StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Experience of Growing up in an Army Family - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Experience of Growing up in an Army Family" describes that the author has a more nuanced understanding of what race means in a societal context, but the reality is he still is largely unaware of his feelings towards his own racial identity because it isn’t something he sees in others…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER96.5% of users find it useful
Experience of Growing up in an Army Family
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Experience of Growing up in an Army Family"

Going to school on base was great because there was a tremendous amount of diversity. I am probably a bit unique in that I was never really aware of my race until I moved to North Carolina when I was twelve.

I guess I should clarify by saying that I was not colorblind. I realized what color I was, but that didn’t seem to affect anything in the communities where I was growing up. Base housing was very diverse and I realized that there were surely more white kids than black kids. But I also noticed that there were more black kids than Hispanic kids and Asian kids as well. I had friends, close friends, of all colors, as did my parents. We went over to the Hispanic family next door for supper and they came to us. Only they weren’t ever viewed as Hispanic. They were just the Ramirezs. I do remember going to some parties when I was a kid and all of us were the same race. I do remember thinking, “This is weird. Where are the Ramirez’s?” I have no idea if these parties were planned so that everybody was the same race as my parents or not, but I sort of doubt it. So I guess what I am trying to say is, as a kid growing up in military housing, I never thought about race at all, mine or anyone else’s.
When I arrived in North Carolina, I first became aware of race. For one thing, I noticed that people of the same color tended to stay together. There seemed to be a rule that said people of different colors didn’t mix. I noticed it right away and asked my mother about it. She simply said that things are different everywhere and that in North Carolina, that’s just the way it was. I think I remember her saying that she couldn’t wait to move to the next duty station. During the three years, I lived in North Carolina, I learned all sorts of lessons about race that I had missed my first twelve years.

The first lesson about race is you just do not mix. White kids had white friends, black kids had black friends and the Hispanics and Asian kids just had to figure out something else to do than have friends because there weren’t many of them on base at that time in North Carolina. I can honestly say I didn’t try to challenge the rule in any way. When you are new to a base, the kids that approach you first are the kids that become your friends. When only kids of your same race approach you, well then that is the friends you have. I remember thinking it was weird at first, and then after a year, it was perfectly normal.
The second lesson about race I learned was that some races are better than others at certain things. Black kids can run fast and dance best. They listen to rap music and play basketball. White kids are the smartest and are better at sports like baseball. Hispanic kids play soccer and have lots of sisters and brothers. For the first time, I was introduced to racial stereotypes and this I struggled with. I didn’t fit into the definition of any of these races. I was smart, awesome at basketball, and had five brothers and sisters. I could have been white, black, or Hispanic. But for the first time, I felt like I had to downplay an aspect of who I was because I had to conform to somebody else’s notion of what I ought to be based on my race.

The final thing I learned about race in North Carolina is that people of different races had nasty names for each other. It was in North Carolina that I heard racial epithets, from all races, for the first time. Perhaps I was incredibly sheltered growing up. I can say that I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I feel as though I still have a lot of that pre-North Carolina person in me. I still see color, not race.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Army Family Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words”, n.d.)
Army Family Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/history/1438596-12111
(Army Family Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
Army Family Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words. https://studentshare.org/history/1438596-12111.
“Army Family Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/history/1438596-12111.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Experience of Growing up in an Army Family

The Crusades

In response to the Christian religious authority's call, the European nations organized themselves and led a number of invasions on the Muslim army in the Holy Land.... Critical Analysis of the First Crusade as a Response to the Church Reform in the 11th Century Critical Analysis of the First Crusade as a Response to the Church Reform in the 11th Century Introduction The Crusades, primarily, can be considered as the European nations' responses to the Christian authority's call for expeditionary war against the Muslims....
15 Pages (3750 words) Research Paper

Phenomenon of Joseph Stalin

Solzhenitsyn being an ethnic russian from a very intelligent family got classic family education based on humanistic values and Christian morality, at the same time it's important to note that he is from the Northern Caucasus region, a historical region of russian Cossack settlements.... stalin was born in the small city of Gori to a family of a heavy-drinking shoemaker and an illiterate laundress.... He saw faithfulness in stalin, a professional experienced revolutioner from a poor family who was never distinguished by the brilliance of Marxist knowledge, but who was technocratic and reserved....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

The Coming-of-Age Story of a Boy Growing Up in a Place Besieged by War

The book details H's life as he grew up in the port city of Kobe, Japan during the 1930s and also his life after the end of World War II.... The book tells the story of a boy called H and the Senoh family, a Kobe family of modest means.... Hence H even though living in a conformist society grows up with a spirit of resistance.... These are the experiences that make H to grow up quickly.... Apart from giving us an account of wartime Japan as seen through the eyes of a boy, there is also an account of the trials and troubles of childhood such as stomach upsets, bedwetting and innocent adventures with friends and how quickly H forced to move away from these innocent adventures and grow up....
5 Pages (1250 words) Book Report/Review

Arm Wrestling with My Father by Brad Manning and Shooting Father by Sarah Vowell

Brad Manning's 'Arm Wrestling with My Father' is about a father and child connection which provides a snapshot of the individual facets of the family unit, but also illustrates the dynamics of psychological consequences on the family.... The paper "Arm Wrestling with My Father by Brad Manning and Shooting Father by Sarah Vowell" states that both stories recount the various ways in which increasing maturity on the part of the child has led to a deeper relationship between the child and the adult parent....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Hemingways Hills Like What Elephants

The paper "Hemingways Hills Like What Elephants" discusses that writers and authors serve a purpose in society and that is to preserve, record, and in a way re-tell the stories of people to make a better understanding of humanity.... Literature is both educational and entertaining as was said earlier....
8 Pages (2000 words) Research Paper

Quality Of Soldier Medical Care

t is a quite natural fact that while a soldier is in the battlefield which is far away from his home sometimes he may be nostalgic and that time he wishes to go back home for some days and spend some day with his family members.... Sometimes some soldier may pretend to be ill and thereby apply for a leave; by this, they make the unfitness an excuse to have a leave to spend some days with family members.... Sometimes the longtime distance from the family members creates psychological stress on the soldier and by the psychological distress and depression, they start to suffer from the psychosomatic disorder....
16 Pages (4000 words) Research Paper

Critical Analysis of the First Crusade as a Response to the Church Reform in the 11th Century

In response to the Christian religious authority's call, the European nations organized themselves and led several invasions on the Muslim army in the Holy Land.... The author of "Critical Analysis of the First Crusade as a Response to the Church Reform in the 11th Century" paper discusses what factors work behind the materialization of the First Crusade and why it became successful whereas the Second Crusade failed....
14 Pages (3500 words) Research Paper

How Literary Texts Describe Migration Experience to Australia

This paper discusses the experience of migrants from their home country to Australia during post world war two and those who moved as a result of political dynamics.... With the migrant trade growing lucrative, the transit companies improved their services and went a notch higher by advertising on the routes to be used.... The paper "How Literary Texts Describe Migration experience to Australia" found out that the assisted migrants faced various strenuous conditions....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us