thing to conquer. It is often hard and stressful to cope with changes to one’s surrounding, but in the cases in which one manages to conquer this obstacle, elevation of knowledge and experience are great results gained from this achievement. I originally came from Africa and recently moved to the United States to join my mother and my step father. This great change in the things I had become accustomed to in my daily life was not easy, furthermore taking into account the fact that I had never experienced a transition so little as shifting from one residence to another.

There are events in life, which can change yourself or your way of thinking. As for me, I think the major change in my life occurred when I moved from France to America. This change has entirely affected my personality. Why? I arrived in the United States during the summer of 2002. It was really hard for me since my parents had only told me about the move in April of that year. Therefore, I did not have the time to prepare myself psychologically. My parents had talked about coming here for a very long time, even before I was born. Everything started in 1973. Indeed, my parents came from Iran to Europe in order to finish their studies and then to return back home. However, even at that time, they had not set their mind as to where they

America is a wonderful place to live, because we are free. Freedom is important, and many people in other countries do not have much freedom. I am glad I have a place like this to grow up in; where I know that I can be equal with other races and other genders. Also, I am glad I have a place like this that will respect me and I know it will be a great place to have my children grow up in.

The physical side is at one time they did love each other because kids were born. The shared activities are the fact they have children and they still do things as a family.

What it means to be American? Everybody you ask this question to will have a completely different response. Some responses might have similarities but none will be exactly the same. In the beginning of the year my response was “To be an American means having a rich history, having opportunities to better ourselves, and having freedoms.” Unfortunately not everyone has had the same opportunities or freedoms. Native Americans, who are indigenous, dealt with having their freedoms taken away, less opportunities even though they had rich history in this land before it was taken away from them. Look at what Zitkala-Sa endured. Not only that, but African Americans have fought long and hard for freedom and equality as well. W.E.B. Du Bois stood for

Defining what really is to be an American does not sound as easy as it seem. It will always be complex process. As immigration continues to fuel the growth of the population of our nation, racial and ethnic gap increase and evolve along with it. Racial and ethnic identities become more and more convoluted and difficult to understand. Race and ethnicity continue to intermingle and push a cultural shift in the US– a shift that plays a significant role in redefining America in a day-to-day basis.

A question most fascinating to me is where in history does the first hint of American ideals and identities originate from? If we were to look at where the fiery passions of an American identity first arise we have to look to where the colonists first fought for their right to be a recognized citizen of America. American colonists formed their identity through the ideas of liberty, resistance to unfair British jurisdiction, and cultural diversity. Their identities formed between the Seven Years War and the American Revolutionary War as these two events deeply brought out what the colonist’s ideals were and what they fought for so passionately. Between these years 1763 and 1775 we see the first American ideals being born in the colonies. An example of such ideals is the want and need for Liberty. A reason for wanting liberty was that British control suppressed the lives of the people living in America and over time grew harder for colonists to live with. Americans are revered to have a passionate patriotic view of their country and this is true as it is seen throughout history but in my research I will try to explain where these ideals first arose.

Americans have not only defined themselves by their religious, ethnic and racial identity, but also by their individual freedom and common values. America has become a nation where its people can fight for what they believe in. Our founding fathers have formed America to be “the land of the free and the home of the brave”. Being apart of the American culture and living on the land founded by our leaders specifies the meaning of the American Identity.

American identity has been created by many events throughout the course of history. This country was founded on the clashing and mixing of many different cultures and lifestyles. One of the most important periods of time for this country was during the period of conflict between Americans and Native Americans over land rights. Americans had an idea of manifest destiny and that this land was theirs for the taking. The Americans were going to walk through anyone who opposed them in this quest for land. The treatment of the Indians during this time period was harsh, cruel, and violent to say the least. It is in this treatment that Americans came to view the Indians as a ?racialized other? and

To begin with, poverty has existed in our society for many years and just been increasing worldwide. In the article “War on Poverty”, by Jennifer Parson talks about the poverty rate in the United States during the 1960’s. During the 1960’s in the United States the poverty level was still slightly high since it decreased in the 1930’s. Even though in the 1960’s the economy was rising and abundance of jobs were available, poverty still existed. The poor were very uneducated, had numerous health problems, had little to no money, and were unable to find good homes and jobs. Lyndon b. Johnson and his advisors started to acknowledge this problem and started the “The War on Poverty” legislation which was part of “President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society program,

An interesting thing that's happened to me was visiting my homeland this summer after 13 years. I've been away from my first home since I was 5 years old. I don't think about it much nor so I like to live in the past, but this summer I got a chance I got a chance to actually go to Cape Verde. When I arrived there it was like I didn't belong in a way, yes I am Cape verdean and yes, I know a fair amount of thing about the country but for some reason I felt like I was such an outsider. Maybe it was because of the fact that I came to America as such an young age. See I grew up with that mentality that America was the country I loved and that there's no other place I would want to be other than America. So of course my first few days I wasn't that

The summer months fill with holiday celebrations. Unfortunately, not all fun and frolic ends well. This season finds police officers on high alert in protecting the U.S. public and ensuring the fun remains safe.

The United States of America is a very unique country for numerous reasons. One particularly good reason is our great cultural diversity. Weaved deep into our history are the tales of people traveling overseas to the New World looking for better lives. Of course, not all these tales have happy endings (or happy beginnings, or any happiness anywhere in some cases), but regardless, learning about our nation’s migratory history is very important. Immigration is a very serious topic of discussion in today’s heated political climate; whatever your stance of the issue may be, it’s handy to have some knowledge of the subject, as it could affect your opinions on it in a substantial way. We should discuss where and why immigrants came to our shores, how legislators have tried to stop them, and what impact they’ve left on our country today.