Cultural Autobiography 1-21-18 PDF

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Cultural autobiography essay...

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Noah Cleary Cross Cultural Communications 1-21-18 Cultural Autobiography There are many aspects to my identity that play a role in my everyday life. I identify myself in many ways. Through my religion, through my age, and also through my hometown. One of the most significant features of my identity is being Jewish. Not only did I attend Jewish sleepaway camp for 14 years, but I also formed many of my most significant friendships through my synagogue. My religion also shaped my identity as a leader. I was an active member and vice president in both my local temple youth group and regionally with the Northern Federation for Temple Youth. Through these roles I ultimately became even more involved. I began attending Hebrew school when I was three and eventually had a Bar Mitzvah. My life has been heavily impacted by my religion which has shaped who I am today. My family has been an equally important part of my life and them being mostly Jewish has played a part in shaping me as well. Family events usually revolved around birthdays or Jewish holidays and made up an important foundation for my childhood. However, being Jewish is only one aspect of my identity. My identity as a New Yorker is becoming more apparent to me since coming to college. I’m starting to notice more the differences between myself and my peers from different areas of the world. For instance, many of my friends attended boarding schools for the majority of their lives and have much different relationships with their family members than I do. While this is custom in some european countries, being from New York I never considered what that would be like because it is less common where I am from. Another difference I have noticed between myself and my new friends is their reactions to public transportation. Being a New Yorker, I took public

transit daily. One of my best friends is from Kansas and she has a completely different reaction to the DC metro than I do. She does not enjoy taking the train and is used to driving everywhere. Surprisingly, I have noticed my loyalty to New York sports teams. While living in New York I was never really committed to teams like the Yankees, Mets or Giants. Yet upon moving to DC, I have found myself missing rooting for the teams I grew up watching at home with all my friends and fellow New Yorkers. My love for sports is also a personal interest as I grew up playing sports my entire life. I’ve been on many sports teams throughout my life. I started to play baseball, soccer and basketball when I was in elementary school and have continued to pursue athletics as a means of escaping from any problems I may be experiencing in school or at home. Being an athlete has always been part of my life and when I reached high school I began to play volleyball and run track. These sports became part of my routine with daily practices after classes ended and tournaments and meets taking place on the weekends. My teammates became my best friends and my coaches were mentors to me. When I arrived at college I joined the club volleyball team and played pickup soccer with my friends whenever possible. Sports are a way for me to connect with people I otherwise would never have met and are a major influence on my identity....