My Family And Social Values

It has been 11 years since we have arrived to Los Angeles, California. I can still remember the feeling of when my father had said to us that he we would be moving to a far place to try to find better jobs for my mother and him because with the two jobs my father had and the washing and ironing of other peoples clothes my mom did was not bringing enough money to support my sisters and me and did they wanted to provide a better life for my sisters and me. Mexico was such a poor country that my parents could not see themselves make enough money to support my sisters and me, let alone see us get a better education. So my parents decide to migrate to the United States with one of my mother’s brother. We arrived in Los Angeles, California on

My family comes from a humble background. My grandmother started working at the age of 13, with small jobs in order to feed her siblings. My grandfather worked many hard labor jobs in order to provide for our family. With my grandfather’s hard work, he was able to bring my grandmother, my two uncles, my father, my mother, my brother and I into the U.S. My grandparents decided to migrate to the U.S because in Mexico, they had nothing. They had enough to eat but they were still struggling to come out of poverty. When my grandparents migrated into the U.S my grandfather would still work a blue collar job, until he fractured his spine and couldn't work anymore. Nevertheless, that did not stop him from working. He began selling in swap meets, selling

Growing up, my mother always told me to be proud of my Mexican heritage. But my dad, being Mexican-American, told me to be proud of being an American and living in a place where I have endless opportunities. While I’m proud of being both, there’s no doubt that at times it can get difficult to please both sides. In the movie “Selena,” there’s a scene where Selena’s father tells her that it’s exhausting being Mexican American because you have to prove to the Mexicans how Mexican you are and you have to prove to the Americans how American you are. Watching that scene now really resonates with me because it shows the struggles of being Mexican American, especially living in America. There’s certain expectations that one has to meet to fulfill a perception.

Who would have thought that I will be, one day moving, not from state to state, but moving to a different country in its entirety; certainly, not me. I would hear all the time that the United States was the land of endless opportunities and a place that someone could start fresh. For the first twenty-five years of my life all I’ve ever known was how it was like living in Mexico City, the Mexican culture. From day to day for most my life thus far all I known was everything revolved around Mexican culture if it was to the food, the people, the city or the being around my family. The way I was raised, we were taught that no matter what was going on that we would make sure that the family was okay and if my parents were struggling with any

The Hispanic population is the fastest growing immigrant and minority population in the United States, due to its close proximity to the American border. “They currently make up about 15 percent of the U.S. population, and this figure is projected to nearly double to 29 percent by 2050 if current demographic trends continue (Passel, 2008)”. Having such a diverse Hispanic population residing together in the United States has created a unique sub-culture that has intertwined their beliefs and customs into our American way of life. Everyone that comes to this country comes for their own reasons but for many, the determination is to provide a better

Immigrating to America is a process in which many people all across the world entrust as their one way ticket to a better life. Whether they do so legally or illegally, coming to the United States ensures better opportunities, economically, politically, and so on, to people who would have otherwise been worse off in their countries of origin. Even so, the common understanding of being “better off” can be considered a misconstrued concept when it comes to living in the states. Many families that choose to immigrate to the U.S. fail to realize the cultural hardships that newcomers tend to face once on American soil. Anything from racial discrimination or bias at work, in neighborhoods, at school, etc., can all be challenges that people encounter when making a move to the U.S. Such challenges are described by Richard Rodriquez in his autobiography Hunger of Memory. In this passage, he explains how cultural differences between Mexican and American ways of life have shaped him into the person that he is today. He also chooses to highlights the problems that he faces growing up in a predominately white neighborhood, while attending a predominantly white institution. Much of his writing consists of the cultural differences and pressures he feels to assimilate to Western culture and how this process, in turn, changes him into the person that some may find to be unethical, but nonetheless, someone he is proud of.

I do not fit in one box on a federal checklist, I am of several cultures. My experience of listening to my Grandmother’s stories made me acutely aware of this fact. I am not just an American, I am a Mexican-American. Living in the Rio Grande Valley, I am part of this “third country” that Anzaldua calls the borderland (Anzaldua Borderlands 1987, 3). In this third country where the “third world grates against the first and bleeds”, the spilt blood creates a new country; an uneasy fusion of both cultures (Anzaldua Borderlands 1987, 3). In my case I was born to a father from Mexico and a mother from America, I am part of the third culture, the Mexican-American. I am proud to be an American and a Hispanic, yet America devalues me because of my heritage.

My Mother and Father relocated from Costa Rica to New York City where they met got married and where I was born. When I was just two years old, always wanting the best for us, my father moved our family from New York City to Jacksonville, FL in search of a better paying job and the American dream so he could provide us with a better quality of life. To ensure we were always clothed and feed, my father sacrificed everything for us and worked long hours to do so. Though I did have a pronounced, safe and active upbringing the North Florida school system didn’t expect much from the Hispanics that were starting to move to the then small town; unfortunately since my parents worked so much they expected the school system

Being a Hispanic can have its ups and downs. In today's modern society, there are many racial terms that are put against Hispanics. Examples of these can stretch from calling someone an illegal immigrant to making jokes that we Hispanics ‘all eat tacos’. I don’t know if racism will ever end, but I do know many people are being affected by it. So, what being a Hispanic means for me is to show the world that we are not all this stereotypical drug lord, or murderer. My parents were indeed illegal immigrants at one point. They through many difficult battles to get into this country in hopes of a better life. I want to build on from that, and show how a family from one generation to another can become the next CEO of NASA or President of the United

The culture of the Mexican people has been resilient in Southern California. The Mexican culture is a culture of pride, courage, and humbleness that is exhibited at LA Plaza De Cultura Y Artes. This resilient culture was exhibited during the tumultuous times of the early 20th century throughout Southern California. The early 20th century specifically the twenty’s through the forties was a dangerous period as many Mexican-Americans experienced levels of racial discrimination that went against their rights of being American citizens. Incidents range from forced cultural assimilation, beating, and lynchings, to mass illegal deportations. Still, after all these injustices Mexican-Americans responded by standing up and not letting racism and fear

I am the youngest of six siblings; three currently live in Mexico and four of us live here in California. Those in Durango along with my parents with no doubt identity as Mexican, those of us that live here in California also identity as Mexican; however we acknowledge that for at least the past seven years our experiences have being very different. Due to this different experiences we identity as Mexican living in the exterior. Our ancestral roots and our childhood are Mexican, but we cannot ignore the obvious difference between living here vs living in Mexico. There are also strong motives behind our immigration that make us more critical of the Mexican government and economy. Immigration causes an inevitable and irreparable change that needs to be acknowledged. As Mexicans living in the exterior we are more critical of the way of life back in Mexico just as we are critical of the way of life here in the U.S. The living in between two worlds, liminality, allows us to be critical of both and to see possible ways in with our life should be easier. My identity due to our recent difference of living experience and geographical locations slightly differences from my family living in

Values are those things that are important, meaningful and valued by an individual, a group of people, or an organization. Whether we are aware of them or not, every individual has his or her core set of values, which consist of many different kinds of values. Each individual’s value system is different from one another because individual’s values are built up through one’s life experience, environment, and family background.  Values are important to us because they reflect our personal moral standards, shape our behavior, and guide us through long life journeys.  Since we live in a highly connected society, each person’s value system does not only affect one’s own life, but also affects many other people and the

Ezequiel Pagan  Patrick Williams  English 111  16 October 2014   Family Value and Truth  Family in society is a social structure. Family plays a key role in human life because it can give  people a sense of home, or a loving and supportive group. In most cases when people think of families  they think of having a mom, dad, brother, sister.  However, nothing in life is perfect. Today, we have  separated , same sex, extended, and blended families. Society tries to explain these more contemporary  families but has a harsh way of doing so. In the essay, Stone Soup, by Barbara Kingsolver, she  discusses how society views families and in the essay, Family Values, by Richard Rodriguez, he talks  about American family values. Both

My family background on my paternal side begins with my great-grandfather, George Edward Raine Wearmouth. He was born near Sherwood Forest in England in 1903 and moved to Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada in 1925. My great grandfather liked to build things like boats and snow gear. My grandmother, Isobel Hood, was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada in 1940. She married my grandfather, Joe Hood, and moved to Texas and then Louisiana. She had three kids, Joe Nelton, Jeffrey Allan, and Jennifer Christine. My father, Jeffrey Allan Hood, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 6, 1965; he likes the outdoors and loves to fish. I am Henry Allan Hood; I was born in Shreveport, Louisiana on June 16, 2005. Just like my great grandfather and my father, I love to fish. I also like to play basketball.

What is a family? What parts make up a family? These two questions are questions that millions of adults and children ask themselves regularly. When people think about a family in their head they think of a nuclear family. Where you have a Mom, Dad, and a few kids running around a home in the middle of a suburban wasteland. That is the nuclear family that I feel most modern families strive to be like. But factors can change within a family and still be a family. I do not believe that a family is strictly based off what people see from the front porch looking in. A family is about the everlasting bond that is formed between a group of people whether they are related by blood or by other means. A family is a group of people who stick together during hard times and good times, they laugh together and they cry together. They eat meals together, party together, are weaved together in life. They are like a strip of palm leaves, and when you weave a bunch of them together it makes a basket, that is a family. The people that someone can call at two in the morning on a Wednesday just because they can’t sleep. The ones who would sacrifice anything to help them. The bond can never be broken because the word “family” holds them together like glue to wallpaper.