It’s hard to classify myself because naturally I look at classifying myself in a negative way. I want to be different I don’t want to be lumped together with everyone else just because we are members of the same cohort. Yet I recognize the reality of who I am and what comes with being who I am. I am proud of my culture and I embrace it as such.

 I am a Ragin Cajun who loves the City of New Orleans. Gumbo runs through my veins and as the great Beyoncé Knowles said “I keep hot sauce in my bag”.  What exactly comes with the culture of the Bayou? First and foremost food!!! Crawfish, and “Scrimps” in fact all seafood and anything you find in a swamp especially Gators! If you live in New Orleans you don’t call the city by its actual name. You refer to it as either Nawlins or Nola. We have distinct accents and we absolutely love to party. Our culture is celebrated annually during Mardi Gras where on average 1million people flock to the city. Another defining part of New Orleans is the music, Jazz in particular was born in the New Orleans. Great artist such as Louis Armstrong put New Orleans on the map and really popularized our culture

I am proud of where I’m from. My city has shaped who I am. Even through disaster New Orleans remains strong and as boisterous as ever. 

via GIPHY

What is my American Culture?

Cambridge Dictionaries defines culture as the "way of ​life of a ​particular people, esp. as ​shown in ​their ​ordinary behavior and ​habits, their attitudes toward each other, and ​their moral and ​religious beliefs". 

Your American culture is what defines you. It can be who you associate with, your religious views or beliefs, the many activities you are involved in, how you were raised, your education and much more. Either way, everyone is apart of a culture in some way or form. When taking a look at what exactly defines my culture, I was able to narrow it down to three specific aspects: Student Life, Religion, and Music.

Student Life:

Being a student and education have played a huge role in my life. I was always active whether it was by me playing a sport or by me being apart of clubs or organizations. Throughout elementary school, I participated in choir and gymnastics. During middle school, I was apart of the step team, the track team, the morning announcements, and the student council. High school is what really defined the start of who I am today. I was able to get involved in many extracurricular activities in high school such as Gar-field's Cheerleading Program, All- Star Cheerleading, Student Council Association, both of the top show choirs, Peer diversity, Student2Student and the Student Activities Leadership Class. The reason I hold my high school experience close to my heart is because it made a huge difference on my life and made me into the leader I am today. Going into high school, I didn't know anyone and was scared I wasn't going to fit in. Throughout the years, I was able to meet a ton of new, diverse individuals and was able to join many extracurricular activities which helped me fit in better. By my senior year, I was the Student Council Association President, the head Varsity Cheer Captain, and Mrs. Gar-field. 
Radford University

Currently, I am a college student at Northern Virginia Community College. While at NOVA, I have been focusing on my studies and tumbling on the side to prepare for my transfer to a four-year university. My plan is to transfer to Radford University in the Fall of 2016. I plan on majoring in Elementary Education and minoring in Music. Also, I am considering cheerleading at a college level, joining a sorority, joining a choir, and getting involved within the Radford Community.  

My experience as a student has been hard while trying to balance out academics, work and extracurricular activities, but when actually experiencing and going through the process, I have gained skills that I didn't have before. This all contributes to my growing leadership and is helping to develop me into the person I want and aim to be. 

  Religion:

Religion is an important part of my life. I was raised in a Baptist church and still continue to attend. I have been a member of Little Forest Baptist Church for 19 years now. While growing up in a baptist church, I have learned the core values and beliefs of Christianity. At the age 4, I gave my life to Christ and it is a day I will never forget.  I currently serve as the youth,  sound, choir and dance president at my church. Each role has allowed me to learn and engage with my peers more. It has also helped me to become a better leader within my community. My churches standard as a whole is to create a "Culture of Excellence". This simply includes what we do in the church, what we do outside in the church community and what we do within our personal lives.  Within the church, we have different ministries where everyone can get involved. Each ministry serves a purpose and fulfills our church standard. We partake in many activities like our service at the Falls Run Nursing Home or our daily check ups with the elderly individuals of the church. We also host clothing drives and food banks for individuals within our community. We even have something for each holiday, whether it is our Easter play and annual Easter egg hunt, our youth marching in the Memorial Day parade while holding fallen Tuskegee Airmen photos, our annual Thanksgiving basket drive or even our annual Christmas play.  

I take what I learned growing up and what I continue to learn day to day and apply it to my everyday life by giving back to my community. It can range anywhere from me simply praying, reading daily devotions,  attending bible study or participating in events like the annual oratorical contests, the annual spelling bees, open mics, community service, clothing drives, food banks, and various ministries. I plan to stay involved and grow more within my religion and continue to grow as a Christian. 

Music:

Ever since I was the age 2, Music has been a part of my life. I began singing at this age, mainly at church. Throughout elementary and middle school, I have participated in my school and church choir, All-County choir and many talent shows. High school again, allowed me to further my music experience. I met a great mentor named Douglass Burney who supported my family and helped me stay engaged in the music industry. I was in both the top shows choirs, took various trips for competitions and participated in many talent hunts, festivals and shows throughout high school. To add to my music experience, I have been learning how to play the piano for the last 3 years. Before, I would always play by ear or would try to teach myself how to play a tune. Now I am actually learning the history of music from various genres, how to read notes, and how to actually play the right way. It is a great experience and I can't wait to see where my piano skills take me in the future. I can most definitely say singing and playing piano are two of my favorite hobbies which is why I plan on minoring in music at Radford University, while hoping to join a choir.  I truly do enjoy and love music with a passion and without it, my life would be incomplete and I wouldn't be the talented, young lady that I am today. 

As I continue to grow in the music world, within my religion and as a student, I hope to further engage with my community, while building my leadership and staying involved in everything that defines my American culture and who I am. 

White African

“Anas, where are you from?”
“Morocco.”
“Oh, where’s that at?”
“It’s in North Africa.”
“Africa! How? You’re lighter than me.”

 Being an immigrant from Africa and not looking like the average stereotype that everyone imagines when they hear “African” has been a sort of interesting experience in my life. Because of me being from Morocco, most of my friends have either been black or African. My best friend, Sidi Kella, is from Sierra Leone. I always funny being the only light kid in a group with dark skinned black kids, it’s sort of like, I don’t belong there, but at the same time I’m from the same place they’re from. I feel like this has also changed my personality, whether it be the way I dress, or the type of music I listen to, and my interests.

 I don’t really get to visit Morocco much, but when I head back it’s always an amazing country. I was born and grow up in a seaside city, Safi. It’s kind of quite in Safi, just a small city, with amazing beaches and waves. The city that never sleeps however is Casablanca or also known as “Casa” in Morocco. Casa is pretty much New York City on acid. The nightlife there is just amazing. The whole country is amazing, but nothing beats Safi and Casa.

© Scott E Barbour

The greatest part about Morocco is the food culture. Moroccan cuisine absolutely the best. Of course everyone knows about couscous. A pure ritual, Moroccan couscous is a delicacy prepared traditionally every Friday in Morocco. In my home city, one of my favorite foods is sardines. Not the garbage you pull out of a can, but freshly caught and grilled to a perfection. Not only is Moroccan cuisine delicious, but extremely healthy.

© Groupon

Being a Moroccan American is my culture, who I am, something that will have to stick with me. It has shaped me, the food I eat, the way I talk, my interests in art and music, my religious faith. Being Moroccan is having to deal with question on why I am so light, but I don't mind explaining.

© Afro Pop

American Culture

My parents were born and raised in Pakistan and came to America around the age of 15. They went to high school here but never went off to college because they got married at a young age. They got married when my dad was 19 and my mom was 18, and a year later had their first child and continued on until their 6^th child, which was me. I am the youngest child out of 6 and it would be  expected that I'd be let off easy for things I did wrong because I was the baby in the house but it didn't go that way. I would actually get in more trouble because I was told I should've known better seeing my older siblings make those mistakes.

Growing up in America being a Muslim was difficult at times due to all the rules we had to follow in our religion; Islam, such as not eating pork and other certain foods because it was haram and being able to eat other foods because it was halal.  It was also difficult because we aren't able to show our body like our legs so I was never able to wear short dresses and shorts. Being younger I never understood why my parents would tell me not to wear those clothing's and I always left like the odd ball seeing all my friends in short dresses and I’d be in jeans. Though later on in life I started understanding more.

I also have a huge family on both sides of my family. Therefore I go to weddings almost all the time which is a huge part of my culture. I go to almost at least 5-6 weddings a year and not only that but Pakistani weddings are 3 days long and before the wedding there are "pre-parties" to get us hyped up for the actual wedding. Knowing that I have to have an outfit for each event which is also another part of my culture. Pakistani clothing is a huge part of our culture and there's a variety of styles. I love being able to dress up in fancy clothes and get all dolled up to go to weddings all the time. 

Biryani

My grandparents were born in India and moved to Pakistan after the partition in 1947. My parents were both born and raised in Pakistan. I was also born in Pakistan and then later moved to America when I was ten years old.

I have been living in the United States for about nine years. When I moved here I didn't know how to speak English but picked up the language in three months because I was young. I've lived in America for nine years but I mostly eat Pakistani food. There is just something about the food from Pakistan that I can't let go. Even though my mom makes Chinese food and other dishes that are not Pakistani I still prefer Pakistani food. Growing up I just never tried food from different places; now I just can't seem to enjoy different food. Everyone in my family likes to eat Chinese and Italian but I just eat fries at the non-Paki places that we go to. Now as i get older I find myself more open to the idea of trying food from different places.

Music and movies are another big reason why I'm still very connected to my Pakistani culture. I enjoy watching Pakistani movies and listening to Pakistani songs. Most of the playlist on my phone is full of Pakistani and Indian songs. I also listen to English music which keeps me connected to my American culture. Also, clothes are an important part of my joined Pakistani-American culture. At school or when I go out I usually wear western clothes. When I go to a family member's house or to the Mosque I wear Pakistani clothes.

Growing up in a Pakistani household I have an automatic love for biryani. Most Pakistani people love biryani. Biryani is a rice and chicken dish. Biryani is famous in the Middle East. Lately, biryani has been getting popular in other countries as well. When I started my current job my coworker asked if I could bring some biryani for her. I was so surprised because I didn't expect her to know what biryani was. It is the main dish at weddings; a wedding is not complete without biryani. Biryani is the one dish I can eat everyday and never get bored of it.

(© Good Images)

Me, Myself and I

Last year, actress Gina Rodriguez, most famously known for her role as Jane Gloriana Villanueva on  Jane the Virgin , was lashed with criticism for "not being Latina enough." Bravely, Rodriguez took on her critics by speaking up for what it really means to be a Latina/Latino and also discussed self-identity in America. After watching interviews in which Rodriguez tried to speak out against labels, I began to ponder and question who I was and how I identified myself: something I have been struggling for years.

Growing up in a Mexican-American family, it has been a constant battle balancing two distinct cultures at once. At home, I am expected to act as your ideal señorita, which means helping out my mom with chores around the house, being a role model for my younger siblings, upholding my religious values, embracing my cultural traditions, speaking fluent Spanish, and so fourth. However, anywhere else outside the boundaries of my home I am expected to be your average 18 year old who keeps up with the latest fashion trends, listens to today's music hits, enjoys her freedom, is not afraid to defy authority, dwells in social media, likes going out and so on. 

Living a life where expectations define who you are suppose to be disintegrates who we truly are rather than helping sculpt the ideal person society desires us to be. That is a lesson I learned the hard way, but it was worth it after being ostracized for "not being Mexican enough" or "not being American enough". Today, I am able to not just balance two cultures from which I come from, but I am able to follow my own values and beliefs outside the confinements of who people expect me to be. As Rodriguez said in an interview for HuffPost Live, "I actually do not sit in a definition, I walk in my world happily and confident."

 via GIPHY

Furthermore, in the world I walk in everyday, besides being a young, unique woman who does not let labels stop her from being who she wants to be, I am also proud to be an independent and hard working young adult. After I graduated from high school almost a year ago, I decided to apply for a part-time job. A few weeks after applying here and there, I got an interview at the Home Depot. Truth be told that the Home Depot was not my first choice, but reflecting back on the past few months it was one of the best decisions of my life. Working at the Home Depot has been such an amazing learning experience. Everyday I get to meet customers who come from all corners of the world, and each and every one of them has their own story that I have had the privilege to be a part of. In addition, the people that I work with are genuinely amazing in every aspect.

Furthermore, when I first started working at the Home Depot, I did not expect to make friends with any of my coworkers. To my surprise, not only have I made friends, but I have also become part of a special family at the Home Depot. In addition, I enjoy going to work at the Home Depot because I go in facing new challenges everyday. It is knowing that I take on those challenges and that I learn from them that allows me to become a better individual.

Most importantly, the most important aspect in the world I walk in and what people know me for is my passion for education. Education has become a crucial aspect of what defines me since I can remember. My greatest accomplishment as a student was being part of the International Baccalaureate Programme in high school. The courses I enrolled as a full diploma candidate allowed me to develop the ability to become a critical thinker, appreciate perspectives, learn how to challenge myself, manage time wisely, how to be a leader, and so many other skills I will cherish forever.

Walking on stage on the day of graduation knowing what I had accomplished throughout high school was the best feeling ever, especially because I was the first one in my family to graduate from high school and to attend college. As a student at Northern Virginia Community College, I plan to continue my journey here and then I hope to transfer to George Mason University where I plan to enroll in their criminal justice program. My dream job is to become an FBI agent, work in the forensic psychology field or become a school psychologist and work with children who suffer from mental illnesses.

I am excited for the journey ahead of me and thankful for every day I am able to go to bed knowing that I have made it another day. I may not know what is ahead of me, but I do know that whatever is in store for me will only make me a better individual. I know this because of the people I have met, the friendships I have built over the years, the experiences I have gone through, and the person I identify as of today. 

My American Culture

I was born in El Paso, Texas back in 1995 while my dad was a Military Police (MP) Officer in the U.S Army at Fort Bliss Army Base while my mom which I think she worked at a local airport or a hotel. I was only there for a year as an infant so therefore I didn't really experienced the big Mexican-American culture there where Spanish is the majority language and English is mostly the majority on the military base within the city area. El Paso was a really big city from what I heard, it's probably the 12th largest city in America and the 4th in Texas, it borders with one of the world's most dangerous and murderous city in Chihuahua, Mexico across the Rio Grande; it's called Juarez, La Ciudad de Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico.

              
                                   Courtesy of Google Images                                                                             Courtesy of Google Images

After that, my family and I moved to the outskirts of Mobile, Alabama as my dad attends the University of Southern Alabama for a ROTC program for him to become an officer rank in the Army. This is the farthest I can ever remember being a toddler growing up for a couple of years in Southern Alabama. We lived in a trailer in a trailer park that is almost out in the country. Back in El Paso, Texas we lived in a regular home on base where all the homes on base looks exactly the same from one another because its a military base. Homes are uniformed on military bases. After a few years in Alabama then that's when my family moved up in Virginia on a military base called Fort Lee in Petersburg and Hopewell. So yeah, I grew up with a military dad and a family for awhile until 2002 when my dad retired from the Army and we moved into the nice middle-class suburbs of Richmond and Colonial Heights. My environmental culture in America was living in majority white middle-class neighborhoods with only some minorities in Prince George, Chesterfield, Spotsylvania, and Stafford, Virginia. My neighborhoods in Prince George, Spotsylvania, and a little bit of Chesterfield were short of out in the country. So living out in the semi-country and country area did short of made me feel and act a little redneckish sometimes. I would only act more redneckish whenever later in life when I visit my older sister and her family and them as they're living out in the countryside of Prince George County, VA.

My parents were eventually divorced in 2006 while living in Lee's Hill in Spotsylvania. For awhile I lived with a single parent until I had a step-mom and a step-dad. I have two brothers and two sisters but most of them have different moms and dads from one another, and I have a little step-sister from my step-dad. I have different ethnic origin background in me. I am mixed with Mexican American and/or Mexican, some Native American like Cherokee, Creeks, and Aztecs, Korean and Japanese, and Anglican, Finnish Scandinavian, and Mexican white. But I grew up looking very Hispanic while my close family members looked more white than anything else. My step family are whites with ethnic origins from France, Germany, and England. However, I grew up and lived mostly white than anything else while sometimes I will act and feel short of Hispanic/Latino. I like playing and watching sports like football, lacrosse, baseball, and soccer. I also like hunting, shooting, snowboarding, exercising, watching TV and playing video games, and hanging out with friends, pets, and family.

 

        
                 Courtesy of Google Images                                            Courtesy of Google Images                                             Courtesy of Google Images

My political views are mostly Republican Conservative and some Moderates. I have a lot of likes and pride for my own country America. My religion is Christian and sometimes Baptism but it doesn't really matter as long as I really love, believe in, and follow Jesus Christ. Like I said I grew up around family members and some friends who are mostly living in a white American culture in Virginia usually in the suburbs and out in the country but still middle-class. Right now I'm having newer friends that are blacks and a few Hispanics in my area. I grew up and lived most of my life in Virginia from Prince George, Chesterfield, to Stafford and the Fredericksburg area. I've been outside of my region and a little bit of my culture on some occasions. My languages are English and some Spanish, and a little bit of Portuguese. I primarily speak and use English any where I go. I only speak and use Spanish with someone who speaks and knows Spanish, mostly a Latino/Latina person, but that's short of less common according to where I live and hangout. My music preferences are Rap, Hip-Hop, Rock, Heavy Metal Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Rap music, some old Gangster Rap music, and modern day Trap-style Rap music. Once in a occasion I would enjoy listening to Country music.

That's my American culture that I lived, grew up, and was exposed to.

    
                                    Courtesy of Google Images                                                                                       Courtesy of Google Images

My culture

When defining culture Merriam-Webster describes it as "a particular society that has its own beliefs, ways of life, art, etc." Culture is the type of group or community an individual identifies with or how others may define them as. No matter if it’s a large group or a more defined subgroup everyone has societies. With each group the individuals who relate to the common subject, have common knowledge on something or someone that outsiders who are not a part of the group would not know about.

The first group I identify with is being raised by a single parent. Many individuals raised by single parents   have gone through certain hardships and adversity that someone raised in a two parent household would not understand.  Being raised by a single mother definitely was challenging at times for example not being able to go to the father daughter dances at school because my father wasn't in the picture like my classmates. Although my mother allowed me to get involved in any and everything I wanted we did have to sacrifice certain weekend activities like my other friends. I was involved in all-star cheerleading for almost eleven years, all-star cheerleading is not a cheap sport at all and because of that I wasn't able to get every new pair of shoe I wanted or go shopping every week like my classmates. The fact that I was raised in single parent household also affects my values in life. I definitely value family and marriage more than others because I've experienced being a victim of divorce and don't want that to happen to my future children.

The second group I identify with is cheerleading. Being a cheerleader for eleven years, I pretty much know everything about cheer there is too know. To outsiders cheerleading is easy sport, some would even say it is a hobby, but to the insiders it so much more.  The cheerleading world has terminology and sub groups that many people are unaware of. There are four subgroups within the sport of cheerleading. The groups are community cheerleading, high school cheerleading, college cheerleading and all-star cheerleading.  For many all-star cheerleaders, high school cheerleading is a hobby and we don’t take it very seriously. All-star cheerleaders typically have a higher skill level than other subcategories of cheerleading because they have more freedom on what level of difficulty they choose for their team.  All-star cheerleading is strictly preforming at competitions and exhibitions. When I was all-star cheerleading we were on the road almost every weekend for a new competition from October to April, which is the typical all-star competition season.

 Cheerleading terminology is literally a foreign language to outsiders. Depending on what subgroup of cheer, the terminology can be more extensive. With community cheerleading and high school cheerleading they may use more of the basic cheer terms because they aren’t allowed to do many of the higher risk stunts and tumbling. Because of the limitations for community and high school cheerleading they usually aren’t taught the higher difficulty terms. With all-star and college teams there is definitely an expectation on knowing the various terms because these teams are more focused on having a higher risk stunt to impress judges and expect their team’s members to already have background knowledge on the basics. With college and all-star teams, they have more freedom to do higher level stunts and tumbling so their cheerleading vocab is substantially large compared to community and high school cheerleaders.  
Here are some example

 

 

No matter what subgroup of cheerleading an individual may be in, cheerleaders almost always have another cheerleader’s back. Many outsiders of cheerleading, view cheerleading as an afterschool activity but all cheerleaders know how serious cheer can be. Cheerleading is one of the most dangerous sports to be involved in and has a high amount of deaths and injuries each year. According to United States Sports Academy, which is a American college that offers sports field related majors, listed cheerleading as the top female dominated sport and ranked number two for most catastrophic injuries in all American sports in 2011.  Cheerleaders of all backgrounds may look at each other differently, but will always defend cheerleading as a sport. Cheerleading is one of the groups that no matter what level or how long you were cheering, once a cheerleader always a cheerleader.

 

My American Culture

I have numerous American Cultures and one of the most important cultures to me is being a military brat.  I will focus on my military brat culture as Army child.  A military brat is known as a U.S. Military culture.   A military brat culture or lifestyle consist of a lot of moving from place to place.  A civilian child has a best friend from his or her hometown but a military brat has families and best friends from every contingent.  Military brat culture is challenging because of moving place to place and having to leave your family, friends, and also having to move to a different state or foreign countries and attend numerous different schools.  Military culture consisting of moving a lot and it was emotional and physical challenge not only for me but for my entire family.

As a military brat I have moved fifteen times, including moving to South Korea when I was six months old.  As a military brat, I can say it is more stressful to move when you are a teenager.  I recalled when I was fourteen years old the news came again from my parents stating we were moving to Alaska.  I did not know what to expect.  I knew it was a really frigid place and I thought we were going to be living in igloos instead of houses and live with the polar bears. The movers came to the house one day and it seem like it took forever for them to pack up of household goods. The time was getting close for us to move to Alaska and I was very nervous and was not looking forward to leaving my school and friends.  However, I can say this move to Alaska was the best experience for me as a military brat. Living in Alaska as a teenager was great for me, I felt very safe in Anchorage because the crime rate was very low. Getting registered for school is nerve racking for military brats.  As a military brat I attended four different high schools.  Moving from school to school is very challenging, however it is more difficult when you are in high school because courses you completed at your old school may not satisfy the graduation requirements at your new school.  For example, Earth Science in Alaska curriculum was different than Earth Science in North Carolina, therefore I had to retake earth science in North Carolina.  Also, the number of credits required for high school graduation was different at each school.

 Another great thing about Alaska was the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights).  There is nothing like the experience of seeing the Northern Lights which is green bands of light in the sky.   Sometimes the Northern Lights are greenish-yellow, light blue, or red.  Other cool things to do in Alaska was sightseeing, including moose watching.  I could look out of my bedroom window and watch moose touching my bedroom windows.  Of course, I would take pictures of them and send them to my family in North Carolina.  They could not believe their eyes.  Alaska was an amazing experience for me because I was able to fly over several mountains, glaciers and land on a glacier in North America’s tallest peak Denali National Park (formerly known as Mount McKinley).  In May 2012, my family and I took an enhanced flightseeing experience and the pilot landed the helicopter on one of Denali National Park glaciers.  While in air, my brother enjoyed co-pilot duties and on the glacier I enjoyed the snowball fight with my family.  After the snowball fight we walked on the glaciers for about one hour.  This was the most amazing experience in my life and if my family and I weren’t stationed in Alaska I do not believe I would have had the opportunity to land or walk on a glacier.  This flightseeing trip was a one in a life time experience for me I saw glacial formations that no human being foot has touch.

In conclusion my military brat culture was rough at the beginning but now I have learned to enjoy my military brat culture.  Being a military brat is not always easy, but I learned to become comfortable and adjust to different situations and environments.  Being a military brat is not always easy, but it gets easier for me because I have moved fifteen times in my military brat life.  Being a military brat is a wonderful experience because you meet new people and travel the world for free.

Identification in culture

Identifying myself in American culture can be somewhat hard. There are just so many things that can be said about myself because, in reality, I am a combination of different influences. Whether it is a parenting, work, culture, or a political influence, they all help form who I am today.

If I had to pick one of the top things that have influenced me, however it would have to be my parents and the Puerto Rican environment. My parents have influenced me to believe what I do now, follow certain standards and most of all do things right the first time. On the other hand, the Puerto Rican Culture or Environment has taught me to in other words just not be shy, be an outgoing person.

For example in American culture Americans don't have "Parrandas" (a big gathering of the people going crazy and singing traditional Puerto Rican songs). Puerto Ricans have them almost every day, it's part of our normal day in life where we go out have fun and sing until we can no longer continue anymore. These Parrandas have been going on for more than 200 years and in Puerto rico you cant possibly be in one and not have the best of times. This not only brings you fun but teaches you the value of coming together as one.

The culture has taught me the value of family and most of all how they will always be there for me. Again one of the most influential aspects of my life has to be being Puerto Rican because of the big part it hits, family. Family is everything to my culture.

I play different roles in society

American Culture = Diversity and blend of culture background 

My name is Nancy Sofia Espinoza Pastora. I was born on September 4th, 1995 in the Fairfax, VA.  I am part of  many different american culture:
Growing up in the United States and my others sisters growing up in Nicaragua. All of us having a different experience growing up especially in different nations. I would always travel to my families country to get exposed to the culture and have some of the same experience. As a child my first language was English and slowly I have had to learn to gain that part of me to speak Spanish.

Provided By: NicaraguaNic 

As a child I really never cared of society and how I was viewed, but I mean as a child all you really cared about was to have fun and play with friends. Growing up in a Hispanic house hold is so different from many other ethnic backgrounds because most Hispanic parents are really strict and rigid. I remember my parents calling me inside at a certain time and the rest of my friends staying out late at night. I never thought of it until now how different I was compared to others.

Growing up I lived in a neighborhood semi-diverse and all my friends where from different culture and some where Hispanics from different countries. It was pretty interesting because I love listening to different types of music. I do not believe in excluding someone from a group just because of what they look like or who they are.

In high school I was part of Spanish Honor Society and I enjoyed it so much. I joined because helping my high school change their mentality about the Hispanic community and helped change the Hispanics on how to treat each other. Overall I was able to be part of group seniors that improved the quality of treatment within the society of the Freedom High School. I was able educated a group kids on the issues that we face on the daily basis in society. I was able to expose them to protests and I how to stand up for what believe in and never put your head down when you feel like you have something to say.

Provided By: Espinoza Pastora 

I remember always saying to myself I will date someone from Nicaragua not because of racial problems. I just always thought that was the right thing to do. Now I think differently and I realize that love does not come in ages,sizes, and culture wise. I am proud to say that I am happy with a Puerto Rican / Cruzan U.S Virgin Islander man. Cruzan is a person that is from St. Croix which is located in the U.S Virgin Island. He has helped me change my views on a lot of things and has exposed me to different things such as Asoka, Reggae, and  rap as well as hip-hop. He has helped me understand more about the struggles of other cultures and be more open to new things and other people.

Provided by: Espinoza Pastora 

My mentally from as a child has changed now as a young lady trying to follow her dreams in becoming a children psychologist. I believe that growing up in this nation has been something good because I have had the ability to know and experience how it feels to work at McDonald just to get paid minimum wage $7.25. I also have had the opportunity to now have a great stable job with a bit more pay, but still wanting to get up there. I want to be what my own mother couldn't have been  not because she did not want to, but because how hard it was for to be a single mother of three girls.

Provided by: Espinoza Pastora 

This society has shaped to be a great human being as much as possible. I have experienced things that I never imagined to experience as a child growing up. I have learned that my career should something that I could do by helping others, but also having options to switch around when it comes to who needs my help.

Social Upbringing

Family, Discipline, Travel, and Sports

I was born in Alexandria, Virginia in ’97. I am number 4 of 6 kids so I’m used to having a lot of people in the house. My dad comes from a family of 10 kids so I guess you could say having a big family runs in the Carey blood. We used to attend church every Sunday, so religion played a huge roll in my upbringing. My parents are the greatest people I have ever met, and I wouldn’t change them for anything in the world. Nothing beats my mother’s cooking, plus she makes enough to feed everyone in the neighborhood. She’s a firm believer in not letting people go hungry. If you come to our house, you’re pretty much guaranteed a meal.
      My parents have been married for 25 years, and they both have demanding government jobs. Growing up, our aunt would babysit us Monday-Friday until my parents came home from D.C. My Aunt Patty was extremely hard headed and strict. If one of my siblings or myself didn’t finish all of our food on our plates she would make us stand on the table until my parents got home. (Usually 3-4 hours later) I used to think she was obnoxiously cruel but as I got older, I realized the discipline has really molded me into the person I am today.

My family LOVES to travel! So I've been to a bunch of places- Cancun, Hawaii, California, Australia, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, and basically every state on the east coast! Traveling is the best thing in the world, especially when I'm vacationing with my family. I plan to travel until I physically cannot walk anymore. When I was 16 years old, I explored Australia and New Zealand without my family. I was thrown into a group of 20 strangers, who I eventually became pretty close with! My entire family says that my experience in Australia made me more bright and independent. I think that traveling across the globe really influenced my passion for travel!

My siblings and I were athletes. I played soccer, softball, and basketball throughout my entire childhood. Majority of the time, I was on a team with my little sister. My favorite sport is basketball, so I spent most of my time on weekends at AAU tournaments. I think playing so many sports has complimented my willingness to work with a team.

I like to consider my siblings as teammates, because we are all so close and we seem to do everything together. Throughout my entire 19 years of life, I’ve learned that blood is thicker than water. I will be there for my family no matter what happens. The relationship I have established with every member of my family is something that I’m proud of. I’m truly blessed to be a part of such a great family.