I Am An African-American Woman

A few years had past since my family had become a statistic, when my sister and brother left home on their way to their own goals in life. This new change produced even a greater effect on me than did the departure of my father. Now came the time where I decided if no one else had to stay in the family, neither did I. I took this opportunity to become closer to my friends and their families hoping to become more welcome there than I did at home. It was not long after my constant deviation from what was left of my family that my mother decided she was going to keep me out of the house for extended periods of time. Now the time had come for me to really find my path in life.

Growing up as a young African American girl in Philadelphia was not always easy, however, having a strong family structure, old fashion southern culture, and beliefs have molded me into the strong women that I am today. Now that I am a mother, following my family’s culture and beliefs are not always the easiest thing to do. Times has changed and I feel like I am forced to conform to the everyday social norms of America, which makes me feel impuissance. Yes, growing up was not easy, but my family and youth kept me in the dark when it came to how society treats individuals of darker complexion, what to expect once I left the confines of my family and neighborhood, and how to befriend or interact with individuals of other racial groups. All of the things that I listed were things that I had to learn through trial and error, which makes life a little harder than it already is.

Growing up, my mother always encouraged me to be involved in any activity I should interest in, whether that be soccer, softball, theater, or chess club. While my mom did not always have the extra money or time, she never told me I could not pursue a new activity. Through my mother’s actions, I have learned to never settle and to continue to fight and work for better, for myself and others. My mother’s selfless attitude and positive attitude inspire me to have the same attitude with the my future family and the people around me.

My mother, a housekeeper at a Best Western Hotel, has been recognized for her exceptional commitment, leadership, and organizational skills for maintaining a clean and hospital environment in collaboration with her colleagues. She is from the countryside of a small town in Mexico called San Juan de Los Lagos, Jalisco, a beautiful place known for its rich history and architecture. At an early age my mother lost her father during a storm in Mexico. The loss of my grandfather was devastating for he left behind a widow, a new born, and a total of 8 children. The hardship caused several of the older children to leave school and start working to support the family. My mother however, managed to remain in school but with time, the teachers that would go out to the country to teach the children stopped coming and my mother was forced to resign her education. With school no longer an option my mother began working due to the lack of resources. At this point she was only able to obtain an education up to the 6th

As a young girl growing up in Haiti, I experienced first hand that the path my parents chose for themselves was not the life that I wanted for myself. I was able to relate closely to Richard Rodriguez in “The Achievement Desire” because he faced many struggles that I too faced as a young girl. My parents always pressured me to work hard at school, I was always suppose to have my homework for Monday done by Friday night, which made

During the summer after I turned thirteen, I went on a vacation that changed my entire perspective on life. “Americans are so spoiled.” I remember hearing my mother proclaim this numerous times growing up. I would shake my head or roll my eyes every time, since I never quite understood what it meant. Of course, I had nothing to compare it to. I grew up in the suburbs in a middle class family. I never wanted for anything. I heard the stories of my mother and her siblings growing up; they lived in filth, they occasionally skipped meals, all seven kids slept huddled together on concrete floors. I heard those stories as if she was saying, “…I walked a mile to school, uphill both ways…” I never could have imagined the reality of what the stories truly meant until I visited my birthplace, the Philippines, for the first time.

As stated in Webster 's II Dictionary, a woman is defined to be an adult female human. In today 's society being an African American woman is a rigid task to live up to. It means to reside to what their ancestors have left behind, which means to be stronger than ever. Rosa Parks was strong, Harriet Tubman was also strong, and Jezebel was even stronger. So what exactly does it mean to be a woman? It means to stand up for what is right, even if that means sacrifice, it means to be strong whether it be physically, emotionally, or mentally. African American women are perceived to be the backbone of the family, meaning that even though the male may support the family financially, that the women have the emotional and mental part in the

Being a woman living in America is not only a task but a daily job. Women in the United States are not held to the same standards as men but are expected to work just as hard as a man to work in a higher role that has normally dominated by men. Women have to appear just a tough as a man if not tougher, show no emotion and also think like a man.

I am an African American, male, Combat Veteran of the Gulf War who entered the world with a hug. My grandmother Louise Hurd, who we called Mama Lou, delivered me in the back room of her house, located in Los Angeles, California in a small community called Watts. Mama Lou had a warm soul and loved everyone; she had 12 children and 48 grandchildren. Sundays was the day of unity, we all met at her house, where my cousin and I would spend the entire afternoon playing. When it was time to leave, the remaining kids would run along side of the car waving. These first experiences in the importance of human relationships had a lasting effect on me, which is believed to have given me the ability to easily form

For this project I interviewed my mom, Lynn Pasko. During the course of doing this project and going through the questions, it made me realize how much I didn’t know about my mother. It never occurred to me how times have changed and how different things are now. I learned a lot about my mother that I did not know. Some of these include how my mother moved schools every year of her schooling up until her last half of junior year. I couldn’t imagine having to go to a new school every year. Not to mention how many friends she lost contact with and how hard it was to be the new kid every year. Another thing that had really surprised me was the hardest that she had to do. The hardest thing my mother had to do was after 9/11 happened, she had to write goodbye letters to my sister and I in case anything had happened to them on their way to Hawaii. Both my mother and father thought about taking different planes just incase if something happened to one of them, the other would still be there for me and my sister.

Trees do not start off touching the stars. First, their roots dig deep into the earth and grasp onto any nutrients created by the trees that fell before them. They have to dig deep, to grow tall. As a product of those who came before me, I have to do the same. I want to be a Supreme Court Justice. I look up to those like Thurgood Marshall and Katherine Johnson, who paved the way for other minorities in their field. To date, there hasn't been an African-American female in that honorable black robe...I plan on being that female. There hasn't been a better time than this to show the world that my branches won't falter in the wind, and that my leaves won't fall at the first sight of snow. I need to be the change that I want to see in the world.

Growing up in one of the most neglected zip codes of Miami, I have faced challenging obstacles all my life. These challenges were not only limited to financial worries, they included peer issues as well as moral ones. Growing up in a neighborhood where police lights and drug dealing were the norm taught me valuable life lessons that most people could never understand. I believe this upbringing has molded me into the person I am today, a person who sees hardships as a way to grow and excel, a person who sees life through a producer mindset, rather than a consumer one.

Having the support of one's family when making life impacting decisions can be very helpful to figuring out the outcome of those decisions. Someone with a supporting family may not have the same self conflicting struggles as someone whose family does not support their decisions. Using Annie Needposh Iserhoff’s chapter “Experts from My Life” originally published in a collection of essays from women graduates of McGill University (collected in Writing As Reflective Action). We will explore the events that took place in her life that lead her to where she is today, and how things may have turned out differently for Iserhoff if she had a better support system at home like writers Todd D. Snyder and bell hooks.

I am an African American female. The color of my skin is black and both my parents are African Americans. However, my descendants include Native American relatives from Saluda, North Carolina. Therefore, I am a healthy heterosexual female raised in a two-parent household; and my family includes two brothers and seven sisters. Currently, I am married with seven children; five sons and two daughters.

I was born and raised in a small town in California called Paradise. I was homeschooled from kindergarten to fifth grade. In middle school, I attended a small charter school. My whole family is very close and most of them all live in the same town. Growing up I lived right across the street from my three cousins and my aunt and uncle, we are all very close. My cousins became my first friends it was a long time before I had friends that were not related to me. I just recently moved here to Hawaii to study nursing at Chaminade University. This has been my first experience living on my own. I have had some great experiences while attending Chaminade University. I have meet many different people from diverse cultures. Through this paper, I will