The Importance Of Ethnic Work

The article titled "Optional Ethnicities: For Whites Only?" written by Marcy C. Waters was a fascinating read. Being a student who studies sociology, I try always try to analyze the differences between categories of people like race, but I have never thought about symbolic ethnicity. Also, I never thought about the idea of being able to turn off and on your cultural backgrounds. In all, Waters brought new ideas to the table. I assume since I am White, I have never had to give it much thought. So, when people do ask me about my heritage, I tell them that I am German, Irish and American Indian. Now, when saying this to people, I do get excited because it makes me feel unique and interesting to others. After reading the article, I can see how

Race and ethnicity play a pivotal role in our lives, informing how we see ourselves and

In order for me to understand my race and ethnicity I needed to understand the historical events that shaped and culturally changed Puerto Rico. Although there is a dominant influence of Hispanic culture in Puerto Rico there is also African roots that are embedded in the Puerto Rican culture. After the genocide of the Taino indians african slaves were brought to the island for plantation purposes. My brothers factual storytelling provided me with answer as to what I identified as. Not only was I able to formulate an intellectual understanding of my identity I was able to be apart of it actively as well.

There is a massive amount of ethnicities in this world. You have ethnic groups that are not necessarily related to where you came from but what group you identify yourself with. As a descendant who speaks the Spanish language we are categorized as being part of the Hispanic ethnic group. My father having twelve siblings and my mother having nine, it was a huge family. Our grandparents and parents inculcated us to be a united family with all the values and beliefs they initiated. Every ethnic group is similar but different in its own unique way. In which some have music, food and believes that characterize us as that specific ethnic group. The only difference is the way people embrace it. We also have many different types of celebrations

While reading Ethnic Options by Mary Waters, I made quite a few connections between what she wrote, and my own ethnic identity. My ethnic background is Belgian and Polish, but I tend to identify with being Belgian, which Waters helps me understand why I do this. Ethnic Options helped me understand my own ethnicity and choices by reading about others and their experiences. Mary Waters made multiple good points about how we choose or identify with our ethnic identities. The concepts I related to most from her book was the meaning of ethnicity through cultural practices, the fact of assimilation through residential segregation, and how the structure of your family can affect what ethnicity you identify with.

A group’s shared language, race, culture, ancestral experiences, way of dressing, work ethic, social values, etc. are part of what Hays and Erford (2014) describe as ethnicity. If I were to describe a few of my ethnic affiliations, I would describe myself as a white, spiritual, Christian female, that speaks English, and lives a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona. Although my great- grandparents came to the United States from Ireland and England, I am not aware of many lingering nationality traits that my family practices. Some things we do still have in common with my grandparents and great-grandparents are a strong work ethic, celebrating major Christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter, and love of

Culture, race, ethnicity, religion, and even family are key elements to our identity. Our experiences and surroundings help us determine who we are as a person. As for me, I come from a Mexican family of six members; my mom, my dad, my three brothers and me. The absence of a sister and the interaction with three brothers made it easier for me to socialize with boys rather than with girls.

If I could describe my own racial identity, I would describe myself as a twenty-one year old girl who is causation. I was born and raised in Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania my whole life with my two sisters. I come from a middle class working family. My cultural background is, I come from the Irish and German heritage. I have green eyes, brown hair and my skin color is light. When it comes to my extended families, racial history is most of my family members were from Ireland and came over the America to raise their families. My great grandmother was born in Ireland, but she lived Czechoslovakia for a few years, before she moved to America. So my most of my extended family that I know are Irish on my father’s side of the family, my mother’s family is German. My parents raised my sisters and I, in a house where religion was very important, my parents raised us as Catholics. My parents were really strict and old school when it came to certain things. How I feel about my racial identity is, I love the person I am and I would not want to change myself at all. I enjoyed the way I was raised; it helped me shape me into the person I am today.

Race, Ethnicity, and Nationality are a vital part of any individual. The overall population on our planet is growing and becoming more diverse. The importance of these things in American Society is very complicated. Race represents the evolution of culture from many years ago, Ethnicity symbolizes who we are and how we are influenced, and Nationality tells us where we come from. Although there are many theories; race, ethnicity, and nationality are socially formed and is real in society. The affects they have on peer groups, media, and children have a big impact on the way people live on a day to day basis.

My ethnic heritage is not highly influential in the way I define myself because I do not have a single ethnicity. On my mom’s side of the family, I am ethnically Scottish, Welsh, and Cherokee. My dad’s side of the family is ethnically German with a little Irish mixed in. Because of all of these ethnicities, I identify myself as ethnically American. I have always celebrated American holidays like Independence Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day, and I do not celebrate holidays specific to one of my previously listed ethnicities. I enjoy watching American sports like football and watching American teams succeed international competitions like the Olympics and the World Cup, and I enjoy American foods like hamburgers, hot dogs, and Chick-fil-a. In the way I view the world, ethnicity is not the most important thing because I live in a country full of different ethnic heritages. It is interesting and fun to meet people of other ethnicities and learn about them. Various ethnicities are what created the United States I know today, so learning about different ethnicities broadens my view of the United States as a whole and gives me a small glimpse into life in different countries. Ethnicity is important in shaping who a person is and what they believe, but it does not have a strong influence on how I see myself.

My ethnicity plays a huge part of my cultural identity. My family originates fully from different parts of Russia and the former Soviet Union. I have been to Russia twice, the first time when I was about nine months old(I don't remember anything) and the second time is when I was seven. Usually when a person goes to a place that they have never been to the experience a cultural shock, but I didn't because I was raised in a similar culture as the one I visited. As a Russian I grew up having my parents tell me that I have to speak only Russian at home so then when I grow up and marry and have kids, I would be able to teach my (future) children their native language. My parents taught me to read, write and speak in proper russian, and the same is expected of me. I also grew up eating a lot of Russian food, the most common ones I had were borsh- a beet and cabbage red soup. Blini- our version of the French Crȇpe

I don’t really know much about my identity through my heritage. However, my ‘identity’ has been found through my family’s and I’s moral beliefs and teachings. I couldn’t tell you much about before I was born, but I can say right now, I belong to people who accept me for me. Everything I am. Where I come from and who I’m going to be is because of the people I’ve chosen to immerse myself around. A quote by a man named Francis Conroy says it best, “As you age naturally, your family shows more and more on your face.” I hope this is true for me when I’m older. The values and traditions that I’ve always been around is something I am extremely proud of. The quote later goes on to say, “If you deny that, you deny your heritage.” No matter how many times I leave the family nest or allow myself to figure

I come from a small rural farm where I was born and raised all my life and where I grew up with two loving parents and one sister. Ever since I was a young girl, religion has always been a big part of my life because I was born and raised Catholic. My mothers’ side of the family is German Catholic decent and my fathers’ race is German and Cherokee Indian. Even though they are mainly German combined I have always found it interesting that I have Native American blood running through my veins. It is obvious that my parents are both Caucasian and were middle class individuals when I was growing up. I would now classify my parents to be in the higher class because they are worth more now then twenty-five years ago. Even though my parents have more money now than what they did when growing up on the farm, a strong work ethic was important to my parents. I am thankful they instilled this within me because I have always worked hard for everything in my life and I know that this will payoff for me one day. My parents also told me that education will get me further in life and it has. I am the first of my family to graduate from college let alone getting my masters as well. So when looking

Today, each individual comes from a unique family bloodline that goes back to ancient history. It 's easy to not think about these things with the every day lives we have today. However, to fully understand who a person is, it is necessary to understand where they come from. My ethnicity is Iranian on my father 's side, and my dad is my only family member from Iran living in the United States. He was born in Isfahan, Iran, which is a popular city and I still have family living in the area today. My dad left Iran to come to college here in the United States in 1978 to build a family and have a better more fortunate life.

My ethnicity is multi-ethnical, I'm part of the 2nd generation in my Japanese family, while also being split between quarters of European and Mexican ethnicities. Part of the beauty of having multiple ethnicities is that you really get to experience the multiple cultures of people maintaining a bond. I was that bond! As I said earlier I don’t believe I grew up unfortunate. I family is very loving and I spent time with all my family whether it meant spending time with my seven Hispanic cousins on the holidays or having an oriental Thanksgiving. In addition, turkey stuffed with water chestnut rice stuffing is something else, everyone needs to try once.