Personal Essay on Culture The various cultures that encompass me influence who I am and how I react to everything around me. As a whole we all have different beliefs and act on different decisions each day that shapes our identity of who we are and who we will eventually become. Everyone has their own cultural identity which varies and usually comes from a strong background. However, I struggle in finding my own cultural identity because of the many influences in my home and outside surroundings I cannot even begin to describe. Even though I struggle to find my own cultural identity, I can continue to develop and improve upon the influential cultures which encompass me. To start, there are many cultures and subcultures that have created a great impact on my life and cultural identity. I am surrounded by diverse people with different cultures which ultimately makes me feel like an outcast to the world. In relation to everyone I am unique and having the feeling of not being able to relate to what is going on because I do not have these traditions like my neighbors or the numerous subcultures between my friends. This greatly affects my struggle in finding my cultural identity because the influences of different …show more content…
My family is a huge impact on how I would like to accomplish something. I come from a mixed family that does not have a strong cultural background. For example, we are not as traditional with holidays, special occasions, or with the food we eat. However, one thing we are big on is education, and that is very important to me because it is one of my personal values. Another thing is that my family is big on religion which affects the way I am raised and develop mentally because of their religious standards. My family's culture shapes my way of viewing others and my surroundings while keeping my standards and personal
To begin with, culture is something that may change evolve within time but culture is something that come with your heritage or your ethnicity the traditions and things that happen that make up your culture like how your parents raised you are culture. In the informational text “ What is cultural identity” by Elise Trumbull and Maria Pacheco, and in the personal essay “Ethnic Hash” by Patricia Williams, there are similarities and differences in how each writer conveys their message about cultural identity. Based upon their research, Trumbull and Pacheco present the idea that culture changes and that it will never stay the same, while Williams uses her personal experience to develop the idea that many things influence cultural inheritage but
In today’s society there are many words that are used or said without giving it complete thought. For example, the word “identity” is something to which I have never really given much thought or even considered how I identify myself.
One’s cultural identity consists of their race, gender, socioeconomic status, age, religion, and so on. Being aware of your own cultural identity is just as important as being aware of other’s. People’s cultural identity defines who they are, the privilege (or lack of privilege) they receive, and how society views them. It is important to understand that White individuals have more privileges than individuals of color. White individuals do not experience detriment and difficulties due specifically to their skin color and instead receive advantages. White privilege is defined as benefits that white individuals have that people of color do not (Kendall, 2012). The following walks through my personal cultural background, how it was shaped, defined, and developed, and limitations to my personal competencies.
Starting with one of the surface aspects of my cultural identity is my language. I speak English, like most people who were born in America I learned English and only English right from the start. I
My culture identity, as I know it as is African American. My culture can be seen in food, literature, religion, language, the community, family structure, the individual, music, dance, art, and could be summed up as the symbolic level. Symbolic, because faith plays a major role in our daily lives through song, prayer, praise and worship. When I’m happy I rely on my faith, same as when I’m sad, for I know things will get better as they have before.
My cultural identity is heavily influenced by my family. My family is the biggest factor in shaping my cultural identity. Without them I would be a completely different person. My likes and dislikes, the way I react to things, what I say, what I do, and my overall personality is influenced by my family. My family has influenced my entire personality.
One interesting fact about my culture is we still do the same tradition my ancestor did and still do the same tradition we did when we were all younger othing has changed our traditions but over the time we hardly do those traditions. Family influences my culture because they are people I spend my whole life with because we are always together even when at the moment we don't get along with them. The factors that change my culture over time are family, friends, and media because these three are part that makes a difference and changes a part of my culture. Family influences my culture because of the way I learn from them and how they change my culture. For example family influences my culture by the things I learn about the, and how they change my surroundings.
One example of how my culture has enhanced my freedom of choice is my upbringing. As a child and even to...
People have asked me many times what my cultural identity is, I’ve never really thought about it. I would tell them black or African American and a bit Filipino. Until about a week ago I never asked myself, “What is my cultural identity?” I grew up in the south part of my life and is now living in California, I grew up playing in dirt and not having much influence from technology. I prefer to identify myself as blackipino but there’s more than that. The way most people think about it is race versus ethnicity, race is the way you and society carry yourself and ethnicity is your ancestry. Ethnicity is measurable and race is a social construct. The two people that influence my culture the most would be my parents.
What makes me, me? In my opinion culture is what makes me who I am and others. I am “Hapa” which is half Asian and part other race. My mother was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan and then there is my father, born in Atlanta, Georgia, but grew up in California. My cultural identity is shaped by the food I eat, the language I speak and my unique personal characteristic.
Another aspect that teachers need to be aware of for the culturally diverse students is ones ‘cultural identity’. Cultural identity is formed by many aspects such as class and gender (Siraj-Blatchford & Clarke 2004, p23) and is what makes people individual; it is intrinsically linked back to groups and cultures (Lawrence, Brooker & Goodnow, 2012, p78). Each student will identify with a particular culture or group and each students needs and views will be different. It is the educators responsibility to foster these differences to assist with developing the students learning and ability to learn (Siraj-Blatchford & Clarke 2004, p24-25). The educator can also assist with acculturating the immigrant and refugee by providing Australian cultural experiences in
Culture and my behavior is one that has had an influence and knowledge that I have gained in this class so far this semester. I have looked at myself and ask many questions and examined the nature of my own cultural background and how my culture does influence my attitudes toward other groups and my behaviors towards those who are separate from my culture. I have learned that my cultural identity is the uniqueness in feeling like I belonging to a group of culture, class, age and gender that are in the same group, there are many different ways we define cultural. It is part of my self-concept and perception of myself and how I relate to my social class, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender and my social groups that have their own different
A sense of belonging is a strong an inevitable need, just as food, and shelter are, which makes it one of the most important values in life, weather it is for a family, a country, a church, or to friends. This feeling of belonging is deep rooted within all humans, it is a common experience that makes us all feel like a member, a part of something bigger than ourselves. In all cultures belonging is a universal desire without which one cannot identify himself clearly within their culture, ethnicity, and even family. The concept of ethnicity is connected to the idea of belonging, therefore I believe that is not our ethnicity that makes us part of a culture, but rather it is our sense of belonging to that culture. The concept of ethnicity is connected
How many times have people asked themselves, who am I? What defines me? Culture plays a very important role in the identity of people. People are born in a culture, their family's culture, but not with an already established culture. The term culture refers to the values, beliefs, customs, style of dress, food, songs and stories that are shared and learned in a characteristic group. On the other hand, identity is a set of features, attributes and characteristics that define a person. Identity is constructed by language, social structure, gender orientation and cultural patterns. Although many do not relate these two themes, there is a complex relationship between culture and identity.
There are a lot of different cultures in the world we live in today. Finding the place you belong and discovering your own culture can be a challenge. This is especially true when you look at culture as an individual versus culture in your family, or even within your community. I’ve always been very family oriented, so that plays a big part in who I am and how my family’s dynamic works. I believe that my family has had a huge impact on the development of my culture, and I hope that I have had the same impact on theirs.