Where I Stand: Cultural Identity Autobiography

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

My worldview is that I get what I give. I believe I only get out what I put in. As a result, I try to put forth my best effort in everything that I do. My top values are

“ 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.

My cultural identity stems from my countless brave ancestors that made the journey to the United States many eons ago. Since then, every generation has impacted our original customs. As the years passed on, so did behaviors and other tendencies. These have eventually made their way throughout the entire family tree and down to my generation. Now, as a social work student, I am forced to face these behaviors head on and even challenge them.

Many people writing this essay are going to talk about their religion or what race they are. But this is my personal cultural identity essay. I don't have a religion that I talk about or a race that I care about. My cultural identity is about sports, family and everything that makes me, me.

I am Scottish and English, but that means absolutely nothing to me. To me I am your classic white american boy. I am from Lake George New York, born in Glens Falls Hospital. I love to watch American football(My team is the NY Jets or the NY Giants) I am a big Gamer, and I LOVE to grill.

A person’s culture is something that shapes and tells others who you are. For example, in Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” you are introduced to Mrs. Johnson and two other characters that are loose portrayals of Walker in her younger and older periods of life (Obaid). The first one being Maggie who is depicted as her younger more walled self and the other being Dee an older version of Walker who lightly symbolizes Walkers later beliefs through some of the actions she takes in the story (Obaid). As the story begins Mrs. Johnson and Maggie are waiting for Dee to return home and while the two of them are waiting for Dee. Walker takes you through the thoughts of Mrs. Johnson about her two daughters and how she views them as well as

Cultural identity doesn’t define who you are, but it does show where you came from. My cultural identity means more than the family I was born into. For example, I may have grown up in a few different states without my father, but that just shows where I came from, not who I am. My personal cultural identity is unique because I have all my memories in photo albums, enjoy having a good steak, and connect with music that gives a glimpse of what I’ve dealt with.

Hook------. There are over seven billion people in the world, and each of them have their own cultural identity. In order for one to understand my cultural identity, one must first understand what happens when Texan blood meets a Louisiana address. Through religion, band, and my future goals, I have my own unique culture.

Finding my culture identity has been a confusing process on if I have one and if I do what is it? Culture to me is the way you live your life and the reason you are living that way.The way my family and I have been doing certain things and how it has impacted us as people.

“ 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 triumphant 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

Who am I? Where do I belong? I was raised and born in Palm Springs, California. I'm German, Irish, Jewish, the rest I'm not sure. In California it was normal being white. I didn't feel like an outsider. I felt normal. But when I moved to Hawaii I didn't feel normal. I didn't know people would judge you for being white or as they say it, a "Haulie" . But I think I let that word get the best of me because it's only a word that describes a white person. That's what I am. But the only thing that gets to me is, why do they say it? Why do they have to remind me that I'm white? I been with myself for along time, I think I know I'm white.

A part of what constructs an individual’s identity is defined by the culture they are a part of. Culture consistently informs the way one views the world and others, therefore it becomes an influential and defining characteristic in the daily lives of many. Many authors have expressed the belief in this through various mediums, such as memoirs, biographies, and poems. Due to there being a direct correlation between the self-identity of a person to culture, a person’s view of the world can alter as a result.

I am from St. Croix, Virgin Islands, which means I am a Cruzan. However, my father is from Viequez, Puerto Rico. When I was a child the cultural identity for my household was Cruzan and Puerto Rican. My father is a fisherman and our meal contained of a lot of sea food. My favorite sea foods are lobster, conch, octopus, and barracuda.

I was born in a small rural village in Western Nepal. A typical unprivileged society of Nepal, my then village was a consortium of poverty, illiteracy, and discrimination. I was a bit fortunate to have born in a middle-class family that could at least boast sufficient resources for subsistence and some savings. For people in my village, the most generous gift that god could bestow was the birth of a son, who, unlike a daughter, could continue the family generation. For my family, my birth meant their first child and a son. Being born as a son meant a straight pass to male identity and heterosexuality for me.