Identity Crisis In My Ghana

It was my senior year in high school when my mom told me that my cousin, Mayra, had given birth to a baby girl. However, child protective services decided that Mayra wasn’t adequate to take care of the child; due to her drug abuse. Child protective services from Mexico were trying to place the baby with close relatives. Sadly, there was only three choices, her grandma, my aunt Gloria, and myself. The choices were few and the family small.

The Ashanti people live in central Ghana in western Africa approximately 300km. away from the coast. This is a major ethnic group of the Akans in Ghana, colonized by British until 1957. To this particular group, the family and the mother’s clan are most important. A child is said to inherit the father’s soul or spirit (ntoro) and from the mother a child receives flesh and blood (mogya). Instrument such as talking

Culture is one of the most relevant elements that can define not only a society but also a country’s cumulative beliefs and system. Often noted as the origins of a country, culture is definitive in the sense that it harbors all the elements that can provide justification on the traditions and norms set by the society for its members. More often than not, the society members follow norms in order to create a harmonious community, and the beliefs and the traditions serve as the poles or grounding rules for each member to follow. Culture is very dynamic in the way that it can change over a variety of foreign influences but what is permanent about it is that original elements about it often lingers with the influences, therefore making it multi-faceted and broad. More importantly, culture serves as an individual and unique trait each society has, and therefore sets it apart from other countries and other societies.

I was raised and adopted by my grandparents, after both of my parents decided to

I am beyond proud to be a first-generation Ghanaian and American living in America because of the experiences from both these two cultures that have molded me into the young and academic woman I am today. However, I am also aware of the privilege I have of being a Ghanaian-American. Coming from a background as diverse as mine, I had a lot of access to resources that could only come from my status as a Ghanaian-American. In Ghana, I had a roof over my head, never worried about where my next meal came from and went to some of the best private schools. However, I would be doing myself a disservice if I turned a blind eye to the many socio-economic issues that plagued my surroundings. There are so many social problems that are of concern to me.

My parents sent me to China soon after I was born to be in the care of my grandparents due to financial circumstances. For five years, I regarded my grandparents as my parental figures, and I always questioned why my “parents” were so old compared to my friends’ parents. I realized the truth the first time my mom called me and my grandparents told me who she was. After that phone call, my parents started to call me more frequently, and I always asked them questions about their life, as I was curious. Usually, I would forget these conversations, but sometimes, after a call, I wondered how different their lives were from mine’s; I imagined them as being wealthy and living in a big house. While I enjoyed talking to them, I never imagined the day that I would receive the shocking news that I was going to move to America to live with my

I first learned about the world from my parents. Their viewpoints on people and their opinions about issues shaped my perceptions growing up. After interacting with people outside of my house, however, I began to doubt the explanations that my parents offered about issues like race and religion. For example, I distinctly remember my dad telling me to avoid befriending black people due to their “inherent aggressive behavior.” Then, I moved schools in third grade and started interacting with African American kids my age while also learning about the civil rights movement and segregation. With these new experiences and education, I realized that what my parents said to me was wrong and how our negative stereotypes of African Americans are harmful. I shared my findings with them, but they simply shrugged my comments off and kept their bigoted opinions firm despite everything I said. I think it was at that moment I realized

Throughout my life I never really had parents; coming home to a drug abuser who was constantly zoned out was a normal day. I wasn't loved or even thought of as a child. My biological parents never once came to my awards or conferences. I used to lie to my childhood friends and say that my parents had to constantly work. In reality they didn't care at all.As a child I had both of my parents; when I grew up everything collapsed. I was in 7th grade when I realized that my life would change dramatically. My biological mother fell deeply into drugs, as for my biological father he left without saying anything. At the age of 12 , I was placed with a family friend, while my biological mother was in rehabilitation.

Many children were told that their parents had died or abandoned them, and many never knew where they had been taken from or who their biological families were

In 1992, a woman gave birth to my sister and I. Due to unknown reasons, at some point during the first year, she left her twins at the doorsteps of a local police station. My sister and I were eventually placed in an orphanage in Addis Ababa, where we would then go on to be adopted and brought to the US. We grew up in a loving home with loving parents, and all of our needs met. Our childhood was ideal in many ways and I grew feeling up very blessed. Our adopted mother loved us so deeply, and our father was always a provider, stable, loving father.

Poor education in school and no access to money is no excuse to give up because if one does not have an adequate education, they cannot qualify for a degree that will potentially elevate their socioeconomic status. Born into a struggler family infested with homelessness, destitution, and poverty, I chose to educate myself outside of the classroom because my school failed to provide an adequate education to be successful in today’s world. I chose to study abroad in France, which was a complete learning experience in itself. Despite being in a struggler school, an exchange student foundation, American Field Service (AFS), presented the idea of studying abroad. They offered anyone who wanted to embark on this once in a lifetime journey a full scholarship of $15,000. Initially, I thought that it was too good to be true, but I ended up being the only student in my school that went abroad for a year. After experiencing an entirely different way of life, I recognized the historical differences of

Being Angolan and having the opportunity to be here in United States is a chance i could not have expected such opportunity that I am truly grateful for this amazing opportunity and I will always value the education I received at Houston Community College. It my first step to complete a B.S in engineering, I must say that my first few steps falted a I feared failure. Nevertheless, one person during one semester changed my life, she was my communication instructor, Dr. Washington saw beyond my self-doubt and led me to believe I could achieve any goal. Her confidence in me changed my self-perception through her eyes and help. I truly become the confident and ambitious young man she saw. Now that is time to finish this journey and fulfil her

There were many economic struggles in Ghana that put sever stress on the residents. Because of the lack of money there are a huge number of people that are unemployed and will continue to be for a very long amount of time. Those between the ages of 18 and 35 are most commonly struggling through being jobless but this makes up so much of Ghana’s population. With a scarcity of money, infrastructural struggles begin to occur which is not easy to deal with. They barely have electricity, running water, heat, etc. and this can result in many uncomfortable results.

At the age of six I was officially adopted by the Henry family. My name was changed, my history was left behind. Not only was my history left behind, however, so where my siblings. My parents were not able to adopt us all, causing all of to have to split up. This is one of the most traumatic moments in my life. I still remember being pried from my little brother’s arms, one of the most traumatic events in my life. I would have to say I was going through Identity versus role confusion at this time. Being adopted, for a long time, meant to me that I did not belong. I did not know who my brothers and sisters were. I also didn’t know my mother and father, which caused an emotional hit on me. This caused me to feel like I didn’t have an identity. I was confused and was unsure of how to deal with the stress that was being thrown at me.

In the US, I witnessed the challenges of many Diaspora members, and I kept thinking about strategies to succeed and help others. While I was struggling to achieve my American dream that at one point I thought was an American nightmare, relatives and friends in Africa were unceasingly asking for my financial help more than I could and not realizing that, in order to obtain my doctorate, I had to go