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Birth
I was born on September 11th, 1992. Obviously, I wouldn't be in the position of writing about what impacts and changes my culture with being born. Being born on this date was a major cultural influence on my life, even before I knew it. I was born with a late birthday, so that meant I just missed the cutoff to be with students my age and started school with those a year younger than me. Always being the oldest in my class created pressure to be civil and teachers expected me to "act my age". -
First memories of my family
I had a small family compared to most people I know. That being said, it should be easier to see them, but even though they lived an hour away from St. Charles, we only saw family members during major holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving. My mom especially distanced herself from my Grandma because of how she was raised and the experiences she had as she grew up. She never really talked about what happened but stated she, "wasn't the favorite daughter", which meant I saw less of my Grandma. -
Getting Chickenpox
This was my first memory with something that was threatening to my health. As a child, you grow up thinking nothing will hurt you. This was a major cultural influence in my life because it showed me how much my parents cared for me. I remember staying home watching "Power Rangers", and my Dad feeding me medicine and making me soup all day. He stayed home, looked out for me, and made sure I was better. He wasn't a big hugger or kisser, but he showed affection to me in ways like this. -
Seventh Birthday at home
My family was middle class, especially considering my father was self-employed. Compared to my aunt whose husband was a three star general and worked for Boeing, my family was way off in terms of socioeconomic status. That being said, my parents cherished birthdays, the one I remember most was when my mom got a bunch of free boxes and built a mini-city outside. All my friends came and we built a small city, it was awesome. I didn't get an expensive gift, but I gained valuable memories. -
Seeing my first disabled person
I was at a buffet with my Grandma and saw a disabled person eating next to me. I observed what my Grandma did and she said, "hello", treating him like a normal person. This was an important part in shaping my culture because it taught me to accept those that are different than me. This experience aided me in becoming a teacher, because I am more accepting of others, which is the basis of teaching. -
Calling out my family
I was at an afterschool program and one student made fun of my mom, calling her "ugly". I was devastated, because I cherished her so much. My mom was more compassionate than my stricter father. I came home and immediately started crying and explained to my parents what happened. I was shocked that they weren't upset, but used this experience as a life lesson to explain that it's okay for other people to have different opinions than me. My mom made me a better person by avoiding negative people. -
My aunt passing away
Her passing away created a shift in how my dad's side of the family acted with us. My aunt was the glue that kept everyone together. She organized the family Christmas party, summer cookouts, and birthdays. After she passed, no one wanted to step up and take over in organization family events, which created a large distance between us and them. After spending a lot of time with my cousins, I rarely talked to them for years. It was only recently that I reached out to them because of my wife. -
Living in the suburbs
My family lived in a close-knit community where everyone was friendly with each other. It wasn't unusual for neighbors to babysit other neighbor's kids or hold cookouts. Being in this community allowed me to meet my neighbors at a young age and become friendly with many of them. It helped propel me to start mowing lawns and shoveling snow for those who needed it, which improved my leadership and communication skills. It felt good to have other people looking out for me. -
A story from my Godfather about dealing with diversity
My godfather told me a story about him dealing with two African-American men on the northside of Chicago. He explained that these two men confronted him and his wife about giving them money. One banged on the window and the other stopped in the front of the car. His attitude and feelings toward them was negative ever since that moment. It taught me that to eliminate racism, I needed to understand that one moment does not define a whole culture or ethnic group. -
First day of high school
Starting high school impacted my cultural roots, because I was introduced to a totally new set of people that I didn't know or grow up with in elementary school. It was a whole new world to me, there were transgender students, African-Americans, and many more different types of people I was not used to interacting with. My family didn't talk about what I might be introduced to at high school, so it took me some time to understand others and find my niche. -
My Uncle
Once I was in college, my Mom decided to tell me about my uncle who committed suicide. It was such a shock. I did not now I had an uncle and had so many questions. She explained that he dealt with depression and shot himself as a young adult. Something about her tone made me realize asking her further questions would be tragic. From this moment, I learned to not make conclusions about other people because there's so much uncertainty going on with their lives. -
Showing affection to my wife.
I didn't know how affectionate my mother and father were with me and other family members until I met my wife. My family always hugged each other and disregarded what other families might consider "personal space". I learned to slowly introduce more and more affection because my wife's experience was not the same with her family. They meet regularly, but don't show public or physical affection like my family did.
