While I was growing up I had numerous adult influences in my life but most of them involved several members of my family. What is special about my family is that I come from two different cultures. Asian Pacific (Pilipino: people from the Philippines) and African American decent. Some of the members of my family must be grouped together although it is essential to only describe five. I dedicate this blog to all of the members of my family who loved, cared and nurtured me. It is especially towards those who played a role in different parts of my life for a short period of time thank you. You are always in my heart.
The first person I want to describe is my mom.
My mom is special to me because she nurtured me as a child. She was born in the southern part of the phillipine islands. In her country she speaks pilippino. In school she was taught both pilippino and english. My mom is my female role model. For the first part of my life she stayed at home. As I grew older she decided she wanted to: recieve a better education, work in the United States and gain her American Citizenship. She did! It was her determination to show me not only love but also that education is important for success in life because there are others who are less fortunate. But as a child I didn’t understand why. At 5 years of age my family and I took a trip to the Philippines to meet my grandparents, aunts and uncles. At the time I didn’t know that my mom spoke a different language and when she did I got scared. I thought my mom was a different person because I didn’t understand what she was saying. It was from that point in my life that I learned I was from two different cultures and being apart of it made me special.
The second person is my dad.
My Dad is definitely not the nurturer. He is my protector, supporter and disciplinarian. Even though he is retired and served in the United States Air Force for 22 years. He is my hero. I know still to this day my dad has a different way of showing that I am special to him amongst my older sister and younger brother. Growing up he would not express his feelings or emotions directly. His anger and love was shown through notes, letters and cards. (Yes, I would still get yelled at through letters when I was being difficult.) However, he does not hesitate to help me when I am in need. Growing up with my dad deploying and going off to his missions he always found time to spend with my family when he was at home. He influenced me to participate in extracurricular activities like basketball and track. He would always find time to take me to practice, to the gym, come to my basketball games and major events. He made it crystal clear that I could not participate in these fun things until my grades were good. I struggled with my studies so much in school and at home even more so during the time that my dad was away. I can recall a time my dad was not going to be at home for my 12th birthday because he was in Kuwait. He told me that I probably wouldn’t receive anything for my birthday because I was not behaving and I had failing grades. So I thought I wouldn’t get anything. My mom gave me a package from my dad and inside was a t-shirt from Kuwait and an alarm clock that was in the shape of a mosque. I still have it. (I was very surprised and happy to receive his gift even though I didn’t deserve it.) It’s “tough love” from my dad that I admire now than I did when I was a child. He does make me feel special at times.
The third person is my Grandmother
I have so much respect for my grandmother she is amazing! How she raised six children in a small house somewhere in Memphis TN by herself I can’t even imagine. I call my grandmother the “head honcho” or “queen” of the African side of my family. She is the person I talk to when I need information about my family’s history. She is one of the stronger influences in my life towards: my religious views, family values and how time with family is precious. She even led me to the childcare profession. When I was in my senior year of high school and looking at colleges I was undecided of what age group I wanted to teach. I can recall asking her about the jobs she did when she was younger and she told me she worked around the time when “colored people” worked for “white people” she explained that she was babysitting and teaching other people’s children and it didn’t matter whether the children were colored or not. She said “at the time there was no preschool, you didn’t need to be educated to take care of children I just enjoyed being with children and taking care of them.” She said to me if I enjoyed being with children then I should do something that I enjoy.
The fourth person(s) are my twin aunts on my father’s side
These lovely women are my fraternal twin aunts. The one on the right is the older one of the two and the one on the left is the youngest of all six siblings. If my aunties could see this blog assignment they would each read it then try to determine which one I favored and argue who the “favorite” one is therefore I will describe both as one influence. (I will neither confirm nor deny which of the two is my favorite!) I can always count on my aunties to cheer me up when I am around them. They have a cheerful sense of humor and they are just fun to be around. They both teach me that it is ok to have fun in life. They taught me: simple childhood games showed me some cooking and hair care life skills and occasionally helped with comments about my fashion sense. Growing up they constantly joked about family instances and displayed that life can be fun and not so serious all the time. They express that sometimes it is good to let loose every once in a while but not take it to an extreme level. They let me know that I am still loved even if the decisions I make in my lifetime were not good ones. What I love about my aunties is that they show me love and support about me as an individual being careful trying not to compare my sibling’s situations to mine. Even though they are twins I respect them as individuals.
The last person(s) are my aunties on my mother’s side.
These beautiful women are my aunties from my mother’s side there are 5 of them total and my mother is the youngest of six girls but she grew up at most with 8 siblings (six girls and two boys) she told me at one time there were 10 of them total but my twin uncles died when they were babies. A part from them I didn’t spend much time with my other two uncles. I thought I had one picture of all of them together but I was unable to find it. I figured 3 out of 5 photos is not a bad number. Again I will describe these women as one group. I believe starting from the left is the 3rd to the oldest of the girls, the 2nd to the youngest and the last photo she is the 2nd to the oldest of the girls.
On the same trip to the Philippines when I was 5 and I found out my mom spoke a different language I spent some time with my aunties on this trip. I had the chance to experience Pilipino family cultures and traditions although I was young I remember traveling to this place where my family was getting together for a family reunion. My aunties were practicing a Pilipino Folk Dance “Troupe Wagga” called “Pandanggo sa ilaw “or Candle dance. Here is a link from the you tube website to what the dance looks like. The ladies in the video are not related to me in anyway but I thought It would help paint the picture of how it was like to be five and see my aunties perform. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gf8Xa0N2yk
They are special to me because they also showed love towards me and taught me some words in their native language. Growing up experiencing family visits (some of my aunties live in the U.S.)They also shared wisdom on my family history Pilipino recipes and Pilipino customs. Even though I was in their country for a short amount of time I remember the reunion.
Growing up with two different cultures is really awesome to me. Thinking back I appreciate family more now than I did when I was younger. If ever my family members were to come together from each side they made ways of working together. Ultimately the message I got from both sides of my family is: family and togetherness is important. I feel I’m still learning new things about them and they are learning things from each other. I am happy to know these members and just feel blessed to be a part of this family.
www.youtube.com (Pandanggo sa ilaw) Retrieved Sept 23rd 2011.
