Culture and the Formation of Identity 2

Select one family member, living or deceased, who has have a contributing influence in shaping your identity.  Now, try to hear her or his voice in your head.  Write two or three paragraphs in that family member’s voice from that family member’s perspective.  Include expressions, words, phrases, etc., that he or she use or used often.

Please respond to the following discussion prompt and to at least two other responses.

13 thoughts on “Culture and the Formation of Identity 2”

  1. The person who has the most contributing influence in shaping my identity is my MOTHER ! Mrs Joseph who still lives in Trinidad is still the boss of my life. Respect is one of the main things my mother expects, my mother and father gave me everything but my mother was the hand of the law .
    I remember my mom went to the Tunapuna market one Saturday morning I was suppose to be cleaning something but my friends were picking Tambran , I could not resist I left my work and went to join them I did not even hear the car drive in the gate, I just felt someone watching me I turned and there she was by the window , I immediately started running the short distance, as I passed the window I was trying to let her see my fingers were crossed along with ever other body parts but When it came to discipline my mother had a favorite line, and she had a few ! “give your heart to god and your ASS to me,” the outcome is obvious.
    Too tired for church “you weren’t tired last night”, she wanted you to hush or leave when guest came “ you got the evil eye” you knew to leave IMMEDIATELY.

  2. The person who has contributed the most in my family is my mom. She like the boss of the family, not even my dad could control her. She gave me support through out my life. She is a hard working women, even if she is sick or sad she will always have a smile and work a way out of it. I remember coming back from school and I got into a fight with my friend for a funny reason and he started to cry and he told his mom. His mom went to my house and complained to my dad because my mom wasn’t home. That time I was in my room listening to the conversation and I hear my dad screaming my name. I went down and in the mean while my mom came home and my dad told my mom. Instead of getting angry at me she made me understand the mistake I made and to never make that mistake again. This is why I love my mom because of the person she is.

    1. Nice, authoritative style of parenting. You show to the boy what wrong he has done and why not to repeat it, and after you can proceed with the punishment.

  3. The person who has contributed the most in my family is my mom. She like the boss of the family, not even my dad could control her. She gave me support through out my life. She is a hard working women, even if she is sick or sad she will always have a smile and work a way out of it. I remember coming back from school and I got into a fight with my friend for a funny reason and he started to cry and he told his mom. His mom went to my house and complained to my dad because my mom wasn’t home. That time I was in my room listening to the conversation and I hear my dad screaming my name. I went down and in the mean while my mom came home and my dad told my mom. Instead of getting angry at me she made me understand the mistake I made and to never make that mistake again. This is why I love my mom because of the person she is.

  4. One family member that influence me in shaping my identity is my mother.
    My father also had influenced me in shaping my identity. He would always tell to keep working hard because all the sacrifices and efforts that i made would be rewarded some day. But my mother had the most impact in influencing me.
    Whenever i did something she wasn’t satisfied with or she feels like i could do better. She would start talking about her past experiences. Like school for example, she would always talk about the her past in school, that she didn’t get the opportunity to continue her education, she would say that her parents did have the financial to pay for her to pursue her education and she would also say that why she works so hard. My mom always had something to say. She would always this phrase ” i am working so hard for you all” (by you in mean me and my siblings). My mom taught me and guided me, for me to be who i am today.

  5. It is really tough to tell who influenced the most to shape my identity. My father, mother and my sisters all helped me to be here where I am now. But if I have to choose between them, I would choose my mother.
    My mother sacrificed her happiness and peacefulness to make me a better person. She was there for me whenever I needed help. When I was a kid, she took me to school. She helped me with my studies. Because of her, I was always be top at my class. She inspired me throughout my life. Even when she was sick and wasn’t able to help me with my studies, she told me that, son, I am not there to help you with your study, but if you do your study alone, you will make me and your father proud. Since I am the only son, My parents, especially my mother was often worried about me when I am out. i like to play soccer and I was often get injured because of it. My mother always helped me to recover from my pain. She helped me to understand myself. She helped me to set a goal for myself.
    I saw both of my parents did a lot of hard work only for me so that I can live my life peacefully. My only goal now is to give my parents some satisfaction through my earnings and hard-works.

  6. Select one family member, living or deceased, who has had a contributing influence in shaping your identity. Listen to their voice and write in their voice. Include expressions, words, phrases etc., that he or she used often.

    Jack you were about five years old after your first trip south and your grand-pappy said “don’t send that one back down here.” And you didn’t return to Florence, South Carolina until you were old enough to drive yourself nearly fifteen years later. You weren’t born yet when your father and I left Florence for the first time after the war to work in Baltimore, Maryland. We found work at a munitions factory making bullets for the army. The following year we moved to Brooklyn, New York where we stayed on Bridge Street just off of Fulton. As a child I couldn’t ever leave you alone, so I had to take you wherever I went. Whenever I did leave you home, you would be waiting looking out the window until I came back.

    When your all were in school I worked for the Rosenthal’s for many years, cooking, cleaning and caring for her boys as if they were my own. Then I had to come home and cook for your dad and a house full of kids. Often when you went outside to play on the grass and in the dirt, you never got your clothing dirty. We always found that amusing with you. From a telephone voice recording “Hey Jackie happy birthday, I hadn’t forgot, I should have said something yesterday happy birthday.”

    Jack I wrote this letter about my final wishes and want you to include them into my Living Will. “I want Beatrice to have the house and my personal items can be shared and whatever is left you can donate accordingly. I want the land to be divided up evenly among all the children. And I want to be buried next to my mother where I have a burial plot that is paid for already.”

    All of the narrative above is spoken and written words with comments that my mother expressed though out her life to me directly. My mother has been the matriarch of our family and she still is a contributing factor influencing and shaping my identity.

  7. One family member that have a contributing influence in shaping my identity is my mother. She’s an influence because I am around her most of the time. Also because of the type of bond we have. For example, if she take a nap I Feel it’s important for me to go to sleep too. Also if she eat I must have the same type of food she has.

    My mother helped me a lot in life. She helped me with getting to and from work. She even wake up on her days off to drive me to work. But if my mother don’t conplain about something I don’t know how I would achieve something. Every time I would ask her for a favor she always have to say “ you’re annoying” before she do it. Also she’s an easy person to talk to and she aways say “ don’t give up you just have to try harder” every time I think about failing. My mom helped me become a strong individual because if it wasn’t for her I don’t know where would I be in life.

  8. If I had to give advice in her voice it would go like this:

    ” Nia, I am so proud of you and how much you have changed! Not gonna lie, I was a little worried about you there, but look at you! Growing up. I can see you changing right before my eyes. I can’t wait until you graduate so you can stop complaining about school. Don’t forget to call your grandmother.

    In your future, I already know you’re gonna be successful, and married and give me a bunch of grand babies. Don’t rush, but I still can’t wait. You can travel the world and do your job and I’ll make sure they are taken care of. I can work something out with Darius’ mom. I’m sure she’ll want to see them. Oh, I’m sure you’ll want to see them too, I’ll drop off YOUR KIDS from time to time.”

  9. If I had to give advice in her voice it would go like this:

    ” Nia, I am so proud of you and how much you have changed! Not gonna lie, I was a little worried about you there, but look at you! Growing up. I can see you changing right before my eyes. I can’t wait until you graduate so you can stop complaining about school. Don’t forget to call your grandmother.

    In your future, I already know you’re gonna be successful, and married and give me a bunch of grand babies. Don’t rush, but I still can’t wait. You can travel the world and do your job and I’ll make sure they are taken care of. I can work something out with Darius’ mom. I’m sure she’ll want to see them. Oh, I’m sure you’ll want to see them too, I’ll drop off YOUR KIDS from time to time.”

  10. The Person who has the most influence in shaping my identity is my Mama!. She always has been there. You may not know my father abandon had left my mother, when I was 3 months old. I don’t remeber much about him. I have just seen photos and have heard stories about him. My mother had to fulfill both roles as parent. At the time she had to jobs. She was a medical assistant at a nursing home and a maid. The strong minded, hardworking,and determined person like my mom influenced the shape of my identity

    My mom taught me right from wrong.
    This has taught me many things to not do. Where do I start from. Since my mom is overdramatic. If one dish it’s not clean she goes crazy. The past years, She will ask why didn’t you do the dishes politely? I will respond I have already done. Since I have already done it if my brother throws a plate in sink after eating she will asume I didn’t complete it. She will say “Yo te dige Millones de veces que lavas los platos”. Translating to I told you a million time to wash the dishes. Spanish mom always are yelling. It naturally happens you ask Latinos. I understand her view because it’s important to always finish what you started even if it’s one dish. My mom has always been making me a better person. She has lived past her teenager age. She always lectures me about the future. “ Estudian y sea algo en la vida y no fallas porque tu vas a trabajar en un ligature malo”. Translating to get a degree and don’t flunk or you will end up a crappy job.

    Like most of my classmates I can relate to them. Their mothers have shaped their identity just like mine does. Mother are important in their child’s life. We start from our mother belly for nine months, than enter the world a decendant from our mothers raise. My moms want the best for me and I want to give my mother the best in return. So that’s is why my mother shapes my identity on who I am the most.

  11. My living mom is the one that has most influenced in shaping my identity, that is why I cannot stop calling her my role model. She shaped my way of thinking, of talking, of behaving. I can vividly remember my mom telling me “son this is an advice to you, if someone insults or hates you, do not hand him/her the same thing because by doing so you will contribute to strengthen him/her bad behavior but if you show him/her a kindness, you are then contributing to shape someone behavior to a good one.” Then she followed by a quote to support her statement saying that “a hot water cannot cool down a hot water.” Meaning that a bad behavior cannot change a bad behavior to a good one.
    She shaped me to be kind. I can hear my mom saying to me one day “Every good deed you do in this life will be paid for you by God in this life and in the hereafter will get an unimaginable reward from God.” This was to foster the sharing idea with the others in me. My life is still being shaped by her.

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