Personal Narrative: My Social Expectations

Social Expectations As a woman when I was born, especially a white woman, it was not uncommon for mothers to stay at home and take care of the children. I held the expectation that eventually I would marry and have children, and it would not be unexpected for me to become a stay-at-home mother. This was especially because my mother married my father at nineteen years old, only a year after they graduated high school. Since I was born in the late 90s, I identify as a millennial, and believe that because of things like technology, life is much easier for the generation to which I belong. With the rise of feminism in recent years I have definitely changed the way I feel about certain things concerning women’s rights and social expectations of

Growing up, my family began to go to church and that is where I began to adapt the typical values of Christianity. Once I moved out of my parent’s house and began college, I began to question my faith and explore other beliefs however my general belief in God growing up gave me peace at many times especially when it came to my anxiety and helping me through depression spells.

Ethnic and Racial Identity I consider myself I white female that loosely follows the typical Polish ethnic traditions with my family members. My dad’s side is 100% Polish and we are pretty close to our Polish roots with myself being a third generation American. Other people, by just looking at me, would identify me as some sort of European white woman. While this is not an incorrect statement, people assume that I do not recognize my culture. When it comes to my immediate family, there are no racial differences however with my extended family on my mother’s side, there are many members that are mixed with different races.

Sexual

I do not have anyone in my family who is gay, but my brother does have a partner who identifies as bisexual. Before my family met my brother’s partner I was anxious to see what the reaction of my family would be. I was anxious because my family had never explicitly displayed their opinions of those who identify other than heterosexual, and assumed they were fairly conservative. To my surprise, all members of my family were very accepting and open to the idea.

Native Community No, I do not belong to a Native tribe or nation. Although I do have family members that identify as different race and culture, no one in my family belongs to a Native tribe.

Citizenship Yes, I am a U.S. citizen. I was born in the United States in Northwest, Ohio. Both my parents and myself speaking English as a first language and only language, as well as my current living grandparents. My role as a United States citizen has opened so many opportunities for me throughout my life. As a U.S. citizen, I never had to worry about not having the option of going to school and getting an education. Not only did I not have to worry about getting an education, but growing up I never had a doubt that I would have the choice to get a higher education after graduating high school as