My Samoan Culture

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If I were to choose one place in the whole world which would be the best setting to learn the lessons of life, it would be at home with my family. I am from the islands of Samoa located in the Pacific. I grew up in a family of five people in a society of strong culture and religious atmosphere. I love being with my family because they play a vital role in my life. Most of my time was spent on helping out with the family chores, going to school and fulfilling my church callings. In this essay I will discuss how my culture, my family and my church has changed and molded my character for the better.

Firstly, my culture has taught me values that helped me realize some important things in life that I should always remember. One of these values is that men should treat the ladies-especially sisters-with esteem and respect. The Samoan culture compares the lady or sister to the pupil of the eye. According to human nature, one could never let dirt or anything unclean enter the pupil of his or her eye. If it does, that person will not be able to see clearly and eventually the condition will become a continual irritation and results in displeasure. Hence, to prevent the problem one should always keep away dirt from the pupil so he or she can see clearly. This was the way I was taught to treat my sisters constantly, merely with respect and admiration. I have come to love my sisters to a great extent through the years and it is now more of a habit instead of just obeying the standards of my culture itself.

Additionally, building this strong brother-to-sister relationship of trust with my own sisters, leads my focus on the members of my family, who has influenced my character more fully than anyone else. My Dad especially is probably my greatest example of all times whose character and integrity really touched me in various ways I could ever imagine. I really admired the way he led our family with great wisdom and counsel which helped me in my hard and difficult times. I only got to spend nineteen years of my life time with him due to his passing away while I was on my mission.

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