The Culture That Changed My Life

In this paper I will begin by defining personal culture and national culture. After, I will then elaborate my own personal and national culture. I will continue to talk about the subject with the person that I have chosen for my cultural group, my mother, and I will identify her personal and national culture. Lastly, I will talk about my own personality and how it has a connection with my own natural culture; knowing this is important, it lets us know who we are, and how we act with people who are from different cultures.

Arriving at a foreign country at the age of eleven years old was and exiting and yet intimidating experience. High buildings, wide roads, newer and nicer cars on the streets were some of the first things I noticed when I arrived to the city of Los Angeles CA. Living in a country where you were not born in could be difficult some times. Although Spanish is spoken at a grand scale in CA, it was difficult to communicate with and understand the teachers from my classes at the elementary level since all they spoke was English. Los Angeles is a city of great diversity, therefore it is believed to be the perfect place for any person arriving from another country to not feel like a foreign, such believe

I was born and raised in the Dominican Republic. My family was catholic and so I was taught to pray and by the age of 13 I had all my sacraments. For most of my life I lived the downtown area of the main city where my mother and her family had also grown up. I considered myself very lucky because even though our economic security was not the best as I grew up, my mother always strived for me to receive the best education she could afford. As a result, I learned to speak English from a very young age and then French, I learned to play the guitar and also to paint. I also took embroidery and etiquette classes and so on. Because of the location where we lived, I also took advantage of many cultural interactions with people from other

When I think of the word “cultural identity”, I think of myself, and what makes up who I am as a person. My cultural identity influences everything about me, from the moment I wake up, to the minute I rest my head on my pillow at night. My culture influences the way I eat, speak, worship, and interact with people. However, I am not only affected by my own culture, but others’ culture as well. I am fortunate to have an extremely rich heritage, and I couldn’t be prouder of my cultural identity.

“ I am a feminist, and what that means to me is much the same as the meaning of the fact I am black: It means that I must . . . respect myself as though my very life depends upon self-love and self-respect.”- June Jordan. As life goes on I am learning that we do not always get what we want. In my English class, we read two passages; one was a novel called Two Kinds by Amy Tan and the other was a poem called “ Legal Alien “ by Pat Mora. The text Two Kinds is about the conflict between a mother and daughter; her mother just wants her daughter to triumph in the world, while her daughter wants to just be herself. The other text “ Legal Alien “, is about the speaker describing being bicultural, and how she is fluent in the Mexican and American culture but seen as “ different & exotic” by the Americans, and an “ alien & outsider “ by the Mexicans. Reading and analyzing these texts lead me to realize that I am a staunch feminist in the midst of the world who adores being an eccentric human, and struggles with an overprotective family.

As a young adult I had struggled several hardships and fought numerous battles to be the person I am today. Growing up in the strict family background, life wasn't easy. My parents were very traditional and was not customary to the American lifestyle. They immigrated to America in the 1980's and I was born here in the States.

As I entered the home to conduct my interview, I was immediately greeted by very soft spoken female. She’s a 42 yrs old African American female, who’s married with two children. She migrated from the south 30 years ago along with her mother and sister. She’s currently working for the Department of Education as a substitute teacher with aspiration of becoming a child psychologist. The subject was eager to be interviewed. She thought it would be great to sure her views and perspectives of her culture. Culture is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as , the total of the inherited ideas, beliefs, values, and knowledge, which constitute the shared bases of social action. To me culture is rich and fascinating filled with family, traditions, memories, and many dialects.

I come from a small rural farm where I was born and raised all my life and where I grew up with two loving parents and one sister. Ever since I was a young girl, religion has always been a big part of my life because I was born and raised Catholic. My mothers’ side of the family is German Catholic decent and my fathers’ race is German and Cherokee Indian. Even though they are mainly German combined I have always found it interesting that I have Native American blood running through my veins. It is obvious that my parents are both Caucasian and were middle class individuals when I was growing up. I would now classify my parents to be in the higher class because they are worth more now then twenty-five years ago. Even though my parents have more money now than what they did when growing up on the farm, a strong work ethic was important to my parents. I am thankful they instilled this within me because I have always worked hard for everything in my life and I know that this will payoff for me one day. My parents also told me that education will get me further in life and it has. I am the first of my family to graduate from college let alone getting my masters as well. So when looking

Please number and type out each question, followed by your responses to correspond with each point below:

I do believe that my cultural experiences have influenced my development of self esteem as a child. In high school, I didn't really feel like I fit in because of all the ethnicity clicks. For example you had the Hispanics sit at one table, then the Haitians, Jamaicans, and Asians sit at another. A lot of the time it was like if you weren't "one of them" then you couldn't sit with them. But this is where my problem was, I wasn't just one of them, I had a little bit of this culture, and a little bit of that culture so I was basically "in between." This unfortunately brought my self esteem down, I didn't really know my value, and I was confused on who I actually suppose to be.

ortunate to live in a border city because of the diversity in cultures in our city I have had great people that have influenced me and touched my life. By living next to Mexico and having a grandmother that is fluent in Spanish and more comfortable speaking her language I have learned how to speak and understand Spanish. Being bilingual in El Paso or even in the US is an important skill to have because I am able to communicate with more people that speak predominately Spanish.

Most people do not think their family has a culture. They associate culture with countries and ethnic groups. But the family for most people is just a group of family people who do what they always do. Directly and subtly, children are shaped by the family culture in which they are born. At the stage of growth, their assumptions about what is right or wrong, good and bad, reflect the beliefs, values, and traditions of the family culture. Most take their family manners for granted and bring into adulthood numerous attitudes and behaviors acquired in childhood. Even those who later reject all or part of the family culture often find that they are not totally free of their early influences. 1

The environment, family, and community I have grown up in has shaped me as a person. So far, I grew up in the same house all seventeen years of my life. My personality has grown and molded over the years of middle school and high school based off the lessons I have learned and the things I’ve been through.

Culture defines people’s values, beliefs, and personal interests. Culture is important because it allows people to maintain a unique identity society. Many cultures have common interests, while others may have customs that differ greatly from that of another. Technology has had a huge impact on present day cultures. Many culture have been altered including my own, and some have been created due to the rise of technology. Cultures differ so greatly that someone belonging to one culture may not agree with the values of another, which then causes social and ethical issues. My culture shares many similarities with others around the world; most of which have connected more people in recent years than ever before. Cultural gaps, and lack of

Cultural differences effect many aspects of our daily lives. With the many different cultures embedded in the United States, it is important that everyone has an understanding and respect for the melting pot that is encountered daily in our communities, workplaces and schools.