Personal Narrative: Nor Din

Culture shapes our identity and influences our behaviors. Living in California has been an open-minded journey for me because of diverse cultures, lifestyles, and people’s thought. Although, I learned to adopt the positive of a new culture and abandon the negative ones. It seemed like I could easily lose my cultural identity while I am accepting a new culture. However, After I took the class I even feel a greater appreciation on my own race, ethnicity and culture. I think my identity will never change. I will always consider myself as a Chinese because my own culture has shaped me into who I am no matter where I live and whom I married to.

My parents originate from an indian heritage so their ability to understand and speak English wasn’t very adequate. I often took the role as a translator in these situations at the hospital which gave me direct exposure to the grim reality of the situations my brother was in. This direct exposure gave me prestigious strength as a child to never lose hope and always contribute positively towards situations.

Growing up with a father in the military, you move around a lot more than you would like to. I was born just east of St. Louis in a city called Shiloh in Illinois. When I was two years old my dad got the assignment to move to Hawaii. We spent seven great years in Hawaii, we had one of the greatest churches I have ever been to name New Hope. New Hope was a lot like Olivet's atmosphere, the people were always friendly and there always something to keep someone busy. I used to dance at church, I did hip-hop and interpretive dance, but you could never tell that from the way I look now.

Put the gun down! Put the gun down! Pow Pow Pow. The gun shots cracked into the air as loud as thunder. One after another. We live day by day not knowing our end. In the blink of an eye our lives can be changed forever. Its life, yet even in knowing this we never expect tragedy to find us. We never expect it to affect our lives and the people we know and love. I’m going to share with you the day tragedy found my life.

I used to admire my father, who came to United States with my mother and me with almost no understanding of English, but is still hopeful about the new life. He is always the first one who stands up for me and courage me to face to the challenges, and I always think that he is the only one who can listen to my view and give me advice sincerely, until I visited the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall with him, I found that we consider our history in two completely different ways.

I share this story simply because it is my background that has given me the life I live today. My parents’ lack in further education has motivated me to be the first in my family. Seeing my family struggle has pushed me to succeed in every task I attempt and to never back down when life throws me a curveball. Watching my father age has inspired me to reach for every dream I feel is impossible and to live to my absolute fullest potential. My education, in turn, has become the main priority in my life. Realizing that after years of struggle, my family is finally happy and blessed with the gift of life, has shown me that life was not meant to be

strong effect towards the reader as a very inspiring story. He was a young Indian child living on a

2). He goes on to say, “As Indian children, we were expected to fail in the non-Indian world” (1998, p. 2). As others were revered in the community and pitied outside of it for failing, he persevered, refusing to fail. This intestinal fortitude would shape him into the man he was to become.

I never thought I would be labeled an outsider, a misfit even. As I trudged my way through the halls of my small town high school, I would endure the gazing pairs of eyes, that belonged to my peers, followed by whispering and often times some laughter. I always used zone out during those repetitive speeches and commercials about the effects of gossiping and rumors; never did I imagine that one day I would be on the receiving end of of the everyday potshot. Growing up I was always the center of attention, the one everyone yearned to be friends with, never was I the antisocial child in the corner with nowhere to turn… not until high school. They say high school changes you. They say high school accounts for some of the greatest years of

I’ve always been an outsider, it’s been hard for me to build friendships and relationships. Not too long ago, there I sat in the corner of the room in the way back, trying to hide from the world, and be myself. I didn’t really want to get involved with anything or anyone. I was afraid to open up, talk to others, maybe because I was afraid to get rejected. Until, I met the best people I could ever meet, my best friends Marisa Mendoza, Jessica Contreras and Deseray Reyes, the ones who up to this day have sticked by my side, at my best, and worst moments. They have all been a big part of my life, I can enjoy every minute I spend with them. For me, they aren’t only my friends they are like my sisters.

When I was extended seven feet above the ground, I knew we had succeeded. My two bases were in front of me and my backspot was behind me. I heard the familiar counts of my backspot “one, two, three, four”, I bounced and pushed myself up into my bases waiting hands, “five, six, seven, eight”, I straightened as my bases lifted me up to chest level. I locked my knees and stayed tight. I put on a smile and looked ahead. I felt my backspot release her hold on my ankles. I heard her voice once again, “extension, one, two, three, four”, I brought my hands down to my sides and focused on staying tight as I slowly rose, “five, six, seven, eight. I was all the way up. Then a few moments later I heard the counts as they brought me to chest level then back down to the ground. We had done it, we had hit the stunt and did an extension.

Five months later David get a call from the hospital to tell him his results an he came back positive he drop the phone an cried he was in rage he put a hole in the wall at his house broke his television. He pray to god an ask him questions why me I haven't done nothing wrong but be good to her an make her life easy in this world. Then the test result for his child it was positive that it was his baby he was happy about that couldn't wait to see his health child of his Kelly calls him an ask forgiveness he tells her right now I can't talk to you disgust me at this time. But he told her the results for their child was his he ask why you put me through all of this only thing I wanted to do is to love you be

Of course the norm for me is that of any citizen living in zone three.

“Casey, your group needs to do the stunt one more time!” coach said imprudently. It happened March 26, 2015; it was at the end of a two hour practice. During the summer months in South Georgia, it is utterly hot and humid, especially in our cheer gym (a warehouse with no air conditioner); it only has two heavy-duty fans and a roll-up door. With this in mind, my group became slightly irritated. Everyone was exhausted; nevertheless we still had to do the stunt anyway.

You seemed as if you left out of your 4th block Spanish from those rusty gray doors on the side of our school building.