Cultural_Background

Cultural Background There are many different cultures in the United States today. My cultural background is that of African American. Some of the norms of my cultural background would be that of Spirituality, Relationship, Equality, Family Security, Freedom, Music, and Self Reliance. The similarities between my cultural background and that of the dominant American culture are basically the same. In my household growing up we were to practice the behavior of correct manners, appropriate dress attire, and proper eating behaviors to name a few. Our culture helps us to understand how different things are developed and created from generation to generation. Each individual culture is different or unique in its own way. There is not one culture that is exactly alike, but most have similarities. Some similarities that I have compared between my culture and the dominant American culture, is the dedication that we have for family, our religion, and self reliance. Some of the differences would be our music, our language barriers, some family values, and equality. These backgrounds are a few that are the norms of both cultures; my culture and the dominant American culture. These similarities and differences have affected my life in a good way. Growing up in a household with strong women, has left an affect that last a lifetime. Most of my friends are Caucasian and we all agree at times that family and family values that have been past upon from generations to us, are most important in our lives today. The spiritual values that I was exposed to growing up were a little different, then opposed to today. Every Sunday me and my sisters and brothers were required to go to church and Sunday school, or else. Today I am not as strict about kids having to stay for Sunday school; it was a requirement growing up for us. My mother and grandmother were very wise. I was taught young that family and respect was very important. My cultural background has shaped my life in the way that I have learned to live today. My parents both are Baptist, and I have had that influence for years. My culture was taught to me by my parents from a little girl until today. My family is very close. My father and mother both graduated from high school and went to Jr College. So education and self reliance was also a part of our cultural background that was passed by generation. Both of my parents worked until they retired. This is a part of my plan. Some of my goals as an adult today are to teach my kids the importance of family, religion, and respect for others, as well as self reliance and the values of working hard. I believe that in some ways I have developed a new culture as an adult, for example, growing up were raised in a Baptist church, now I attend a full gospel church. The food that I eat and cook today are different from how it was growing up. Growing up we had soul food. Today I try to cook and eat a lot healthier. The music that we listened to was just music made by African Americans, today I listen to a variety of music from country to rock, jazz, and a lot of other music. What influenced me to make this cultural change, were my kids. I wanted them to be able to see things, and be able to learn and understand different cultures, not just theirs. Conclusion While writing this paper, I really had to search and think about all the different things that were culturally different today opposed to when I was growing up. Comparing my culture to the dominant culture today, I think that we share much cultural similarity, and there are hardly any differences.