Personal Narrative: Who I Am Today

Throughout my life, many factors have influenced and shaped me into the young woman I am today. I am an active member of many cultures, and continue to learn and adopt numerous values, traditions, and morals from each. There are certain cultures people are born into, and others that are chosen by people at various stages of their life. Over the span of my nineteen years of life, I have been put into as well as voluntarily joined a combination of cultures which have instilled in me both positive and negative qualities. Cultures I was born into include the female culture, the Caucasian American culture, and my unique family culture. As for those which I have elected to become a member of include things such as the soccer culture, the Concordia

It is obvious that many things differ between males and females, and with this comes a differing set of values, morals, and traditions. One major way in which the female culture has impacted who I am is through the encouragement I received to express my feelings both verbally and nonverbally. This learned value of being comfortable communicating has taught me how I should solve social problems I encounter as well as allowing me to easily release stress by discussing my frustrations instead of holding them in. As a female it has also been taught to me that I should help people and do what is in favor of the majority. This collectivistic belief has led me to give up some things in order to allow for the majority to gain what they desire. Being a female also comes with its own expectations of what is right and important. For example, it is understood that being a lady does not only affect one’s verbal communication, but also their nonverbal communication. As a female I was taught the “right” way to sit, speak, and carry myself. It is looked down on if a female sits with her legs open or uses foul language, and for this reason I do my best to align myself with the expectations and ideas of the culture in order to express my shared

From birth I have been taught morals and values which have gotten me to where I am presently. My mom stressed the importance of doing well in school while developing positive social skills, whereas my dad continually urged me to be an individual and stand up for myself. Due to their guidance, I have carried and practiced these values as I grew up and continue to do so. Within my small family, we are very comfortable with one another and it can be said that we have a smaller power distance than other households. Even though the power distance in my home may be small, my parents taught me to respect authorities and elders by demonstrating a larger power distance towards them. My parents also raised me into a family which has fluid gender roles. My mother and father both have full-time careers and have made it clear that I am expected to do the same when I have a family of my own. They, especially my mom, believe a husband and wife should be equals and take care of household duties as well as earning money to support the family. There are no set male and female roles in my house, instead everyone is expected to help out and work toward the common goal of the betterment of the family as a