Personal Narrative : Being An Italian American

The Italian culture has been developed into a staple of American life, especially with a preexisting history ingrained into communities across the United States.

Coming from a heavily Italian family line, there are some traditions and rituals that we do and some that we do not do because we have become Americanized. For example, there are certain Italian foods that typically do not appear at the dinner tables of American families during holidays. During Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, my family makes a special Italian appetizer called “antipasto”, which is generally spicy Italian offerings, cold cuts, and special Italian cheeses. Also during those dinners, there is a heavy pasta dish that is eaten before the main course. During Christmas, my family shows off our Italian culture by putting up the “presepio”. “The presepio (manger or crib) represents in miniature the Holy Family in the stable and is the center of Christmas for families” (Christmas in Italy: Traditions 1). My family has kept these examples of Italian culture alive and we practice them in America. A part of our Italian culture that my family gave up in America is the Italian language. The older generations of family that were Italian born typically threw away the Italian language when coming to America. English took precedent over any other language because it was the language that was spoken by the majority of Americans. In America my family has adjusted to the American traditions, but kept some parts of Italian culture alive in our American

Growing up, I always thought of myself as an American Girl — until I walked into an American Girl Doll store. As the 7 year old daughter of an Art professor who spent an unusual amount of time listening to her mother ramble about artists such as Monet at art museums, I never had the opportunity to explore an American girl doll store until one of my book club friends offered to take me there. So when that happened, I gathered up my life assets of exactly $13.22 and determined that I was going to make an American girl doll, that looked like myself, the first ever purchase purely of my own.

My parents always wanted to give their children the life they never had. I am Mexican-American, both of my parents immigrated from Mexico to the U.S. before I was born. I have numerous relatives, including my older sister, who do not have the same opportunities I have to achieve success because they are undocumented. For them, college was only a dream that could never be attained. Being the first U.S. citizen out of my entire family affected the way I thought about life. It was expected that I would attend college because I was the only one who had access to all the resources granted to American citizens. Although, I agreed with my family, the pressure to succeed and be a role model to my younger siblings was overwhelming.

Many Italians made the United States their home, but getting to the Land of the Free was not easy for them. Many things made the Italians move from their country, and many things brought them to the United States. They faced many hardships while in the country. They all managed to find work in different areas, and in different time periods. They also left important legacies.

I am fluent in both Spanish and English, I am also well aware of the Latino-American experience in the United States. I have been raised in the Los Angeles area since the age of seven and thus, I am particularly sensitive to my Latino/Latina (Hispanic) patients, and their unique medical needs. In the most practical terms, I will be able to reach out to my Latino/a patients in their native language, and thereby increasing the accuracy of treatment, reducing error and increasing my patients sense of importance and relevance in their healing process. Chiropractic medicine would provide me with the balance between the holistic approach to the patient care, a complete understanding of the physiology and biomechanics of the body, and a constant observation

I am Mexican-American. It took me years to finally be able to say that with a sincere feeling of pride. Both of my parents were born in Mexico and moved here before they had a chance to attend college, so my entire life I’ve been exposed to both Mexican culture and American culture. Instead of seeing my multi-cultured world as unique and special, I saw it as a sort of disadvantage, but as time went on and I became more educated on the successes of Mexican-Americans, I had a newfound understanding and appreciation of the culture which consequentially influenced my future aspirations.

When people are stuck to one certain lifestyle and one idea, there is not change. Sometimes there needs to be risks taken. The earth consists of a variety of different experiences, and when people are limited to one, there will be no growth. Exploration is reaching out to discover unfamiliar and foreign concepts and ideas which can either be disregarded or learned through encounter. True exchange with these alien subjects is difficult since there has to be something that is given up, but there cannot be growth or wisdom gained without something lost. That growth or wisdom can thus influence the future generations to strive to become better.

Italian Americans have been crucial in founding and developing American educational institutions. Mother Frances Cabrini, the first American saint, who founded fourteen American colleges, ninety-eight schools, twenty-eight orphanages, eight hospitals, three training schools and a score of other institutions with the help of over 4,000 sisters she recruited for the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart.

I am an immigrant, originating from Ukraine. I moved here three years ago to take advantage of the “land of the free”. I had heard of the conscription under Russian imperial dictators, such as Tzar Nicolas, and Soviet despots, like Stalin. Fourcing an individual to perform a service, regardless of the cause, seems to be slavery to me. When I found that men in America must register for the draft, in my eyes, “the land of the free” became slightly less free. It is abhorrent that men may be required to enlist in the military, and equally so for women and therefore should not be tied to feredal grants.

Stepping out of my first plane ride, I experience an epiphany of new culture, which seems to me as a whole new world. Buzzing around my ears are conversations in an unfamiliar language that intrigues me. It then struck me that after twenty hours of a seemingly perpetual plane ride that I finally arrived in The United States of America, a country full of new opportunities. It was this moment that I realized how diverse and big this world is. This is the story of my new life in America.

Growing up in Ghana, I had heard a lot of things about the U.S. This was a country I had always wanted to visit; my prayer was answered when I got the opportunity to travel there. Arriving in a new environment came with many experiences. Adjusting with food, language and the weather was not easy. With the passage of time, however I have been able to0 adjust and fit it. This write-up therefore is to elaborate on my experiences since coming to U.S.

As an Italian-American, I was and am still told by my mother, grandparents, and great-grandparents how proud I should be of my heritage. I was taught to respect my great-grandmother who, after arriving in America along side her husband, fully committed herself to raising her four sons and eight nieces and nephews in a two-bedroom house in Pennsylvania. She was motivated by the drive of a better life in a new, strong country for the young-ones she loved. I was taught to treasure both food and family, praying each night through the Blessed Mother. I was handed Pizzelles and Almond cookies as snacks throughout the day, and listened to Dean Martin through the stereo almost every night. My grandmother’s family came from Mezzogiorno, while my grandfather’s family hailed from the North Country. Though I had never been to Italy, as a child, I still knew the significance of being Italian and was thankful. It was not until I entered public school that I began to understand the teasing that my own ethnic group was subject to on a near daily basis.

Studying in a foreign country is an interesting experience of an individual lifetime. One tends to learn a number of things relating to ways of life in a foreign land. Social, political and economic values and aspects are usually different from one region to another. Therefore, through studying abroad one is able to learn different issues about another society such as gender and sexuality issues, social class and race/ethnicity issues. Having come from a developing country studying in the U.S.A has been a great experience personally. This paper will attempt to provide a reflection of my personal experience on studying in the U.S by comparing the history of Angola and the U.S.

My parents immigrated to this country from Mexico many years ago and they brought along their culture, which makes up a major part of my identity. I am Mexican American and the stereotype that we have a lot of members in our family is true, but it doesn’t tell the full story. I have a lot of aunts, uncles, and cousins and I am very grateful for them because each and every one of them has taught me important lessons that have shaped who I am today. When all of us are together we stand out because there are so many of us and we can also get very loud. We always know how to have a good time and we’re also the life of every party. Every Christmas eve we all get together at one of our aunt’s houses and celebrate the birth of Jesus. We set up a nacimiento, or Nativity set, made of figurines that represent the ones who were present during his birth. We cover the set with hay, surround it with little figurines of animals and drape Christmas lights all around the set. Then we do a rosary and commemorate the ones in our family who have passed or could not make it. During these celebrations we always have tamales, menudo, and hot chocolate. These foods are very important to us because most of the women in the family get together the day before the event and prepare the food. In this time we all have time to catch up on the latest gossip and drama that is going on in our lives. One thing that I have recently been interested in again is the traditional Aztec dances and rituals. When I was younger I used to participate in the dances with my mother but we had to quit due to the long and late hours of practice. I have started to go to retreats where we spend most of our nights dancing and praying to temples and different gods. Doing this makes me feel more connected to my ancestral roots and i feel a sense of pride.