Calebs english blog

 A gender expectation in my culture that has been challenging for me is to be resilient or to remain strong and hide my feelings. In my culture(the African American culture) we’re taught at a young age to have the mental toughness and to hide your feelings. For example, if you’re going through trauma in your life, you’re suppose to suck it up, hold back any tear, and go through it like a man. This has been difficulty for me because a strong amount of trauma or a series of trauma usually breaks me.  Just like the time I lost my great uncle to cancer, I couldn’t hold any of my emotion back, all I could do was just flood my eyes out.

 The time I did something out of the norm is eating off my friend’s plate. In society, it is out of the ordinary to eat off another persons plate especially if they’re not related to you. One day at lunch, I was eating off of my friend’s plate from some food that his mom made him. I was getting looked at in public, but not a “that’s disgusting” look, more of people just taking a Quick Look at me. No one really cared that I did this, their reaction was just simple.

 A time a felt lost is the time I felt disconnected from God. Throughout my teenage years, I’ve always put a lot of pressure on myself to be a perfect human being for Christ. One Time when I messed up, I felt like God just didn't want anything to do with me Anymore so I fell into a deep pit of guilt. So for months I went without reading my bible, praying, etc. At the time, I felt like confused, lost, scared, stressed, and useless. It was not until then that a day I stubble across a video on the internet, with another follower of Christ, a man who has also struggled with sinning. In the video, he tells his story and it suddenly connects to me. He shares this verse, 1 John 4:18-19, and elaborates on how even though we mess up God still loves us and will never create a feeling of torment for us. After watching that video, it uplifted me and showed me that even God still loves me, the me where I mess up or fall into to things of the world, but even still, he loves me as his Child.

 My adaptations to the demand of this course simply came from being in class every 4 days, taking notes on information I can retain, and answering questions from Mr. Rease. The one strength I've shown so far in this class, Is just writing down notes that assist me on the topic we're on. Whether it's just writing down factors about cultural identity or someone else's cultural identity, I've become strong to how this class functions. Though I'll say the only weakness I've had is putting my thoughts together in this class. Whether it's on a blog, or a paper assignment, the thought process has been the most challenging in this class. There's nothing wrong with the questions thrown at us, but it's the thought I have to put in the question to answer it to my fullest. Closing this blog, I have adapted and shown my strength by paying attention to whatever we're assigned, such as documentaries about people's cultural identity or notes. The thing t...

 If someone tried to only understand me using race, they're missing key details about my identity. First off, my identity is shaped around Christ. I look as Jesus Christ as my guide in life and my Lord and Savior. I'm not trying to say you're less of me if you do not honor your life through Christ, But understanding through race over this is the missing piece you have about me. The second but most thing that'll be miss is my life experiences. Most of the time I meet someone, They did or almost went through the same things I went through. Most of my friends dad has walked out of their lives just like mine(This is a negative experience but it helps me connect with other people easily), and other people I have met throughout the years mostly spend time on their mom side when it comes to family gatherings. The last thing I'll say that will be the last missing piece in trying to understand me is my culture. I'm from Georgia, which is a southern state, so somethings I...

 The parts of my identity with the most significant influence on my life is the culture/experiences, community, and interests. Most of my identity really came from the interests I found in things growing up. Throughout my years, I have always loved sports(Basketball, football, american football,etc.), which really plays a huge part in the person I am today. Other things I found interesting about are Video games, something I use as a hobby, art, another hobby of mines, and dogs(Just growing closer to any breed). The next thing that shapes my identity is the community I've been around. My family plays a big role in the person I am today. Not just me but my family, particularly my moms side, are big on comedy. Due to them, I always love to get around people and share a good laugh together. The last thing that shapes me is the culture and experiences I had with my culture. I'm from Atlanta, Georgia, so a lot of stuff I picked up on is down here, like my music taste, my food taste, ...

 A family tradition that my family does that mirrors cultural identity themes of expectations, are seeing my family for the holidays and honoring our religion. A family tradition that we have is a tradition most families have, spending time with your family on holidays. Most holidays, We go to see my Mom's side for the holidays to spend time, play holiday related games, and play sports. While seeing each other for the holidays, my family's religion plays an important part in our customs. My moms side is most people who follow Jesus Christ/Yeshua as their Lord and Savior, and due to all of us following that same path, we get together to spread love to each other, pray together, and share his good word. Today, I have learned that culture is more than one small tradition. Culture is not only learned and shared, but is symbolic and dynamic.

 3 goals I want to achieve this year is to Grow closer and deepen my faith in Christ, receive any college offer(Juco-D1) to play wide receiver, and maintain a high GPA in school. As someone who started devoting their life to Christ since 2020, every year it has been a goal of mine to find new ways to walk in his image. Whether it's spreading his word, loving others, or living for him daily, I just want to become who I am intended to be in his image. My second goal is to receive any college scholarship in american football. This year I want to not use football as a way to Glorify God, but also something to dedicate my hard work to. I did have a set back this summer due to my knee injury and missed a majority of the summer events, But because of my hard work and dedication, I know I can earn up to a generous amount of college offers. My last and final goal would be to maintain a High GPA. My mom showed me the importance of having good grades a long time ago. My mom not only received ...