Personal Narrative: All-American Culture

One writer, Santha Rama Rau, writes on essay, “By Any Other Name”, which details how which ethnicity you are plays an important role in developing her cultural identity. “Premila said, we had our test today, and she made me and the other Indians sit at the back of the room, with a desk between each on” (Rau 48). This is saying this teacher was racial profiling just because she was from a different country which can affect you and how you think. Everybody should deserve an education whatever your ethnicity is. “I never had an education myself. After second grade the school, Mama curted” (Walker 21). Some people racial profile people on where they were born

Culture has a significant role to play on one’s life and defines the character of a person, so being Indian-American, my world is split between two cultures, forcing me to play a dual role. For instance, I spend half-day at school living as an American, and at home experience a true Indian lifestyle. As an Indian in America, I face the world with self-identification issues, are open to a great selection of opportunities, and have an impact on society from the moment I was born.

A person has always been able to choose to what extent their cultural experiences affect their perspective. Amy Tan’s, “Two Kinds,” Bharati Mukherjee’s, “Two Ways to Belong in America,” and Robert Lake’s, “An Indian Father’s Plea,” all show how the main characters have chosen to let their experiences have an effect on their cultural identity. A person’s cultural experiences shape perception based on their own identifications and they may chose to assimilate to different cultures.

Later as I grew a little older I began to start to identify with my other ethnicities. During 4th to 6th grade I was going through the enmeshment/denial stage. This stage is when an individual will usually feel bad about choosing one ethnicity over another. I was feeling ambiguous about only identifying myself as white and not Native American, Spanish, French, Dutch, or Bohemian. Later during Middle School, I noticed that when asked about “what am I?”, referring to my ethnicity I would begin to list out what I associate myself with more so, as well I remember visiting cultural events to learn more about my heritage,

Growing up, I felt as if I had two identities, one as a Christian amongst many non-Christian Indians and the other as an Indian among many white people. Fitting into either group

Not only is my heritage a huge part of my cultural identity, but so are my hobbies and habits. Although my parents and ancestors are Indian, I was born and raised here in the United States. Therefore, some of my habits and interests can be described as “Americanized”. For example, I am a huge sports

As an immigrant, growing up was always difficult for me. I was raised as an Indian child, yet at the same time I was trying to blend in as an American. I was bullied and viewed weirdly for having Indian food that looked and smelt differently, and unfortunately the prejudice never changed as I grew older. Even though the name calling, ridiculous questions, and living a double life was irritating, it was bearable. Because my parents chose to relocate, they also unknowingly chose to give up traditions that may be lost in future generations.

Being a child of parents who are immigrants, tends to be troublesome when finding your cultural identity. Huwang agrees by saying, “ I identify with Americans, but Americans do not identify with me. I’ve never known what it’s like to belong to a community…” This statement captures my day to day internal struggle of who I am, an Indian or an American? Raised in an Indian household in an American environment I am torn between deciding which represents me as a whole. My family dictates that

When I was younger, every small bit of me craved to be “American”. I begged my parents to let me watch American movies and boycotted lunches when my mother packed Indian food. Nevertheless, my parents stubbornly continued to resist against me and the tide finally turned when I started Carnatic vocal lessons. I can never forget the first time the strange, foreign

When I was seven years old, I emigrated from India to the United States. Coming to the states, I experienced a culture shock due to the different types of people, customs, and education system. The first time I stepped in the states, I saw people from all different nationalities, races, and ethnicities; a whole different type of world that was inconceivable when I lived in India. An eventful part of my life was transitioning from the school system in India to the school system in America. The expectation of a student and child in the United States was vastly different to the expectations placed by society in India. Sociological imagination and sociological mindfulness enabled me to understand how

One of the perspectives that changed for me was the concept of race and ethnicity. As I mentioned in my personal identity narrative, genetically, I am Korean, but culturally, I am American. I was adopted from Korea to my white American parents. The way I dress, what I eat, and what I do is based on what I grew up with. And none of them are Korean. For example, a person immersed in Korean culture might eat certain foods like Kimchi and other Korean food, but for me, I have never had that in my life. I know that this food has made itself into mainstream American cuisine as well, but I still have not had it. So just because genetically I am Korean, does not mean that my ethnicity is the same. Nieto & Bode (2008) discusses what culture is, “Culture includes not only

Indian-Americans ranging from ages 16-24 that are first generation Americans undergo the stages of minority identity development. They are commonly placed in environments which force them to question their own identity. As they communicate with peers, they question themselves and their personal beliefs and customs. Occasionally, they view the majority culture as better than their own and may develop negative feelings of their Indian household upbringing. One may feel the need to internalize the values of the dominant culture of the community and change to fit the status quo. This is especially difficult for Indian-Americans because so many things that they are taught within the home are not normal for the majority culture therefore presenting a major division and causing an uproar in the home. Parents tend to view “normal” majority culture attributes as

Growing up as a son of Indian immigrants in the South, I dealt with a lot of questions about my cultural identity from both people I encountered and myself. How I answered these questions determined a great deal of what kind of person I would be; however, rather than being pushed toward one culture versus the other, I found myself questioning how culture shapes a person.

Hearing the door open, I jumped out of my bed delighted. My cousins are coming home today and I have not seen them for years. They live in America and I live in Saudi Arabia; the only time we see each other is in the summer in our homeland. As I approached the door, I saw my aunt hugging my grandmother and my cousins hugging my father. The whole household was overjoyed because of their arrival.

[All] Almost everyone in the world gets judged for their ethnicity in some way at least once throughout their life. Ethnicity is the most important element of culture that influences one’s view of the world as proved by the poem Legal Alien, and the short stories, Two Ways to Belong in America, Indian Father’s Plea, and By Any Other Name.