Personal Narrative

846 Words4 Pages
Leaving home and going to college at University of Central Florida was a significant turning point. My culture and social surroundings encouraged me to marry my high school sweetheart and make babies; my parents and instinct encouraged me to get far away and experience life. It was a difficult transition, especially when considering my dependency on Bryan for social affirmation. However, I began to relinquish my need to belong, ended things with Bryan, and found myself reunited with a culture similar to what I experienced with the IB program. Peers of different backgrounds, religions, races, interests, and economic status surrounded me again. I was a tabula rasa, ready to begin a life unfettered to the perceptions of others or the need…show more content…
Noelani was polite, guarded, and quiet around me. It wasn’t until the end of the year where she would accept my social invitations, let alone give me her cell phone number. Similar to what I experienced in early high school, I did not understand or see why she was resistant to me. I began to believe that people of other races could be guarded and cautious about Caucasians. I have since wondered if I unknowingly caused her reaction, or if it was established by her experiences. When not staying in my dorm, I spent many nights sleeping on Emmanuel Matos’ couch. As previously mentioned, Emmanuel was my Puerto-Rican high school friend I met through the IB program. Emmanuel exuded pride for his heritage, enjoyed speaking in Spanish to anyone who could reciprocate, loved blaring Latin music in the morning to wake everyone…show more content…
Huston. Dr. Huston is from a small town in Arkansas, born to a single mom with addiction issues, and was the only non-white person at her school; she is half Mexican. I recently shared with her how my father was on the cover of USA Today for his service during the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center. She responded with a smile, “Well, my dad was on the cover of the local Arkansas newspaper for selling bath salts.” I erupted in laughter, as did she. We both appreciate the ability to see the differences in how we were raised, our skin color, and culture. We utilize our differences to look at situations from perspectives unique to our own. In addition, we are similarly amused by how much we have in common despite cultural
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