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The Beginning
What has influenced my culture in this large multicultural world? I firmly believe that you are molded into who you are when you are born. The influences the world and others make on you will last a lifetime. Featured in this event is my mother and I when I was 8 months old. We are at the beach in Port Aransas. Little did I know then, that these trips have played a large part in my life. -
Stories from the past
I was lucky to have my Great Grandmother alive until I was 21. She was able to explain to me the stories from the past. She was born in 1919 and the world was different back then. She told of hardships, war, The Great Depression and Native Americans. She was an picture of struggles and hard work. She was proud of who she was. She inspired me to become a hard worker and never settle for less. Nana always said to love others, work hard and embrace your struggles because you could help someone! -
How Events are Celebrated
I come from a German background and way of life, as where my Husband comes from a very strict Southen Baptist Religion culture. I had my first experience with this when we were married. My family celebrates with alcohol and dancing as were his follows the no drinking, no dancing policy. This was my first encounter with this and opened my eyes that even when you believe that you all live in the same way, families that are all around you, have different cultures! Everyone is DIFFERENT! -
Self-Sustaining Way of Life
My family is a long line of hunters. We hunt for food purposes. My grandfather taught me at an early age to value what you take and appreciate the opportunity that was given to you. We process our own meat products and everyone participates. I learned at an early age how to help and just how lucky we are. We appreciate nature and nothing goes to waste. Every part of the animal is important. Just like life! We are all different, yet all valuable. Featured below is my dad with a buck. -
Family Location
When I was a child, my family/extended family, lived on over 200 acres in South Texas. Everyone lived on the same piece of land and no one broke the cultural norm of moving out of the circle. It was frowned upon if you did. My husband and I are the first to break away from this culture. We moved 5 hours for a job. My family struggled with this move and our new way of life outside of the way it has always been. Family has always been an important part of our culture. Family is VALUABLE! -
Experience
I have not had as much experience with other cultures that some others may have had. I have not traveled out of the country besides a cruise that I have taken. I have traveled in the United States and feel that I have used what I have learned to the best of my abilities. My wish is to broaden my horizons by traveling in other countries and emerging my self in their cultures and languages! Featured is a picture of my husband and I traveling to the Puget Sound in Washington. -
Christian Religion
Religion has shaped who I am and has been in my culture since I could remember. When I was a child, we did not attend church, but we were believers. As I have grown up, I have become more involved in Church. We help others, pay kindness forward and constantly think of others. We have the opportunity to love on others regardless of their faith or religious background! Featured below is a time when I was baptized and most recently a house project we completed for an elderly couple! -
Family United
We have taught our children that family and God is first. We support each other and we believe in family sit down dinners with no electronics, camping/board games, no electronic Sunday and family celebrations. We want these things to be a part of our children's culture. These values are very important to us. We are packing their culture the best we can. I can only hope that they take what they have learned and have the ability to learn from other cultures as they grow! -
Travel
It is our responsibility to expose our children to other cultures. We have recently started traveling out of state with our children. We want them to have exposure and appreciation for others in different environments. It shows that there are many different cultures in the United States besides the small town we live in. Featured in this picture is our most recent trip to New Mexico. We traveled the Native American Reservations and gave our kids the opportunities to play with others. -
Manners in our Culture
We value manners. We require our children to hold doors for others, say yes'mam/sir and no'mam/sir. Not only is it important to us, but we want our children to understand the respect towards others. We require our children to be polite and helpful. We get compliments when we take our children out in public. We have also been criticized when our children use manners. We have to explain to our children that others have different cultures and do not believe the same that we do, but we respect them. -
Conclusion
This project has showed me what has influenced my cultural roots. I have realized that people, places and events place a large emphasis on who we are and the culture we acquire. I understand the importance of experiencing other cultures and that the opportunity might even be next door. The classroom is full of those experiences and I am blessed to have that opportunity! Here is to the future and a culture that is forever changing for the better!
