Personal Narrative: Growing Up In A Bicultural World

The front range of Colorado has a large diversity of cultural populations represented. Therefore, as a professional counselor it is my responsibility to educate myself on the cultures I am likely to be working with. Since there is such a diverse population there is no way I am going to know everything about everyone’s culture. Although, I do know the cultures of the majority populations that frequent the agency I am currently working. Since I am working with populations I would be aware of the societal issues they are facing and the oppression they have been and are up against. Therefore, this allows me to immerse myself into their culture, learning and seeing firsthand the oppression and prejudices they face in the community in which we

Growing up as a child, I wore my dark black hair back in tight braids, baggy jeans, my tanned skin in white tank tops, and sneakers; not to express culture appropriation, but because it was all that I had. My surrounding environment was full of diverse races, and seeing color was a part of my daily routine. As I grew up and began to change throughout life, my environment did as well. I moved from the city streets to a suburban area, and as time wore on I noticed a distinct lack of color amongst my peers. Instead of me looking at the world the same day by day, it was as if the entire world was looking at me.

Adapting to a whole new culture can be difficult and have a huge impact on someone's life; that is exactly what I learned to do at a young age. Growing up, I only knew how to speak Spanish and what my parents taught me about the Mexican culture. English was not taught to me until I began elementary, but even then I did not grasp the language quickly. At a young age, I realized my life was not going to be so easy because of this language and culture barrier.

As a member of the National Honor Society, not only is academics important, but also signs of leadership, service, and character are needed to be taken into consideration. Unlike many of the students in Jenison, my background story is quite distinctive. I was born and raised in South Korea, immigrated to California at the age of 6, and now, it’s been three years in Michigan. However, one thing that hasn’t changed is my motto, to strive hard to make a difference in people's’ lives with the talents I’ve been given.

Growing up, I was usually surrounded by white American culture and as a result was often the person that added an element of diversity. As a part of a small group of students from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, I ended up with the unenviable task of representing the country of India to my fellow classmates and peers. Despite the fact that I was born in Brooklyn, I was the token Indian friend, fielding questions on the acceptability of wearing bindis and applying mehendi for fun.

When I was much younger my Uncle Jim came out as gay. This opened my mind to a whole new world of diversity and has helped to make me the excepting person I am today. Although I am no longer a Girl Scout, starting at a young age instilled some of the great qualities of leadership and sense of self that still remain. It is slightly ironic that soccer happens to resinate as a big teaching point in my life because I only played for a small amount of time before taking up volleyball as a fall sport. However, when I started I was in 6th grade which is pretty crazy with the level of competition in sports now a days. I remember this time with great fondness and look to it for inspiration whenever I feel like I can't do something. This past summer

The key to creating a harmony is incorporating and embracing the uniqueness of the individual notes. As a pianist and a ballet dancer, I am quite familiar with this concept in its literal sense. In regard to my personal interpretation of this concept, I believe that I was able to find harmony in my identity by embracing my cultural diversity. As a proud daughter of Ghanaian immigrants, I have chosen to embrace the aspects of both American and Ghanaian culture that I value the most to serve as the foundation of my identity.

Growing up in a immigrant family and being a first generation born U.S. citizen, I experienced a lot of things most kids might've not. There were positives moments in my life, but we all know life is not easy, everyone has something that prevents them from falling asleep at night.

My experience with language was hard and difficult with a constant mixture of speaking Hindi with my parents and English with my teachers. Being bilingual has made me think about the multifaceted nature of language. English is elegantly complex, but it can be difficult if you don’t know the language. Nevertheless, it was a tough growing up in a two language household. I was raised speaking Hindi instead of English, which became an ultimate challenge.

Who are you? Most respond with their names, but there are probably a thousand other people who have that name. Knowing one’s name doesn’t mean you really know a person. No, to really know someone you learn their birthday, star sign, favorite color, favorite hobby, how many brothers or sisters they have. You learn them like you’ll have an exam on it next week. You learn their cultural identity. Who am I? I am a candle stick. I am one of six, a capricorn, a soccer player, and someone who lacks ambition. I am, and my culture is: the people I surround myself with, my environment, and most of all, my memories. I am an unexplainable enigma far too complicated to be analyzed by any single human being.

Walking through the stale airport air again with my dad, mom, and little brother made me realize that I was leaving my home country Germany behind for the second time. See it wasn’t my choice to constantly move between the U.S. and Germany it was the military making the calls for my family to move around. Making me constantly go through this cycle like eating your favorite food everyday for a month and end up getting sick of it. I was so unprepared for the hurdles that where about to come that I would end up hitting my foot as I try to jump over the obstacles that were in my way. See I was born in Munich Germany and I am mixed with African American and Bosnian.

Experiencing a new culture is usually life changing. I first started going to Tijuana, Mexico three years ago because my dad was deported. The only places I had ever been to were here in California. When going to a new place I never thought there would be a drastic change in the environment, or people. It’s amazing how a border can separate two worlds and make them so different.

Riding approximately 1,640 miles on January of 2005 to a total new country was definitely life changing. The country I was traveling to would be my home for the next 10 years. “Miren toda la nieve!” (Look at all the snow) my mom enthusiastically shouted as we arrived in the state of Minnesota. Coming from a desert climate to a place full of snow were two very different things. Seeing very tall buildings and rivers with bridges was as I may recall - ethereal. The slippery road that we’d encountered was a visual and aural adventure to my siblings and I, meanwhile our parents drove in fear. As we quickly fell in love with America, the bittersweet reality that we would have to learn English - a total new tongue I never heard of - settled upon the

For a background story, I am bilingual and I my parents sent me to Mexico to learn more Spanish. I came back, to complete my fourth grade, here back in the USA. Then, during that year, I made new friends from both Spanish and non-Spanish speaking kids, I had one friend in particular. We would play together during recess. One night during a parent teacher conference, we both saw each other and hugged, all while her mother was behind her. When I wanted my friend to meet my parents, all of a sudden, her mom grabs her by her arm and looked at me. Her mother then asked me, "are you a Mexican?" And I answered "I guess, but I speak Spanish too!" Suddenly she looks at my friend and says "why are you friends with her? We got to go now." When all of

Without diversity, our world would be a very singular place. To me, diversity is the depth of knowledge that you get when people with different backgrounds and experiences (such as socio-economic, religious, ethnic, cultural, and sexual orientation differences) come together to find a solution to a problem. Since individuals usually draw on their specific life experiences when trying to solve a problem, a diverse group of problem-solvers with diverse approaches inevitably results in more creative and practical ideas. I look forward to spending my college years learning from people whose perspectives are different and unique from my own and enriching the dialogue with my own experiences. My life has always been different from most of the