I would like to consider my cultural heritage as diverse, but this is far from reality. Over the years as I matured through my teenage years, I was exposed to different cultures by life experiences and travel. I struggled to create both a personal and cultural identity while trying to adjust to my sight loss and with the support of my family I traveled overseas to experience other cultures for the first time. My family opened up their home to a foreign exchange program in turn allowing me the opportunity to travel over to Europe at the age of 16 years old. This opportunity started the slow progression of experiences that would open my mind to others who are unlike myself, especially traveling to a strange place and feeling different in … show more content…
His skilled laboring values influenced my father to work with his hands as a hobby, not as a vocation. My father seems to possess both the values of education and skilled work. On the other hand, my mother’s parents did not encourage higher education. My mother stated, “In the 1950’s and 60’s, women were not expected to attend college”.
Although this was a strong value for society at that time, my mother encouraged education on her children. My mother’s talent in sewing and entrepreneurship from the family-owned hardware store influenced her to start a wedding apparel business. My paternal Irish heritage combined with my English/Native American maternal side generally includes small size families. The largest family size is 3 children on the paternal side and my immediate family comprises of a sister and myself.
The general role of the family throughout the generations incorporate the male working outside of the home with the female working as the stay at home mother. My sister is married with 3 young children and changed her roles within the past 7 years as a working wife with no children to a nurse manager on sabbatical until her children start school. Her husband and their cultural heritage are much different than ours. They have a very large Irish family with 6 children and were brought up with a nanny while the parents worked long hours and engaged in social elite functions. My sister adjusted.
