My Family Culture

I grew up learning everything myself and my mom never really listened to me and because of that now I'm used to keeping everything to myself and she wonders why but that is not her fault. I had to survive, that’s what I call it because you either had to hide the certain special things you wanted and expect the worst out of your older brothers. There were never any words of advice from my older brothers towards me and at the moment given I was only allowed to see my father on the weekends. When my father said specific things he said is using big words, and at the moment I was too young and he was very wise as he had been in my position. My two older brothers have a different dad than my older brother and I. The time my mom was struggling in working and not receiving help from no one and had to maintain 4 male children that fought for food as it was scarce and fought for clothing even if it was too big or too small. This has made me realize that the image a

I am an Indian who was born and raised in America. This means that I have been affected by both American and Indian cultures. One of the biggest lesson imparted on me from Indian culture was about language. In Indian culture, a person shows respect to everyone. We call adults not related to us uncle and auntie as a sign of respect towards our elders. We even call kids older than us Chetan and Chachi in the part of India that my family comes from since they are technically our elders as well. Since the use of expletives would be considered disrespectful, it was forbidden in my family.

What would the surrounding environment be like for someone who’s from a small country? Many family have struggled to get through a tough life especially in an unindustrialized country, but there is always a brighter way of seeing thing. There are many stereotyping that all Asian country and culture are the same. But each Asian culture has something unique about them that set them apart from the other country. Vietnam has its own unique cultures that other culture does not have. There all many little things I have experienced and learned from my Vietnam traditions and culture that have help shaped me into the person I am today. My parents have also taught me so many things since I was born so I won’t forget the Viet culture in my family.

As, we settled in Palatine, without a father in my life, I basically became a father and a caregiver to my brother and sister. Many days and nights, my Mother, had to go out and run some errands, there would never be anyone to babysit my siblings especially since money is so tight. I would be the one watching them, many times it could be for hours and other times it could be all day. They would often have seizures, which I learned how to take care of and learned how to distribute the emergency medication. Often, I would have to come home from school or practice and help make dinner, clean the house, or help get my brother and sister ready for bed. After doing all of these chores to help my Mother out , and i would still be able to crank out my homework, and still manage to get great grades, because I knew the importance of them. This has always been a stressful situation in my life. My life has made me a better person, everything has matured me, and made me a better person. All of this is a part of my identity/background , it's made me who I am, and prepared me for the life. I'm not the normal football jock, this is my

My father's father was a raging drunk who became extremely violent when intoxicated. He was physically and emotionally abusive towards my father and his two siblings He was also sexually abusive towards my father and his two siblings. My grandfather would often become physically abuse towards my grandmother, who would then turn on my father and his siblings. My father, and his siblings, all struggled with alcohol and drug abuse issues, which continued into their married lives. My mother and father were married when they were both very young by today's standards. My mother had just turned 20 and my father was just a couple months shy of his 24th birthday. According to my mother things were harmonious for the first few months. They both got along well and my father was the "picture perfect" husband. The first instance of physical abuse between my mother and father occurred while she was still pregnant with me, when he began choking her for attempting to leave him. According to my mother, the first instance of physical abuse with me occurred when I was four years of age. The first instance of sexual abuse with me occurred when I was around the age of 6 or

As the eldest of three kids, I am who I am because of my younger sister and brother. Coming from an immigrant family, my parents worked full time at their restaurant. They had to care for the customers, the finances, kitchen supplies, and food; money was their priority because that money was for me and my siblings. From the first day I started kindergarten, I was extremely independent. Everyday after I got off the school bus at approximately 2:45 PM, I walk home and eat a bowl of cereal. I studied completed my homework, and on the occasional times my dad was home, I asked him to correct my answers. All that changed two years later when my younger sister started her kindergarten year.

Currently, my family’s nationality is rather unknown to me because of some missing paper work and lost relatives. Yet, I do have a few details that were given to me by my parents. My grandma on my father’s side, her family was from England and moved to America in 1908. My grandpa on my father’s side, what would be my 4th great grandmother was Indian. My grandma’s family on my mother’s side was Dutch. My grandpa on my mother’s side, his family has mostly Cherokee heritage. Since, I do not know much of my heritage, I do not believe my heritage greatly influences my experiences or how I relate to others. My family has always been open and accepting with many ideas and people. My family culture influenced me to be accepting of every person and who they choose to be. Although with the culture of my family being mostly Caucasian, I do believe it is difficult for me to relate to another’s experiences, if I have not had them. So, I cannot fully relate to an experience an African American has with discrimination or with racism. However, I can feel empathy for another’s experiences with such things as racism or discrimination.

Individuals may not want to admit that every individual may be ethnocentric in some way. I’m ethnocentric since, my ancestor and grandparents of my parents of my mother and deceased father has established a concrete foundations from an African American and Indian perspective for my life and culture that I’m very grateful to represent. During the duration of my family cultural convolution which consisted of integrating both cultures beliefs and morals to unify one strong foundation as a norm for my generation demonstrate the same morals, beliefs, and values from two cultures. The thing I appreciate is that I have the ability to sustain such a strong strength of belief that my moral stood for greatness for me to become more empowered to become

We all have family traditions, some of which we take pride in, some of which we dread and despise but, whether you know it or not they are what make us who we are. One of my favorite traditions that I can truly say I’m passionate for would have to be Thanksgiving dinner. The dinner for the holiday goes by in a blink of an eye because of all the enjoyment. However, the preparations that lead up to the day are long and prestigious even though they are what make the dinner so great. Since the holiday comes up before we know it, we get started as soon as the year hits mid fall.

Growing up I never had the typical childhood. My parents had me when they were still teenagers in High School. They were not financially stable enough to take care of me, considering they were young and had no jobs. My mother dropped out to start working and my dad got his GED at an adult school before he started to work. For a while we were living in a motel because my parents were not on good terms with their own parents at the time. Although I was too young to remember our lives in the motels, I gathered enough insight on how it was for my parents, and it was not pretty. Since my parents were never together officially, after the motel stage, we never slept in the same house all together. My mom eventually moved in with my sisters dad, which

me down with his harsh words. At this point, I was too young to understand

My dad grew up fatherless, although his father lived on the same block. My grandmother dropped out of school at fourteen to take care of her firstborn. She raised my father and his siblings by herself, spending her life as a janitor. My father had the chance to attend college but squandered his opportunity. My mother was primarily raised by her grandmother but lived with her mother and stepfather during the latter of her childhood. She was kicked out when her parents discovered she was pregnant with me. My parents were 17. For most of my childhood, their lives were constrained to coping, subsisting, and rectifying mistakes. I bounced between the two and stability.

My household is a mixture of two very different cultures, Hispanic and German. My father’s side of the family originates from Germany, although we do not have many ties to the culture and traditions. Instead, there is a large focus on family and community. My father grew up in a small town in Minnesota and brought those beliefs with him. My mother is Hispanic but does not come from a traditional Hispanic household. Her father was military so they were required to move around a lot, especially around the east coast. Therefore, my mom, and consequently my siblings and I, have always been disconnected from her immediate family and relatives. We don’t speak Spanish and don’t look like what people assume a stereotypical Hispanic from Mexico should

My family mainly originates from the U.K, predominantly Ireland. Both sets of my Grandparents are mainly Irish but they more than likely have English and Scottish ancestry as their parents were from the U.K which consist of Ireland, Scotland, and England. I myself like to think of myself as Irish because, well, let’s be honest, the Irish are pretty cool. This fondness of Ireland helped me determine what images to use to represent my heritage and culture, these images consist of the Irish flag, Shepard’s Pie, an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, and a rainy forest. I choose these images because I thought they portrayed how I perceive my culture and heritage, beginning with the guitars. My Mother’s side of the family holds a lot of musicians who played stringed instruments such as the fiddle, banjo, or guitar. I myself play guitar and love stringed instruments, especially ones in a traditional orchestra like double bass, cello, and violins, I also really like folk music which primarily originates from Ireland.

Neither of my parents went on to any higher education after high school. This forced them enter the workforce in lower paying jobs. I witnessed my father loose his job of over 20 years in the dying shoe manufacturing industry at the age of 45. He had to pursue a new career in a completely opposite field of work. From there he had to work his way up the ladder to the position he is at today. My mother works hours on end at the same vet clinic for about 27 years as an unfortified vet tech. With my parents working these jobs instead of going to college has caused them to live paycheck to paycheck. Though my family and I have never went without our essential needs. My parents have instilled in me with a very diligent work ethic and the drive to