My ethnicity is not too complicated, but it is very important to me, nonetheless. I am mainly Irish (about half) and the rest is divided between German and Dutch. On my dad’s side, everyone is Irish and we are very proud of this. On my mom’s side, we are mainly Dutch and are also quite proud of it. Both of these ethnicities show through in my family and are a huge part of my life.
My ethnicity really influences who I am. My cousin (on my dad’s side) and I are very close. We are two years apart in age and only have 3 cousins beside ourselves. This summer she is getting married and has decided to incorporate her Irish heritage in her wedding a lot. This has really made me focus more on my ethnicity. We have been doing a lot more research on Irish traditions and Irish weddings and it makes me proud to say that I am Irish and I am from Ireland. It has been interesting to learn more and has made me want to keep going.
The summer before my senior year of high school, I had the rare opportunity to go to Europe. While I was there, I spent quite some time in Ireland. It was so fantastic to really be able to experience this culture because it is such a big part of me. It was nice to learn more about it and actually experience what it was like for my ancestors and what it is really like there. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience and would like to return again soon to experience it again.
I do not think that many people know about my ethnicity. It is not something that shows through daily because it is a hard topic to bring up. I don’t go around and flaunt it or show it off. All that matters is that I am proud of myself and proud of who I am. If someone were to ask me what my ethnicity was, I would be more than happy to discuss it with them and would be excited to share how I feel about it with them, but it is not something that I would just toss out there in casual conversation.
Overall, I am very proud of my heritage. I like being Irish and I like being Dutch and I like being German. Although I am more familiar with my Irish side, I am proud of the others and would hope that others would be look at it the same way I do. I would be extremely offended if someone were to say something negative about my ethnicity, since it is so extremely important to me, but I do not think that happens as much today as it did in the past.
Have you ever had any experiences in which your ethnicity negatively affected you?
It is very cool that you incorporate you heritage into your life and that your sister is even bringing it into her wedding. I don’t believe that I have had an experience that my ethnicity negatively affected me. This is probably party due to the fact that I am not as connect to my ethnic background as you are. After this activity I hope to research my ethnicity though.
ReplyDeleteSince you're Irish you must have really liked the movie "Far and Away"! Anyway, my ethnicity doesn't seem to impact me as much as it has impacted you in your life. But, then again, I have never traveled out of the United States. I think that if I traveled more often my ethnicity would impact me more often. For instance, I did once travel to Virginia for an internship. And when I was down there many people asked me where I was from because of my Minnesotan accent. So obviously if characteristics common with my "state" can influence communication, then obviously other aspects of my ethnicity can, in the correct circumstances, do the same.
ReplyDeleteI am Italian, Swedish and Irish and I have never had an experience where my ethnicity has negatively affected me. Most the time when I go somewhere that is not in Minnesota people are more distracted by my "accent" than anything else. Every once in a while though, when I tell someone my name and I have to use my full name they will ask me if I am Irish.
ReplyDeleteRecently we hired someone new at work (I work at a grocery store). She was from Ireland and she still has that thick Irish accent. I love talking to her because of the way her voice sounds. I really started to wish that I had an accent like hers cause I think that accents are really cool.
First of all I think it sweet how much you incorporate you ethnicity into your life, how much you know about it, and even that you went to Ireland to experience being Irish first-hand, that's sweet!
ReplyDeleteI can't personally say my ethnicity has negatively affected me in any way at all. I also don't think it's influenced me in any specific positive ways either, at least I don't notice if it does or doesn't. When I think of being affected positively or negatively, I rarely think of it having any affect towards what ethnicity I am. I think it's an interesting question because I wouldn't even think anything negative would come about because of my ethnicity, so I feel like now I may pay more attention and when something is negatively affected in my life I may consider what made it that way and if it had anything to do with my ethnicity.
I guess my ethnicity has only had a negative impact on me when in relation to interactions with other ethnic groups. Many times, I've been called racist, just because I am white, a statement which couldn't be farther from the truth. I take pride in my openness toward pluralistic perspectives, and I constantly strive to open avenues of conversation with anyone, regardless of race, sex, or cultural perspective. However, sometimes, being white comes with its own set of disadvantages, namely that people tend to look at you as "the man" or part of the problem rather than part of the solution.
ReplyDeleteI haven't really had an experience where my ethnicity has had a negative impact on me. When I was younger I was very proud as I learned about my heritage, but I think that has faded since. While I'm still proud, I have so much to learn yet about the traditions of those cultures. I think it is nice how you have researched you Irish background so thoroughly.
ReplyDeleteBeing that I am not completely aware of my ethnic background this question is difficult for me to answer, if it has anything to do with religion then yes. Most people think I look Irish for some reason. For the most part I cannot recall an instance where my ethnicity has caused me any negative situations. Religion wise, I have been made fun of back in high school on numerous occasions.
ReplyDeleteMy ethnicity has never affected me in a negative way. People really only know what I am if I tell them and it's not a conversation that comes up often. I guess I do think about the whole Nazi Germany era sometimes but my ancestors moved from Germany before that happened. If someone were ever to say something bad about me being German I would be offended. I would stand up for myself in that situation.
ReplyDeleteI have never had any negative experiences where my ethnicity has effected me. I am sure if I were to act differently then my ethnicity could harm me, like if I were to draw attention to myself. I don't know what I would do if I were put into a situation where I have a negative experience, I would probably stand up for myself and tell that person how I feel.
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