Common misconception about Armenians, we are weak. We come from a history of brutal battles and losses in our country creating the generalized opinion that we are not important anymore and we have nothing left to fight for. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I am a Lebanese Armenian living in America and experiencing things differently than what people may assume my life to be like as an average teenager. I didn’t grow up hearing American history and how our 50 states came to be. Instead I listened to my grandpa talk about having meetings with soldiers and planning revolts with Armenian citizens who voluntarily left their families to form self defence units. These stories have a huge impact in my life and the person I am today. I learned …show more content…
I immediately joined scouts and sunday school which I am still part of to this day. Every saturday and sunday I have the same routine, scouts, then church and school. As i’ve grown up i’ve become a leader and a teacher to the next generation of Armenians in our small community, for no profit. I joined the Armenian Youth Federation and became an executive member at age 14. At any moment in my life I could have dropped these responsibilities, gotten a job and been normal, as my school friends would say. However I came to realize that this is normal for me. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Being part of meetings and being trusted with important decisions that are made in these organizations fill up my time, drain me of all my energy, but I love it. Throughout the week and on the weekends I am unable to make plans with my friends because I have to focus on what’s expected of me as a role model to the kids that I have been put in charge of. I learned to act older than my age and present myself with confidence when I am given the opportunity to take charge and help others. I work with people much older and much younger than me, for this reason I have respect for everyone and their opinions because I believe that everyone has something beneficial to
Gunter, Michael M. Armenian History and the Question of Genocide. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. Print.
On April 24, 1915 the Armenian genocide began. 1 million and 5 hundred-thousand people got killed because of Turkish government. Many of them got raped, enslaved and murdered. For instance, they drowned people in rivers, burned them alive, executed and etc. They also kidnapped children and sent to Turkish families. In many places, Turkish people rapped and used Armenian women as a slave. “The Armenians marched by Turkish soldiers” picture in “artvoice.com” website shows the Armenians nearby prison in Mezierh by armed Turkish soldiers. Also only 25% Armenians deported to the deserts of Syria and Iraq. After the war between Armenian and Turks, only 380’000 Armenian remained in the Ottoman Empire. In June 1915, 25 percent of the Armenian population was deported t...
Balancing school and a social life is a task in itself but, adding an Eagle Scout project - also College Applications - makes everything even more backbreaking. I had to turn down going to the movies or eating at restaurants with my friends to work on my project. As a teenager turning down a fun time is painful because, I could either be bored doing monotonous paperwork or, be entertained for two hours. To the average teenage mind, the answer is effortless but I need to look at the long-term effects. If I have fun for a few hours, that will only be satisfying for that amount of time, but I travail the mountain of work now, my life will be so much more surmountable. So through the ordeal of paperwork, I versed an important lesson, accomplishing a tenacious task before having fun and, doing it completely enables one to have more time. The largest task I faced, however, was working with other
contributed to the shaping of our nation, many people are still unaware of the many
The Armenians are a group of people that originated from tribes in the Armenian highlands around 10,00 B.C (1). In the 4th century they developed into a separate culture related to their religion which was christianity (1). Later on he Armenian civilization was controlled by the Ottoman Empire (1). The Empire consisted of many cultures and ethnic groups, but the Armenians were somewhat at the bottom of the social class. Because of the social minority, they were assigned to millets, or small communities based on religion and political views. (2) Within these millets, there were sets of rules and regulations that normally did not interfere with the big picture (1). Other ethnic groups in the Empire shared the same religion (Muslim) as the leaders of the Empire, who were Turkish. This promoted their social rank or status with the leaders. The Armenians had it differently. They were treated with less respect, and this started problems within the Empire.
One great story my family has told me is my family's history. My maternal grandmother's parents came to the United States from Ukraine by boat around 1906 or 1907. They initially settled in Export, PA, because they had relatives and friends living there. My grandmother was born in 1921 and was the seventh of eight children. A year after she was born, they moved to Warren, OH, where they stayed until my grandmother graduated from high school. The family's religion was Ukrainian Orthodox. My grandmother grew up speaking Ukrainian and English. Ukrainian was spoken in the home, and English was spoken at school. My grandmother started kindergarten at the age five knowing no English. She picked up the English language from her classmates. My grandmother's family did not own a car. Every Easter, they walked about seven miles to go to church. My grandmother grew up during the depression. She was the only girl in her family to own a doll from a store. All of her sister's dolls were homemade.
I was taught the value of food by going to farms and milking cows. I learned how nothing is wasted. I saw traditions through own eyes and experienced them for myself instead of hearing vague stories that never seemed to be finished from getting choked up on nostalgia. I couldn’t help but feel guilty for thinking of them differently without having met them. They treated more like a daughter than my dad ever has. They made me feel included and loved. They’re everything I always imagined a family to be
"Armenian Genocide, The." The Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute. National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. .
My parents journey from Vietnam to America has impacted me emotionally through out the years by the stories they tell me. For them to say their aspiration was to come to America to have greater opportunities, for there family is breath taking. Without my parent’s journey and stories, my identity would be so plain and incomplete.
Ethnic Armenians have resided in the Middle Eastern region of the world since approximately 3500 BC. Armenians lived and still live in many Middle Eastern countries such as Armenia, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Azerbaijan, and the republic of Georgia. Armenians have their own language and alphabet and have a very unique culture, which has set them apart from other countries and ethnic groups. In 300 AD, there was not a single nation who had Christianity as their national religion. “Following the advent of Christianity, Armenia became the very first nation to accept it as the state religion.” Armenian pride in their culture and way of life never wavered, even throughout being conquered by different nations. Armenian lands were taken over by many different nations on several different occasions, but they finally ended up in the Ottoman Empire in the 1500s, when ...
The Armenians are an ancient people whose home has been in the southern Caucasus since the 7th century BC. Mongol, Persian, Russian and Ottoman (Turkish) empires have fought on and over this region for many centuries."Armenian Genocide."Armenian Genocide. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. . At the end of the 19th century, Turkey and Russia were recovering from a war with each other. In the west, 2.5m Christian Armenians were governed by the Turks; eastern Armenia was in Russian hands. A surge in Armenian nationalism gave the Armenian leaders confidence to demand political reforms."Armenian Genocide."Armenian Genocide. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. . This was unwelcome to both Ottoman and Russian powers, afraid of armed partisan resistance or even the revival of interstate war. They began to repress Armenians even more harshly."Armenian Genocide."Armenian Genocide. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. . In some Turkish Armenian provinces large-scale massacres were carried out from 1894 ...
My personal cultural identity is a lot different compared to the society I am surrounded by. I am considered an outsider in my society. I am an outsider living in a constantly changing environment where there are many different kinds of people and many different cultural identities. In my culture we know how to respect people and their belongings, know how to work hard, use what we have while being thankful for it at the same time, and last we know how to stay true to ourselves in this very fast pace world of ours. I am a cowboy.
When I was young, I always dreamed of being a fashion designer or prize-winning author. I saw my name in lights and my life in luxury. I never imagined that at the ripe old age of 15, I would change my entire career path and future, but I did. I took a standardized test in high school that included a career portion that would indirectly tell you what you should do with the rest of your life. Up until this point, I had only every heard horror stories of social workers removing children from homes and breaking families apart. I never knew what social work was or just how important it would be to the rest of my life. During my second year of high school, I underwent some major life changes. I decided I was tired of hating life and everyone in mine and I was ready to embrace love and understanding. I realized within a matter of months that I quite enjoyed loving and
Ever since I was little I’ve been what you would call a “high achieving” kid. I did well in school, I did well in sports and I did well in my community. I was always the first one to class, and the last one to leave the field. I was the kid that all my friends’ parents compared their children to. I was the kid with a room full of trophies and awards. In my mind, the worst possible thing I could do was disappoint the people around me. In elementary school I was involved in every club imaginable. I was in the band, I played in the orchestra, I sang solos for chorus, I was in the math club, I was president of student council, I played travel soccer, I was involved in every activity possible, and I excelled in all of them. This
As a child, I spent a lot of time with my great uncle. My grandfather had passed away when I was very young, and my great uncle stepped into the role of sergeant elder. From him, I learned many other things a growing country boy needs to know. He taught me to hunt and fish, and my memory of my time with him are as vivid now as when I was a kid. I remember going out on his boat to check the trot lines. I can still close my eyes and feel the wind blowing in my face and smell the fish and lake water. My great uncle influenced much of my young life, and ultimately inspired me to follow in his footsteps. Perhaps, I should say bunker boot steps, he was a firefighter. That is what made me the person I am today.