My life in this earth began in 2000 in a rural area near the Jersey shore, with a rich cultural heritage. I was born a boy, and have been treated according to my gender, being dressed in black and grew up playing with toys. I spent the most crucial part of my life in Jersey, with my father, mother, and my two elder sisters as well as an extended family of many uncles, aunts, and cousins. I am an 18-year-old student with dreams to join college. Education has been a great part of my life, and work hard to be like my sisters because all of my family members are educated. I do well in school achieving honour roll at times. Living with my educated family has taught me the value of education and I believe it equips me with the skills necessary to gain knowledge. Education also instils values that help me to behave properly according to the societal norms and prepares me to change the society positively in future.
I encounter challenges in my life, but my religious belief keeps me moving with the hope to excel. My goal in life is to excel in academics, obtain a better future, and make my family proud. Growing up in Jersey had been like a dream because I was provided with all I needed for a living. I lived an upper-middle-class life, with a lot of friends, love, care, family, and everything else a child could possibly yearn for. In Jersey, as per societal norms, family means a lot, owing to the ties, strong connections, and bonds we shared as family members. I believe in togetherness and strong family ties, in both good and challenging times. The reputation of a family is crucial in my Jewish culture, as the reputation of an individual member of the family represents the reputation of the whole family. My parents have been very careful in our upbringing to avoid being judged based on their children's behaviour in society. I had a Bar-Mitzvah at the age of 13 and became accountable for my own actions as expected in the Jewish law ( Vogel & Reiter, 2004) . My parents are well respected and have instilled in us the value of morality. I have grown to have strong family values with respect for my elders, teachers, and authority.
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Watching my family has taught me the role of a husband and a wife. I know the man is the head of the house and has to take care of all. When my father is not at home, I assume the sole responsibility of taking care of my mother and two sisters, despite being a young male. Being young, I also had behavioural problems. I would get rebellious to my mother in some circumstances such as when being put to sleep in the afternoons. I always found a way to sneak out of the house and joined my peers in the playground. She knew my behaviour and would follow me to the playground whenever I sneaked out to ensure that I did not engage in misconducts. The main games in my childhood were games, sports, and cartoons.
My parents raised us religiously in the Jewish culture. I have grown up knowing the value of obedience, respect, and generosity. I know the value of helping the needy and the less fortunate in society. I volunteer for charity events such as helping autistic children, wounded soldiers, and helping raise money for charity events. I did not understand the cultural aspects of family values and norms in my childhood. However, as I reflect on my life some years ago, I can comfortably understand how my personality was shaped. I acquired my personality from observing my father's behaviour and his social interaction with various people in society including my family ( Le Bot, 2013) . My father instilled in me the value of respect, kindness, and good behaviour when dealing with a lot of people in the community. He motivated me to study and I admired him for the respect he is accorded in the society.
I went to school with people from all walks of life. Diversity is known to influence religion because people interact with non-believers who lack faith in God and religious practices ( Whittaker, Salend & Elhoweris, 2009) . Multi-cultural institutions are viewed as symbols of cultural and societal degradation as girls in Western Culture dresses openly in public and are translated into promiscuity in religious and cultural aspects. My friends at home and synagogue thought I would be influenced by peer pressure after joining a multi-cultural school and start engaging in evil acts such as drinking alcohol, converting to other religions, and disrespecting my parents.
I joined the middle school at only 14 years, and knew as a male, embracing another culture was just something to be used to. Tasks in school were challenging such as switching classes and also I had to take a lot of caution with the food served in the cafeteria in order to stick to my Jewish dish. I adjusted well in school and began making friends because social interactions were fundamental in adapting to a different culture and social structure. I made friends from the Asians, African American, Bengali, and Asians, and at some point, I had to adopt some aspects of their life to blend into their culture. Learning away from home has made me embrace other people’s culture. I still do not realize the real me as per my biography because my personality in the present and past depends on the social culture developed from history ( Mills, 2000) .
References
Le Bot, J. M. (2013). Social Bond and the Person. Toward a Clinical Sociology.
Mills, C. W. (2000). The sociological imagination . Oxford University Press.
Vogel, G., & Reiter, S. (2004). The significance of a Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremony for parents of Jewish children with developmental disabilities. Mental retardation , 42 (4), 294-303.
Whittaker, C. R., Salend, S., & Elhoweris, H. (2009). Religious diversity in schools: Addressing the issues. Intervention in school and clinic , 44 (5), 314-319.
