My Culture and
Background
Whenever
I tell people where I’m from, they automatically associate it with being the
“ghetto”. I grew up in Tacoma,
Washington. The town that is famous for
the Aroma of Tacoma. Being raised in a
town that is culturally diverse, I gained a lot of different experiences and
developed a sense of what the real world might be like.
At
the schools I went to, music and the arts were a huge influence on the
students. Because music and the arts
were an important way for students like me to express themselves openly without
being judged or ridiculed. I grew up to
learn how important music is in my life, and I think it was not only the
influence of my peers and my friends at school, but also through the influence
of my family. Many of my family members
find it hard to be expressive and find comfort using music or writing as their
only voice.
My
family played a huge part in my cultural background as well. Both my parents came from large families
consisting of four or more siblings.
Family gatherings were always huge and it exposed me to a variety of
types of lifestyles. Because just within
my family (both my mom’s side and my dad’s) you can experience every angle of
diversity. From single parenting, to
living single, from gay couples to interracial relationships; my family helped
me develop an open mind and to see the world for what it is.
Of
course, for me, it was difficult to figure out where I fit in as far as my
family was concerned. I was neither
college-bound nor working class. After
graduating high school I dropped out of college at my first attempt to try
working. After working for a short time,
I quit to get married and raise a family of my own. Even though throughout that time I had earned
a certificate in Legal Transcription, I maintained my position as a stay at
home mom/Military Wife(Army and Coast Guard), and I’ve worked my way through my
second shot at college and working on earning a Bachelor’s degree at UW. And even within those experiences, I never
found a group to belong to. I never fit
in with the other wives and even now I don’t feel like I have a place in a
large group of any certain kind of people.
Perhaps it is because I don’t define myself as one type of person or
another. I define myself by what I learn
and what I know about people.
I
suppose I try to build myself up from the books I’ve read and the shows I’ve
watched. I’ve always wanted to be that
career woman I see in sitcoms like Friends and Coupling (a British sitcom). I always relate to the women I read in books
like “Confessions of a Shopaholic” or my small share of Meg Cabot novels. And with my background and experiences
growing up, perhaps someday I can be one of those characters, only the real
deal.
