Who Am I

Reflective Blog Entry #1

#LavenderBread

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INTRODUCTION

Today’s entry will be a reflection on culture and gender and how they can influence your life. I am an African American woman who has a twenty-five-year-old daughter.  I was a single mother, and I believe I had such a great life because I was chosen to be her mom.  This blog is being used as part of my FCST class curriculum.   

The transition from Philadelphia to New Mexico, where I worked in healthcare, is a huge Graduate Medical Education (GME) hub.  This made it somewhat difficult to adapt to life in New Mexico.  In Philadelphia, things were fast paced and if you did not check your email often and get right back to someone, it was a big deal. I learned quickly that I spoke too fast, was a bit to eager/demanding even to get things done. Afterall, it is the Land of Mañana.  I am also dealing with a demographic who never saw a person who looks like me. 

I am black, a woman, a single-mother and know who I am as a person. I was raised to treat everyone very well.  No one is better than anyone else.  I love new cultures and pride myself on learning from the many men and women I meet from around the world. My family was working-class most of my life, so I was afforded the opportunities to see women of color excel in industries I haven’t even heard of.  The black community is a very accepting culture.  It was important for me to have dialogue with those who are from different backgrounds to learn how to communicate and mentor them. I love sharing my culture with others as well. Philadelphians are known for their obnoxious Eagles fans, and I am proud to say I am one of those fans. We are the city of brotherly love, so I truly have love for those all around the world.

CULTURAL BACKGROUND

My father passed away last November.  I wanted his funeral to be a reflection of him and not a traditional long boring service that everyone would be drowning in sorrow because that’s just not how I was raised.  I was raised that you go to heaven and you are not in pain when you died. So I made sure that everyone wore green to the funeral and wore their Eagles gear to the repast.  We did an abbreviate service where his Mason King David Lodge No. 52 did his final rights. We had amazing soul food and caught up with family and friends we hadn’t seen in forever. I learned that you only have one life.  You can choose how to live it and no one has control over you but yourself. 

My culture background is interesting. I am black (did Ancestry DNA) but was surprised to find out all the lineage that we found in the sample I sent in. I am Irish, Scottish, English/Welch, Portuguese and from several countries in Africa.  But being that my family has been in the United States for hundreds of years. Our biggest tradition used to be getting up Saturday morning, washing the woodworks, cooking meals, yardwork, and all the house things.  One of the cool things my family started to do is cancel Christmas and do family trips at Christmas time every year.

GENDER

I know being a woman has allowed me to be able to do things that others couldn’t do. I was pulled over by many police officers and I never got that ticket.  However I did think about if I was a male, would it had been that easy for me to get off with a warning?  I love hanging out with my friends and just watching where the night takes us. As the women in the family, we are expected to cook but the men will clean or grill only. For the most part we follow traditional values. However, I have learned more about the LGBT+ community helps us all learn the gender spectrum and how we can become better by listening, learning and make small changes to create an inclusive environment.