WHERE I’M FROM

They have a saying that the place you are from makes you as an individual. I am a kind of person who has an interesting background. I was born in Louisville, Kentucky but raised in Ghana, West Africa which is the origination of my parents. I spent almost 17 years of my early life living in Ghana so at my age of 23, I have acquired so many values and norms that I have grown to believe and also Identifies me as a Ghanaian and a West African as well. Even though I was born here in the United States, my behavior and actions and speech depict more of a Ghanaian more than of a complete American. Where I come from in Ghana West Africa, we believe in a lot of norms and values. We value norms such as being respectful our elders no matter if they are our parents or even if they are not related to us. In the home, young ones have to leave the living room to their bedrooms when parents get visitors as a sign of respect. As a young person I was also taught never to greet an elderly person with my left hand. This is perceived as a sign of disrespect unless I am naturally left handed. Even when I find myself in the United States, where a value like this doesn’t matter, I still find myself applying United States where earrings for men are considered as a fashion, my background believes it as a nuisance. Even with other fashionable things like getting tattoo on your body is perceived negatively where I am from. And also where I am from, we believe a lot in the connection of families whether they are the nuclear family or the extended family. Extended family involves uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces and so on. We always try to keep in touch with one another especially when we find ourselves in the United States and even go out of the way to support each other financially or what ever kind of support needed. This is different from they way Americans see Family life. Americans, unlike us, just mostly focus on their nuclear family and mostly reunited with their extended families on special occasions. Basically, all these norms and values of where I am from adds up to my entre personality and also help people to identify me as a different and unique person in a multicultural society like the United States of America.