Identity In Terms Of My Cultural Identity

My cultural identity, as I know is Mexican American because both my parents are born in Mexico and I was born here. I can also be defined as a Chicana because that is another way used to call a Mexican American. My culture can be seen in so many different ways like for example it can be seen in food, music, religion, dance, art, festivals, and even more. Most of these traditions have changed a little bit over time as they were brought to the U.S. What I mean by that is that some of those traditions were brought from Mexico, and had a little change into them because they were combined with some traditions that have already been here in the U.S.

What is my cultural identity? Personally, I don’t think I am completely assured on what my cultural identity is, but I can do my best on explaining it. However, I won’t get started on that yet, first I’ll explain the occasion of me learning about my identity. At almost the beginning of the year, it was announced in our English class that we would be doing an essay on our cultural identities. When my teacher announced this I thought to myself, “What in the world is a cultural identity, or even my cultural identity?” In these months, we have gotten to learn the definition of culture, and what it means to us, individually., I believe that culture means a group of people that share the same customs, way of life, and beliefs. Also, over these last couple of months we have been reading texts all about people knowing and understanding their cultural identities, meanwhile I still didn’t understand my own. All I know is that I was born on February 11, 2002, I like movies and music, and my mom is from Chile and my Dad is from Virginia. Now that didn’t feel like enough for me to write on, but then I started thinking about all of the cultural differences that my parents have had raising me as a person, and how those have all combined to make me. In my short 15 years of life, the culture clashes have sometimes affected me on my thoughts and opinions, which I’ll talk about later on. As well as how movies and music have affected my perspectives and opinions.

Cultural Identity is “The definition of groups or individuals (by themselves or others) in terms of cultural or subcultural categories (including ethnicity, nationality, language, religion, and gender)” (Oxford Reference). Everyone has cultural identity even though some are unaware of theirs because their habits and traditions might be seen as normal to the person and they might not make the connection that it is a cultural tradition or connected to their cultural identity. Some people are very aware of their cultural identity and have conflict within their identity because the cultures may not coincide. Frida Kahlo’s Self Portrait: On the Borderline Between Mexico and the United States and Pat Mora’s “Legal Alien” both show cultural conflict through symbolism, conflict, and purpose.

When I think of the word “cultural identity”, I think of myself, and what makes up who I am as a person. My cultural identity influences everything about me, from the moment I wake up, to the minute I rest my head on my pillow at night. My culture influences the way I eat, speak, worship, and interact with people. However, I am not only affected by my own culture, but others’ culture as well. I am fortunate to have an extremely rich heritage, and I couldn’t be prouder of my cultural identity.

“Dale, dale, dale, No pierdas el tino; Porque si lo pierdes, Pierdes el camino”. The classic piñata song that is sung at parties. It translates to “Go, go, go, don't lose your aim; because if you lose it, you will lose your path.” The phrase ties in with my identity because of my cultural background and experiences at parties. Who am I? What is my cultural identity? The questions that have me trying my best not to have an existential crisis. I am a Mexican American, my parents were born in Jalisco and I was born in California. As for my cultural identity, I am a NSHS student that has been shaped by music, technology, and sports.

The idea of cultural identity is your feeling of belonging to a cultural group, the things that separate you from your culture and the things that bring you together with your culture. Even though members of a culture share some beliefs they aren’t exactly the same, this is the concept of cultural identity. These things that separate you from your culture, forge you into a dynamic and productive member of the same culture. My cultural identity represents who I am, if I am a productive member of society or not. It represents how I talk, what religion I am and what things I like to do. My cultural identity is represented by food, generation, nationality, ethnicity, and religion.

My cultural identity is made up of lots of things, but there are some main things that make me, me. The things that have made me who I am today has changed me and will still change me in the future. There are physical things about me that has made me what I look like and also things that I feel or think and beliefs that make me who I am.

¨Pereme-what? That is the weirdest and longest last name i've ever heard of! Where do people get last names like that?¨ My answer? Well, my grandfather is from Siberia, but my family just consider ourselves Russian. Actually not long ago my dad had told me about a city in Russia called Peremyshl, my great great grandparents, as I was told, are from there, Peremyshl is in the Kaluga Oblast near Moscow. And because of my ethnic background, I go to my church's youth, our youth really likes to go and hang out at the park or go someplace else and play volleyball.

Culture identity is who you are as a person and as a whole, especially in your own culture. Therefore, It defines your personality, actions ,and who you are going to be in the future. Culture identity represents your traditional values and how you were raised growing up and what kind of background you came from. It is the influence of your family, friends, peers and how they impact yourself and cultural identity. Your culture identity is optional and it's your own choice, if you want to be a part of a culture or race. Your parents shouldn't be the ones forming or planning your life and culture identity. Oftentimes our culture identity is a given because people assume who you are by the way you look. Culture identity is very complex yet very simple because it's representing who you are as a person.

Currently, there are four groups of important objects/ideas that make up who I am, and represents how everyone else sees me. I believe that all of these things together are what form a majority of my identity to myself and others. When an object from one of these groups are removed, a big part of my identity may be changed, and so would the relations of the other objects. When all of these objects are removed, my entire identity would be changed completely, maybe a little resemblance would be around, but there would be nothing that really defines me as me. The four groups that represent me are my culture, technology, aspects of myself, and my interests. I will now explain what are included in these groups, and their significance to structure my identity.

My family growing up consisted of my mother, three sisters and one brother. We were brought up in a single parent household. There is a nine-year age gap between my brother and I. My brother is the second youngest and then my three sisters are two years apart one from another. I now have a daughter that recently turned three. My mother of course had all the power because she was the only adult in the home. Now that we are all adults, many times they all come to me for advice when handling certain situations. I think as far we help, we all bounce ideas of one another.

Mexico is a part of my cultural identity, My family and I are all Catholics, I was raised to believe in God and La Virgen de Guadalupe. Not only that, but both of my parents are from Oaxaca, Mexico. They were born and raised in a small town close to Huitzo. A big celebration for us Mexicans is Celebrating Los Quince años this is a big deal and is mostly meant for girls. A Quinceanera is to celebrate your daughter's transition from a girl to a young lady when you reach the age of 15. I got to have a Quinceanera a couple months after my birthday because January is a cold month, so we didn't want that to interfere with the party. Having a Quinceanera takes a year or more to plan because you have to make sure everything is perfect, not only that, but it also isn't cheap at all.

Why are we born from 2 people, but are not exact copies of our them?why can we have siblings but be completely different than them? There are so many questions on cultural identity and millions of answers. Throughout the course of two months, I have been learning in class, trying to find my cultural identity .

Mexico is a part of my cultural identity, My family and I are all Catholics I was raised to belief in God and La Virgen de Guadalupe. Not only that but both of my parents are from Oaxaca, Mexico. They were born and raised in a small town close to Huitzo. A big celebration for us Mexicans is Celebrating Los Quince anos this is a big deal and is mostly meant for girls. A Quinceanera is to celebrate your daughter's transition from a girl to a young lady when you reach the age of 15. I got to have a Quinceanera a couple months after my birthday because January is a cold month so we didn't want that to interfere with the party. Having a Quinceanera takes a year or more to plan because you have to make sure everything is perfect, not only that but it also isn't cheap at all.

Cultural identity is the basis in which identification is used to express different aspects pertaining to identity and heritage. A person's cultural identity may be created by social organization, as well as traditions and customs within their lives. The two aspects that construct my cultural identity are the frequent chores I must complete every day in order to fulfill my behavioral expectations, and the youth group I attend weekly. These aspects are important to my family and me. Therefore, my identity has an immeasurable effect on my upbringing into this multi-cultural world I live in.