Reflective Essay On Cultural Identity

Cultural Identification: My identity is influenced by many factors, some being more obvious than others. Gender and age are the most obvious trait to recognize, which leads other contributing factors be unnoticed, for example, culture. Despite the fact that culture plays a very important role in influencing who we are, it is often overlooked because it cannot be seen by just looking at a person. When people look at me, I feel they see a small town, white, middle-aged, middle class women. They do not see that I am Roman Catholic, of Polish/English decent, a social worker, and most importantly a mother.

Heritage Influences: My family has always placed a large emphasis on family traditions and values. My parents taught me how to balance …show more content…
My parents placed a big emphasis on schooling and good grades. I was encouraged to pursue whichever field of study I wanted to. My mother was a nurse and my father was a prison guard. They both worked hard to provide for our family. My parents have been a big driving force pushing me to complete this master’s program. They have placed a high expectation on career success for me and my siblings. They have never tried to persuade us out of a particular field, but encourage us to reach the highest level of success as possible. For example, my sister loves teaching, has already obtained her master’s degree and is now pursuing her doctoral degree.

Cultural view of aging and elders: My views on the elderly are greatly influenced by my parents. I have learned honor and respect for older people, and to consider them to be wiser from experience. But my views on death are very different from my family’s view. My family views death as a loss and something to be feared, whereas I view it as a natural or tranquil transition. I wish I could pin point why I view death differently than my family, but I have not been able to come to this understand as of