For a long time, I had trouble figuring out who I am as an individual. Under the conditions that I grew up in, it wasn’t always as simple as identifying myself by my race. It would be easy to say I am a Guyanese-American and proud. In the white privileged society we live in, proclaiming your ethnicity alongside the term “American” does not work out. I grew up in a predominantly Hispanic and White neighborhood. I tried my best to fit in with this population. Being a victim of bullying, it was always my priority to avoid situations where I may stand out to someone; I wanted to blend in and not be seen. I remember, until I was the age of fifteen, I denied my culture and where my parents came from. I wanted nothing more than to be “white”. As
…show more content…
There were people of all races there, especially many from my Guyanese heritage. It wasn’t long before I made friends with many other Guyanese students and began to reconnect with the culture I once lost. I believe it was this occurrence that partially molded me into who I am today. Little by little, I began to accept who I was again without feeling sorry for it. It wasn’t until I got to college and declared my minor of Human Services did I fully accept myself and learned to not apologize for who I was anymore. Throughout all the CSL courses I have taken, I’ve come to realize culture plays a huge part in your identity and no one should take that away from you. I am only twenty years old; I’m still learning more aspects of who I am, but I have an idea of what I can identify myself as. I’m a student, sister, friend, daughter, helper, Catholic…the list goes on. I believe that what you value as an individual makes your identity. In order for me to be considered these things, I would need to devote myself or put some type of effort into these titles.
The factor that I most identify myself with as my cultural identity is my religion. My parents are very religious Catholics. Growing up, they utilized what they learned in church and the Bible to raise us. I know that most people would identify their cultural self through their ethnicity, but it was always different for me. There are times when I do feel included in …show more content…
My significant other was a very controlling person. Not only did he always try to tell me how to live my life, he betrayed me on several occasions with other girls we were friends with. At the time, he was my first “real” relationship. When you’re in high school, being in a relationship with someone for over six months is considered to be basically married. It was hard for me to let someone go who I had spent so much time and effort with. While I knew I was miserable all the time with him, I was afraid to leave him thinking I’ll never find someone else to “love” me. This was a time in my life where I believe I was truly lost. I was completely alone; my friends all stopped talking to me because I chose to stay in the relationship. There was no one I could truly talk to or confide in about how I felt. I never spoke about situations like this with my parents or other family members. I was being driven off the edge without an alternative to save
There were people of all races there, especially many from my Guyanese heritage. It wasn’t long before I made friends with many other Guyanese students and began to reconnect with the culture I once lost. I believe it was this occurrence that partially molded me into who I am today. Little by little, I began to accept who I was again without feeling sorry for it. It wasn’t until I got to college and declared my minor of Human Services did I fully accept myself and learned to not apologize for who I was anymore. Throughout all the CSL courses I have taken, I’ve come to realize culture plays a huge part in your identity and no one should take that away from you. I am only twenty years old; I’m still learning more aspects of who I am, but I have an idea of what I can identify myself as. I’m a student, sister, friend, daughter, helper, Catholic…the list goes on. I believe that what you value as an individual makes your identity. In order for me to be considered these things, I would need to devote myself or put some type of effort into these titles.
The factor that I most identify myself with as my cultural identity is my religion. My parents are very religious Catholics. Growing up, they utilized what they learned in church and the Bible to raise us. I know that most people would identify their cultural self through their ethnicity, but it was always different for me. There are times when I do feel included in …show more content…
My significant other was a very controlling person. Not only did he always try to tell me how to live my life, he betrayed me on several occasions with other girls we were friends with. At the time, he was my first “real” relationship. When you’re in high school, being in a relationship with someone for over six months is considered to be basically married. It was hard for me to let someone go who I had spent so much time and effort with. While I knew I was miserable all the time with him, I was afraid to leave him thinking I’ll never find someone else to “love” me. This was a time in my life where I believe I was truly lost. I was completely alone; my friends all stopped talking to me because I chose to stay in the relationship. There was no one I could truly talk to or confide in about how I felt. I never spoke about situations like this with my parents or other family members. I was being driven off the edge without an alternative to save