Culture in the Family

In a study entitled "The Costs of Getting Ahead" by Smith it addresses what family life is like for illegal immigrants in the United States and how the culture of the family has to adjust to life during the process of sending all the family over.  In the study they asked these two questions, "What does it mean to be Mexican?" and "What does it mean to be American?"  This got me really thinking.  When I was younger, I don't know why, but I had this phase where I was really concerned about what ethnicity I was.  I am of Hispanic descent, specifically Mexico, however growing up Spanish was never really spoken in the home.  That being said I never felt that I was different from my peers but there was always that one thing, race, and as I child I just did not understand that.  I would repeatedly ask my mom about it and she would always explain it the same way.  She would say, "You are Mexican American.  Mexican, because you have Mexican blood, meaning your family came from Mexico, but American because that's where you live and what you live."  Little did I know, but my mom was trying to explain to me, a little 6 year old girl, about culture.

Every family is unique thus every family has their own culture.  However diversity in families can be tracked statistically as well.  You have your "traditional family." You have your single parent family. You have your homosexual family.  You have your African American, Hispanic, Asian American, and Native American families and that's only to name a few.  Depending on what kind of family you are apart of, you are more susceptible to different outcomes such as graduation rate, alcohol abuse, or poverty.  This all stems from the culture of your home and what roles everybody plays and what things are emphasized in each home.

So what kind of culture is in your home?  Do you know what the consequences are of living that certain life style and are all cultures valid?  Remember that "Decisions determine destiny."  The culture you live is dependent upon you.  True many things may influence your culture but overall you are who says what kind of life style you and your family lives.