I look at my current cultural identity and background as a swirled slate. I consider my “cultural slate” to be swirled because of several factors. I moved from a small, quaint town—Guilford, Connecticut to a wealthy suburb known as the Main Line, outside of Philadelphia. I wasn’t raised with any specific religion, and I also didn’t identify with the culture I was exposed to throughout my adolescence. Moving to Philadelphia changed my cultural life and added to my cultural background because geography is an integral component to culture because with geography comes different food, recreations, architecture, customs, and beliefs. Another foundation to culture is religion, which I wasn’t involved with. Although my mom was Catholic and my dad Jewish, they chose not to incorporate religious beliefs into the family dynamic and leave any religious practice up to my choosing independent of their beliefs.

Living the latter of my life in a suburb outside of Philadelphia, my culture changed drastically. The houses were no longer simple and modest, but ostentatious and overdone. The food was fancier, representing the flavors of the world in upscale restaurants. Recreation was also incredibly different, with a lack of water, forests, and preserved nature, outdoor sports were unpopular and unavailable. From my personal experiences in Philadelphia, the culture was disconnected from my own beliefs and lifestyle. Because of this, I believe the idea expressed in class in which, “culture is constantly changing, customs are never the same, culture is a static unit,” applies to my culture to the highest extent.

While religion is an integral aspect to culture, my parents decided not to incorporate any religious belief into the family dynamic. They made it clear that if I did choose to be religious, it would be a choice I would make independently of their own beliefs. Because I didn’t go to religious education schools as a kid while the majority of my peers did, this I believe left a new page for me to discover my own religion, and in a sense, have some control over my constantly evolving culture. With this, I look at my current cultural life as being somewhat incomplete because I have yet to discover my religious beliefs.

Through travel, I have been able to discover other cultures which I can connect to and incorporate those cultures into my own cultural life. I have family living in Paia and Kauai, Hawaii, spending the past summer on the island was an important culture shock. The experience on the island propelled my cultural life to change once again. On the island, ancient native folklore is still very influential, which I admire and respect. Animals are symbolic and respect for the earth and natural resources is practiced daily.  There is a strong sense of community, with frequent markets, neighborhood dinners, hula performances, and frequent outdoor trips along the coast and throughout the hilly regions. The Hawaiian culture greatly influences my every day life, I have two Hawaiian words tattooed, I hope to join the Hawaiian club on campus, do independent study in Kauai, and try to reflect upon my actions and perspectives in a way parallel to the Hawaiian culture.

Although my cultural background is very different from my cultural life, it allowed me to realize what I don’t identify my culture as, and to understand fully that culture is never static. Because culture is never static, I am still discovering my culture every day and embracing my culture through change.