Instead of feeling ashamed of my background, I now take pride in the beauty and uniqueness of my people. My parents have always reminded me of the uniqueness of my name which ironically suits me perfectly. There truly is a time for everything, even coming to terms with my own identity. The journey I have gone through to be where I am now has developed me into a stronger person. No longer do I allow negativism and insecurities about my heritage to weigh me down. I have emerged into the true meaning of my name and will continue to thrive from my heritage.
This explains how an aspect as simple as a name can greatly affect a person's personality, and features through life. Having knowledge of the heritage that makes a person who they are will greatly improve possibilities on how to improve upon and give acclaim to
At this point in time reflecting on my past experiences I think the first thing I would do differently with my life is believe in myself and not doubt my decisions or my looks. Growing up I have always been made to feel ashamed of my dark skin, my bigger body and my hispanic heritage because it was different from what society had taught me and my family. If I knew no one would judge me I would embrace the darker pigmentation of my skin, accept my body for how it is and wear my heritage with pride. During the summer might go out swim Instead of staying inside and worrying about getting a little bit darker; I would stop wearing long sleeve shirts on the hottest day to avoid having people see the darkness of my skin. I would wear red lipstick
I really did not think there was anything extraordinary about my culture and heritage because I have lived in a Crystal City, Texas my whole life. Being Mexican American was really the usually thing so I did not consider anything special of it, but my history has shown me otherwise. Living in a small town has shown me that I can leave a legacy, keep the heritage of my family alive, and still strive to have an education.
My cultural identity, as I know is Mexican American because both my parents are born in Mexico and I was born here. I can also be defined as a Chicana because that is another way used to call a Mexican American. My culture can be seen in so many different ways like for example it can be seen in food, music, religion, dance, art, festivals, and even more. Most of these traditions have changed a little bit over time as they were brought to the U.S. What I mean by that is that some of those traditions were brought from Mexico, and had a little change into them because they were combined with some traditions that have already been here in the U.S.
Most people call me Colby, but on the field i'm know as number 40. Soccer has been a part of my life since I was 3, my 12 years of experience have influenced how I act, what I eat and most aspects of my life-like who I hang out with and what I dislike. In the United states especially, sports are a huge part of everyone's cultural identity. With all this in mind I would call my cultural identity a soccer game. It can change in a blink of the eye but is consistent through life.My family is like the other players, education is like the field and my hobbies are like the ball.
What is my cultural identity? Personally, I don’t think I am completely assured on what my cultural identity is, but I can do my best on explaining it. However, I won’t get started on that yet, first I’ll explain the occasion of me learning about my identity. At almost the beginning of the year, it was announced in our English class that we would be doing an essay on our cultural identities. When my teacher announced this I thought to myself, “What in the world is a cultural identity, or even my cultural identity?” In these months, we have gotten to learn the definition of culture, and what it means to us, individually., I believe that culture means a group of people that share the same customs, way of life, and beliefs. Also, over these last couple of months we have been reading texts all about people knowing and understanding their cultural identities, meanwhile I still didn’t understand my own. All I know is that I was born on February 11, 2002, I like movies and music, and my mom is from Chile and my Dad is from Virginia. Now that didn’t feel like enough for me to write on, but then I started thinking about all of the cultural differences that my parents have had raising me as a person, and how those have all combined to make me. In my short 15 years of life, the culture clashes have sometimes affected me on my thoughts and opinions, which I’ll talk about later on. As well as how movies and music have affected my perspectives and opinions.
"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all" (Mauro, sec. 1). This was the original pledge of allegiance to the United States of America given on October 12th, 1892, celebrating the four hundred year memory of Columbus’s journey (Mauro, sec. 1). This pledge is now a part of all school systems, recited at many sporting events, and posted in various places all over the United States of America. Since that time, the pledge now reads, “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all” (Mauro, sec. 1). This pledge is a representation
My culture artifact is the Hina doll because it is a tradition in Japan to decorate with them for the Hinamatsuri. The Hinamatsuri is also known as "girls day". This is on March 3, and you wish girls good health and future happiness. The Hinamatsuri's origin was during the Heian period. The people would set afloat straw hina dolls and sent it down a river, which led to an ocean. This was used to take bad spirits away. The hina dolls are displayed on a hina dan. The hina dan is covered with a red carpet and the dolls are displayed on it. On the top is the imperial dolls ,which are the Emperor and the Empress. On the second platform holds the three court ladies. They are holding equipment for sake, a Japanese drink. On the third platform are
My heritage is America. My America is a melting pot - a combination of people from every corner of the earth. The culture of acceptance that exists here in America allows me to not only be accepted but learn to approach others with a open heart and mind. The word heritage can encompass so many ideas regarding race, tradition, language, and almost any social umbrella that you can think of. The images that pass through my mind when I hear the words “culture” or “heritage” are images of instruments made from decaying tree trunks being played in backyard slings and leather-bound literature being read to little children and sweet aromas that fill linoleum kitchens in the summertime. Though I live in Maryland, I was born in Washington, D.C. ,
People of many different ethnicities have questioned my heritage, and when I defend my culture, they have laughed at me. In my Spanish class, it was tradition to celebrate Cinco De Mayo where many students would bring Mexican food or something similar. My father, an avid cook, would prepare a Mexican dish every year. For my seventh grade year, my father and I made tamales for the class. The majority of the class enjoyed them.Yet , a select few, “more” Mexican ones, did not even try them.I proceeded to ask why they did not eat them; no clear answer was given. I naively and simply thought they did not like tamales or were just not hungry so to their reply; I remarked, “Yeah I understand I like manoodle more anyway”. My comment was quickly answered with astringent laughter. Baffled by their response, I walked away not knowing they were laughing at me. What caused the laughter was the pronunciation of the word menudo,a Mexican dish, however I did not understand this because manoodle is my how my father pronounced it. The mispronunciation was due to the fact that,sadly, Spanish was not passed to my father’s generation. Honestly, this situation has truly affected how I view myself. It made me think that I was not good enough, that I did not deserve my name and that I was not who I thought I was. At one point, it
The first time I truly experienced the intimacy of American innovation was during my time at the American Legion Auxiliary's Girls State Program this past summer. Before walking into the camp, I was under the belief my perception of America was clear; my patriotism stemmed from our nation’s determination, dedication, and willpower. Though these reasons still bring me pride today, I walked away from Girls State with a new vision. I initially viewed Girls State as a competition, but that mindset took an abrupt turn after a workshop conducted by the president of the Douglas County School Board. After her presentation, she began to cry, and said “You bright girls are why my son’s fighting right now, not because of greed or oil.”
For me, I would define myself as Chinese-Canadian because despite me being from Canada, I would still want to embrace my heritage because I want that side to remain a part of who I am. Our heritage is always changing as new ones are building on old ones. If we do not educate ourselves about our heritage, then a large portion of identity is lost and there would be no bridge to the new heritage.
I am truly proud of my background and how it has formed my identity. My background consists of me being Portuguese. I could not be any more thankful for how greatly my background has impacted my life into what it is now. It has helped me gain many friends that I am still very close to and gain interests that have started since I was a child. Simply experiencing my family’s numerous customs and traditions is why I love to express that I am Portuguese. It has given me the opportunity to visit Portugal every year during each summer where I fall in love with the country each time. Being Portuguese has taught me many lessons throughout life that I will continue to pass on for future generations of my family.
It’s crazy to think that the way you were raised is what has made you become the person you are today. Everyone has their own story about how they were raised, where they were raised, and who they were raised with. Each person has their own type of heritage with how they are raised based upon their family, where they were raised, religion, family traditions, values, and beliefs. The way you were raised in life has influenced your personality. The way you act and the way you are viewed as are both influenced by your family’s heritage.
Cultural heritage is used to describe a way of living in a certain community. My cultural heritage is a white American with a little touch of southern, Cajun. From living in the main state of the community, Louisiana, I grew up learning the ways of life as a Cajun. Before writing this paper I wasn’t even sure if I had a cultural background being that I am just white. However, I’ve learned that being southern or Cajun is a culture that I did not even recognize. My spiritual beliefs as a southern and plenty of other southern people is a Roman Catholic or Christian. Some might know the southern states as the Bible belt. Church is a really big part of my culture and following the word of god. This is part of my culture that I am proud of but it also can cause some issues with stereotypes.