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Britany Ellis

Professor Joni Flowers

EDU 280

24 January 2022

Growing up in my cultural background is how I have become the person I am today, and I

admire that not just for myself but everyone else and how it made them who they are today. As

children, I don’t think we realize how much our culture and history affect us until we are adults

reflecting on why we do certain things or feel a certain way. To begin with me, I grew up as the

oldest of four siblings. That by itself is an experience one can say will change the way you grow

up or view things without even trying. Any oldest sibling will know exactly what I mean by that,

well, most of the time.

Usually, as the oldest sibling, you grow up feeling a lot more pressure to help with things

and take care of things since next to your parents, you are the next person your siblings will run

to for help. You grow up kind of quicker in a way and start to have a more wise or mature

outlook on things faster as well. Having this kind of experience in life has shaped me to be who I

am today. I take on a lot of responsibilities, maybe taking on too much sometimes, not just for

family but friends as well, due to growing up with the feeling of wanting to help as much as you

can. This is an excellent quality to have, as far as wanting to help. As long as you know when too

much is too much, this takes time to learn. I also grew up my entire life with a single mother of

four. So this also brings a lot in how my family ran their household. I was lucky enough to have

an amazing mother who ensured that we had everything we always wanted or needed. This made

me value my mother in a way maybe some others can’t. Seeing a strong woman take over the

household and work while taking care of her children gives you opinions and views on certain
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things that may take some time for other people to consider. This is normal assuming that a

“normal” family if you want to call it, that calls for a mother and father in the household. Even

though we know there are so many ways to have a successful and happy family without

traditional expectations in our day and age.

Luckily, my grandmothers were both very involved and helped my family a lot. Having

my grandmothers around on both sides helped me learn more about where I came from. I was

born and raised in Las Vegas and have never lived anywhere else. Without the help of my

grandmothers, I may have felt a little lost in what my background is. On my father’s side, we are

Polish, and most of my family followed Roman Catholicism as far as religion. My grandma used

to make the most delicious homemade Pierogis, and we had them every year around the

holidays. Unfortunately, my grandma on my father’s side did pass in 2018; but I look forward to

passing along her recipes and traditions to my children when I have them. It was also so much

fun to make the homemade dough, potato filling, and hand-make and cook them. On my

mother’s side, we are Czechoslovakian, and many of my family followed Christianity as their

religion. It was always interesting for me growing up in faith because I was baptized in a

Christian church, but I always remember going to Catholic churches with my grandma more. I

liked getting the chance to experience two different views with it. I learned this mainly from my

grandma telling me stories about how she grew up with her mother, which is my

great-grandmother. She is still alive today, at age 94, and I have heard many stories about how

she grew up and how she and her family came to America. It is truly fascinating to think about

all the lives she has lived.

Knowing your culture and background can mean so many things, whether it is traditions

you’ve grown up with, certain foods, and so much more. But, it is also essential to remember
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culture can also be from experiences you’ve grown up within your family or how you were

raised to think or be a certain way. Looking back at how I grew up, I see the experiences I have

been through have shaped me into who I am today and what kind of culture I come from, and I

appreciate getting to have multiple aspects and experiences on things that others may not have

had.