What Made Me Who I Am

            For the most part, I was raised in a very small, Cajun country town. In this town everyone knew my name and who my mom, dad, sisters and brothers were. Looking back, I cannot recall seeing or interacting with many African-Americans in school, in the grocery store, or anywhere around town. I can remember them being there, but it seemed like they stayed in their own part of town and not much mixing took place. While living in a small town can have its perks, it can limit the perspective of one's mind, leaving people to believe that hardly anything exists beyond the borders of that little town. When I was in the fourth grade, my dad moved us to Pennsylvania for six months for his job. The town we lived in was an Amish townso you can imagine the culture shock that I, along with the rest of my family, was in. In hind sight, I am very thankful to have had that experience and to live in the culture that belonged to someone else. It was a very humbling, amazing adventure and has a big part of who I am today. .
             One of the influences on my life that I think had an impact on my attitude and values was the fact that I grew up in a middle-to-low income family. My parents have five children, four girls and one boy. Everything that we had or were given we appreciated. I can remember birthdays when we would get a new doll and to us that doll was worth a thousand bucks! In today's generation, I just do not think that children are that appreciative and they feel like they are entitled to everything they get. Growing up this way has made me humble and made me count every blessing that I receive. It also had a big impact on the way that I see others. I can truly, truly say that when I see other people in my community, workplace or in public, I do not see color or national origin. I do my very best not to judge anyone and I am sure that I am polite and respectful. I believe that we are all created equal.