Being culturally aware provides an opportunity to stand back and consider that there are certain backgrounds, personal values, beliefs and upbringings that shape the things we all do. Something that is considered inappropriate behavior in one …show more content…
Liz Murray lives in an extremely dysfunctional Bronx family. During the time her father was in jail, she lived normally,. Her mother cooked and clean and played with her and her sister, Lisa. All that was demolish when her father came out of jail 3 years later. Her mother was brought back to the world of drugs and have become schizophrenic. She was later then diagnosed with AIDs. She is removed from the home and put into the care system as her father cannot take care of her. At 15 she moves in with her mother, sister and grandfather who sexually abused her mother and her aunt. After an argument with her grandfather, she runs away with a girl from school who is being abused at home. After her mother dies of AIDS, Liz was determined to finish high school. She completed in two years, rather than the four. She becomes a star student and earns a scholarship to Harvard University through an essay contest sponsored by The New York Times. She is now an American inspirational