My Cultural Identity Sitting alone at a party while everyone watches a movie in another room really gives a person time to think. The party had been great, right up until the movie began. When I realized the movie my friends had chosen was R-rated; for a split-second I didn't know what to do. I knew what I believed and the standards that I follow, but I also knew that if I left I would be the only one. I quickly made up my mind and left the room. While I was sitting I realized for the first time how different I am compared to those around me, but I also realized how important my culture is to me.“I’m a Mormon. I know it. I live it. I love it.” Being a Mormon makes me different. It makes me view things differently, and makes others view me …show more content…
As a Mormon I choose not to drink alcohol, coffee, or take any drug or tobacco product. This had greatly influenced the way I live and is a large impact of my Mormon culture on my identity. Also, leaders of the Mormon church have encouraged us to all keep a food storage. Learning to keep a sufficient food storage has taught me to be prepared and to be ready for anything, also shaping my identity.
While things like what I eat, watch, and how I talk is impacted by my culture; my life on a day to day basis is also affected by being Mormon. I attend seminary every morning before school at 6:40 to learn about things like the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Although it is extremely difficult to get up every morning before school, I have grown to appreciate and to love attending. The things I learn in seminary are still building me into the person I want to be and continue to shape me into who I am every day. This has become a significant part of my cultural identity.
Another significant part of my cultural identity is my family. In the Mormon church, the importance of families is continuously taught. This has made my family one of the most important, and valued things in my life. I rely on my family for everything. The lessons my parents have taught me my entire life will stay with me forever and have significantly built my cultural
I am regularly (such as last night) in conversation with well-educated Mormons who struggle when trying to deal with rational concepts related to things like science, investment strategies, politics and other purely secular matters. And I see in their struggles infections likely attributable to the magical thinking at the heart of what is required these days to be a literally believing Mormon. The conversation in which I participated last night that caused this essay had to do with an investment opportunity that a bright, successful young Mormon had been offered. Some Mormons still respect my judgment regarding investments that seem not to require "the Spirit", and he wanted to run by me what had been proposed to him. I was happy to listen for a few minutes and tell him what I thought.
It is noted in Navajo Tradition, Mormon Life that the origins of the universe in both cultures share common elements. Both cultures believe in one all-powerful creator of the universe, who was assisted by other exceptional beings and gods in organizing the worlds (McPherson, 32-33). Both cultures also have a large emphasis on faith, prayer, and making offerings to their deities (McPherson, 33- 37). These similarities are something that creates a certain amount of respect between the two groups, Clyde Klickhohn is quoted as saying “...Mormons tended to show more respect for and interest in Indian customs; more than other whites...” (Mcpherson, 5). It is with these common themes that a Navajo, like Jim, could adapt and convert to Mormonism while maintaining their traditional Navajo beliefs. Jim's brother Charlie said “ I feel like I have my religion and follow in their (ancestors) footsteps” (McPherson,
...ately I have found that I have a great deal of respect for most who follow the Mormon faith and look forward to hopefully becoming friends with a person who is a Mormon.
In 1847, Brigham Young led an exploration of the Rocky Mountains. The Mormons had discovered and selected the Great Salt Lake region as their safe haven where they could have the freedom to worship and live as their faith decreed (Katz). Brigham Young believed that Utah was the promise land for the Mormons because of its dense populace, the freedom they would have to practice their religion, and the ease in which they took control over the region. Once established in Utah, the Mormons identified themselves with the region claiming the state as their headquarters, even electing their church president as Governor. Brigham Young dreamed of the kingly robe and the jeweled crown in some far-off valley of the Rocky Mountains, where gentiles or their laws could not annoy the saints, or hinder the normal development of Mormonism (Waite 15).
Culture and identity are two very strange ideas. They are received at a very young age, yet they are very hard to give to someone else. They will affect you for the rest or your life, yet for the most part you are born into them. However, they soon become very important to us and we cannot, no matter what we do, live without them. They are a part of us, and a vital aspect of society. However, it took me a very long time to recognize that I had an identity and a little while after that before I knew what it was.
What is culture? Culture is the idea of what is wrong or right, the concept of what is acceptable within our society. Culture serves us as a guide, taking us to the "right way" and helping us to make sense of things that surrounds us. There are many different cultures around the world. A lot of them are similar in specific ways and others are just completely different, this difference explains why we think that people from different backgrounds are "weird".
Every community, we are part can identify who we are and where we come from. Our family is the most important discourse community we are part of and it tells the most of who we are. My family has a huge impact on the way I communicate.
One’s cultural identity consists of their race, gender, socioeconomic status, age, religion, and so on. Being aware of your own cultural identity is just as important as being aware of other’s. People’s cultural identity defines who they are, the privilege (or lack of privilege) they receive, and how society views them. It is important to understand that White individuals have more privileges than individuals of color. White individuals do not experience detriment and difficulties due specifically to their skin color and instead receive advantages. White privilege is defined as benefits that white individuals have that people of color do not (Kendall, 2012). The following walks through my personal cultural background, how it was shaped, defined, and developed, and limitations to my personal competencies.
Family is important in every culture, it shapes people and makes them who they are.
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.
“It’s a blessed thing that in every stage in every age some one has had the individuality and courage enough to stand by his own convictions.” The part of me that sums up my identity best is not the adjectives given by family, or the faults I find in myself. My identity is my desire to better myself, and my passion for children. My identity is who I want to be and what I do to accomplish my goals My identity is the feelings and emotions I pour into my journal every day, and the way I feel when I do something right. My identity is not what others thing of me or what I think of myself after a bad day. My identity is the love and confidence I have in myslef, and the beauty inside.
A person’s identity is shaped by many different aspects. Family, culture, friends, personal interests and surrounding environments are all factors that tend to help shape a person’s identity. Some factors may have more of an influence than others and some may not have any influence at all. As a person grows up in a family, they are influenced by many aspects of their life. Family and culture may influence a person’s sense of responsibilities, ethics and morals, tastes in music, humor and sports, and many other aspects of life. Friends and surrounding environments may influence a person’s taste in clothing, music, speech, and social activities. Personal interests are what truly set individuals apart. An individual is not a puppet on the string of their puppet-master, nor a chess piece on their master’s game board, individuals choose their own paths in life. They accomplish, or strive to accomplish, goals that they have set for themselves throughout their lifetime. Individuals are different from any other individual in the world because they live their own life rather than following a crowd of puppets. A person’s identity is defined by what shaped it in the first place, why they chose to be who they are, and what makes them different from everybody else in the world. I feel that I have developed most of my identity from my own dreams, fantasies, friends, and idols.
I was also taught that family is extremely important and the time spent with them should be cherished. This mindset is still a part of me today and part of the reason I am in college now. My parents grew up in an age where nice belongings were difficult to come by. The mindset that putting your best effort into everything you do helped them both get into college and obtain successful jobs afterward.
A characteristic I chose to use as an example to describe my cultural identity is food. I love to eat food. Especially what my mother and father makes. They are both completely different.
I became a deacon at my church, and soon after I started to build a community culture with the people in my church who shared my beliefs and values. While not every person can agree on everything, having people with similar cultures get together to not only discuss religious beliefs, but discuss family and life is very helpful in growing as a person. They were there for me, and I learned so much from the people I created meaningful relationships and connections with. This made me so much stronger in my faith than I was before, and I felt that I could put my faith in a higher position in my life. During this time I had a son, and not long after another came along; thus, shifting the culture of my family a great deal. Raising my sons proved to be a different experience altogether than raising my daughter. While I still put my faith in God first and taught that to my children, my culture shifted to include more things for them, especially as they got older and became more involved. My life was no longer about me and my priorities, but my faith and my children above everything else. My personal culture was no longer important. It was all about my family culture and what pieces of my own culture I could incorporate to raise my children in the best way possible. The biggest part of my culture that I incorporated was my faith, as I said before. Another important aspect was my family values. I am a very family oriented