My mother was born in St. Lucia and moved to Queens, New York around the age of seven. Growing up she was not exposed to different cultures seeing that my grandparents were typical strict Caribbean parents who believed in the value of hard work all day and no play at all. In school my mom was not allowed to play the sports she found most interesting like cheerleading or volley ball. Every Caribbean child knows that they are either destined to play soccer or run track and nothing else, thus, my father being born and raised in Jamaica withstood the same challenges with his mother believed that children should focus on finding a career and the point of life was to figure out exactly what you wanted to do and only work toward that. He was not allowed to play sports or join any school organizations. So to no surprise when my parents had me they followed suit after their parents and raised me the same way. I am a part of the Caribbean culture that includes many different races and backgrounds this includes Jamaican, Cuban, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands, etc. Coming from a Caribbean home means a lot of different things to everyone who is Caribbean. One integral …show more content…
It gives them a sense of pride in who they are and lets them show off their home. Growing up I had so many shirts, hats, blankets, and cups with either Jamaican or St. Lucian flag. I felt so much pride when I wore my cultures flag because I felt pride in myself and my people. Another important part of my Caribbean culture is humor. One of the most common jokes mad is about the “typical” Caribbean family which basically portrays the most sayings of the culture all in all our humor mirrors that of Satire is arguably the primary characteristic of Caribbean humor. A lot of my culture was built on comedy and hard work and because of that I am hardworking student who focusing mainly on my academics and I cherish
Although having a Mexican mother and an American father was not always socially acceptable, growing up with a different food taste, having a close-knit family, as well as regularly getting disciplined shaped how I am as a person today. I was dipped into a very different childhood most children did not grow up into.
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.
My family of origin is Haitian. My grandfather was a crop farmer in Haiti. My maternal grandmother passed away when my mother was eight years old. As a result, my mother became somewhat of a foster child. While her father was living, his work prevented him from taking care of her, so he sent her to live with multiple families so that he could provide for her. My mother was abused in many of the homes she was placed in. My Mother came
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.
The Caribbean is comprised of a group of island. Jamaica is one of the greatest Antilles. It has a tropical climate. Each country has its own culture, Jamaicans is not an exemption, and they have an assorted and distinctive one. “Their culture is a complex mixture of African, Arabic, European, East Indian, and Chinese roots combining together to create a rich, dynamic heritage” (Gall, 2009).
I definitely identify most with modern American culture. Although I am half Hispanic and half white, I was raised more “white” than Hispanic (e.g. food, language, holidays, music, etc.). On the surface you can see a white American, English speaking, femininely dressed young lady, but I am much more than what is on the outside. Like I stated earlier I was raised more “white”, but I still identify a little with my Hispanic culture. In this paper I will be addressing 10 surface and 10 deep aspects of my cultural identity.
When we think about our identity we often think about the way we look. Such features as hair color, eye color, skin tone, height and weight come to mind. Whilst these features are part of our identity, there are many more complex factors that make us who we are. Whilst psychological issues are paramount to the formation of our identity, I will be addressing the nature of our identity in relation to socio-cultural factors (Austin, 2002, p.9). During the course of this essay I will be discussing the term of Identity and some of the axes of identity, including Race, Class and Gender. It is important to understand some of the significant issues of identity so that we have more of an understanding of who and what we are, which in turn may help us to begin to better understand others.
Every person comes from a unique family despite of race. I come from a low income family and from Mexican parents who lack a complete education. Despite of their educational status, they are still wise and know their morals to guide me in life. My family sets an example for me since they are all supportive and hard workers which encourages me to be the same. Ever since I started elementary school, I struggled through all school subjects because I didn't speak English since my first language was Spanish. My parents helped me through these struggles the best they can. As I saw them struggling, something triggered inside of me that made me work harder to ease the stress my parents had in helping me. They always support my decisions and encourage
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.
Who am I; my beliefs, values, morals, and views on society have assisted in molding me into the person that I am considered to be today. I was raced with specifics values, traditions, and norms. Being raised in a small town made being socially aware very easy. I was raised under the southern Baptist Christian religion. Church was always the same and it had a majority of women in attendance although the men and elderly people ran the church overall. It was always the same, repetitive habits and events that occurred in my town but after a while I became accustomed to always being near or known by others.
I have never really sat down and thought about my cultural identity, at least until I started this class. I never thought about how my identity was different than that of other members in my community. I also never put much mind to the communication challenges that I could face when speaking with members of my community. To be totally honest, there is more cultural differences that I have faced and actually paid attention to, and now I seem to understand the importance of how one culture differs from another.
Having a strong foundation is something that has been passed down from our ancestors post slavery, which was used to help my family form their ethnic identity as African Americans. Ethnicity refers to a social group’s distinct sense of belongingness as a result of common culture and descent (Organista, Marin, & Chun, 2010). This influenced my family to raise me with awareness of family structure, old fashion southern culture, and valuable beliefs that molded me into the woman that I am today. Along with my family’s ethnic identity, I also have my own self -identity, which is my identity as a mother and a student. However, my family’s ethnic identity along with my own self-identity was not always seen as socially excepted or
Throughout history an even today, Caribbean scholars contend that Caribbean relations are characterized by an interplay of race, class and gender. Clarke agree with this statement and said that, “The social structure of the Caribbean region is based on differences associated with class, race or colour, ethnicity and culture (Clarke, 2013). These three (3) components of race, class and gender affect each other in one way or the other. In other word, one’s class position may be dependent on his or her race or gender or one’s gender may determine his or her class position in society. It is important to note that the interplay of race, class and gender in the Caribbean differs from island to island. This essay will discuss the extent to which
What made me into the person I am today? I have asked myself this question many times before, yet it all leads back to the same concept. In fact, I came to the conclusion that it is simply a summarization of our developing years. For example, some of our biggest influences, especially in those years, are our parents and friends. Our parents help shape us into the people we are today and, in most cases, we share the same values as them. In addition, our friends are also part of the reason we are who we are. They are the first group of people we interact with and whether we mean to or not, we try to imitate them as much as we can. As a result, the three values of my personal culture that make me into who I am are respect, work ethic, and joy.
The Caribbean region extends from Barbados in the East, Trinidad and Tobago in the South, to the Bahamas in the North and Cuba in the West (Edwards, 2013, Unit 10 ). A rich cultural heritage is one of the regions most prized possessions, dear to the heart of its people. Merriam-Webster(2013) defines culture as “the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time” Diverse cultural components of music, dance, the arts, literature, languages, and religious practices do exist. This diversity is a direct result of the impact of African culture, East Indian culture and other immigrant groups of diverse origins. The immigrant groups, modified various features of their culture, and also created new forms of culture.