Conner Ruschmeyer

Professor Flowers

Edu 280-1002

27 January 2020

Cultural Autobiography

Hello my name is Conner Ruschmeyer and ethnic background is greatly comprised of

European’s who immigrated to the United States mainly in the midwestern region. My mother

relocated from Minnesota to here in Las Vegas at a young age and despite a father figure not

being in the picture and my distant relationship with my mother, my cultural heritage still holds

an important presence within my life.

Despite never living in the midwestern United States a lot of habits and actions I partake

in display a style of life that represents that region. I have been told by friends and acquaintances

that I give off a very midwestern vibe and have been asked if I am from there to which I always

respond, “my family is”. The further you climb up my family tree you will find yourself closer to

a more thick scandanavian accent which is the ethnicity that makes up a majority of who I am.

However, since I am the trunk supporting this tree of heritage my accent has become more

diluted and mixed where some words I pronounce in a more midwestern accent while others

being pronounced in some other form having picked up those words and pronunciations from

friends rather than family. As a family with roots tied to the midwest many of my relatives and

ancestors took upon the occupation of farming and while never working on a farm myself my

work ethic is always compared by my mother and grandmother to the work they did on farms. It
was always enjoyable to return home exhausted from a day of work and be told that I’m a slacker

and would never make it working on a farm.

In my daily life growing up we didn’t follow many cultural practices such as practicing

our religion by going to church or celebrating any cultural holidays aside from the standard

American ones such as Halloween or Christmas. During my youth my mother would be working

full time as a teacher; thus, during the school years there was much less interaction between the

family compared to when we went on sprink, summer or any other break. Over the break time

we would travel and go on road trips visiting many national parks and becoming knowledgeable

on the culture and history of the United States. Because my roots are far from the Eastern United

States the places we visited had less to do with the birth of the United States and more on how

the country progressed during its midlife and its expansion with the idea of manifest destiny.

These vacations and trips developed a love for history within me and I always find it wonderful

and interesting to learn about new things, be they big or small.

Hence, my cultural background may go far back all the way to scandinavians in Europe;

however, it is a culture I developed and made my own interweaving it with American culture and

knowledge with much experience and knowledge coming from both friends and family alike.