Personal Narrative: Moving To Southern California
Abbey Martin
WGSS Discussion Paper #1- Personal Narrative
I grew up in a traditional two-parent household with an older sister and younger brother.
Although I was born and raised in Southern California, we relocated to Corvallis when I was nine years old. Many years after moving, the influences of Southern California are still very present in my family through the slang we use, tastes we have, and overall perspective on the world. Although it can be beautiful, Southern California is a very materialistic and power hungry environment, which is something my family and I were looking to get away from when we decided to move to Corvallis. However, the move also changed our perspectives on gender roles and expectations and our family values.
As a …show more content…
That’s how it was in my household too. My mom would do most of the housework, and my dad would be gone all day at his job. When we moved, that all changed. Instead of looking for work right away, my dad decided to stay-at-home with the kids for a while my mom pursued a career in hairstyling. This was a dramatic shift for us kids, but one that would prove to be very important in my life as I learned to view both men and women as equals who should have equal opportunity to pursue what they love. Around this time, my family started a tradition of eating together every night for dinner. My parents consciously decided to prioritize dinner as a time for family. Knowing that they cared enough about my siblings and I to want that time with us growing up made me feel unbelievably loved and cared for and therefore helped build my sense of self-esteem and self-respect in my adolescent years because I knew no matter what happened my family would be there for …show more content…
My entire life following, I worked hard studying and working on school activities so that I could get into a good college when the time came. Not only was this my goal, but it became my family’s goal as well. They wanted to see me succeed just as much, if not more, then I wanted to see myself succeed. I’m studying business now and even though that’s not traditionally considered a career path for women, my family always pushed me and made it so that I never felt intimidated by male dominated career paths. Gender expectations and stereotypes evaporated when they realized that this is what I wanted.
I’ve always been independent and had a desire to try new things. I’ve worked on building houses and learned self-defense all so that I could feel empowered and just as capable of taking care of myself as any man in this world, while still maintaining my femininity. I feel very fortunate that my family has not only allowed me, but also encouraged me to pursue those types of activities and to push myself to new heights. I feel grateful to have a wide range of experiences that not only allow me to push myself, but to also challenge my family about what it means to be a girl or a woman and at the same time be just as strong and capable as any
WGSS Discussion Paper #1- Personal Narrative
I grew up in a traditional two-parent household with an older sister and younger brother.
Although I was born and raised in Southern California, we relocated to Corvallis when I was nine years old. Many years after moving, the influences of Southern California are still very present in my family through the slang we use, tastes we have, and overall perspective on the world. Although it can be beautiful, Southern California is a very materialistic and power hungry environment, which is something my family and I were looking to get away from when we decided to move to Corvallis. However, the move also changed our perspectives on gender roles and expectations and our family values.
As a …show more content…
That’s how it was in my household too. My mom would do most of the housework, and my dad would be gone all day at his job. When we moved, that all changed. Instead of looking for work right away, my dad decided to stay-at-home with the kids for a while my mom pursued a career in hairstyling. This was a dramatic shift for us kids, but one that would prove to be very important in my life as I learned to view both men and women as equals who should have equal opportunity to pursue what they love. Around this time, my family started a tradition of eating together every night for dinner. My parents consciously decided to prioritize dinner as a time for family. Knowing that they cared enough about my siblings and I to want that time with us growing up made me feel unbelievably loved and cared for and therefore helped build my sense of self-esteem and self-respect in my adolescent years because I knew no matter what happened my family would be there for …show more content…
My entire life following, I worked hard studying and working on school activities so that I could get into a good college when the time came. Not only was this my goal, but it became my family’s goal as well. They wanted to see me succeed just as much, if not more, then I wanted to see myself succeed. I’m studying business now and even though that’s not traditionally considered a career path for women, my family always pushed me and made it so that I never felt intimidated by male dominated career paths. Gender expectations and stereotypes evaporated when they realized that this is what I wanted.
I’ve always been independent and had a desire to try new things. I’ve worked on building houses and learned self-defense all so that I could feel empowered and just as capable of taking care of myself as any man in this world, while still maintaining my femininity. I feel very fortunate that my family has not only allowed me, but also encouraged me to pursue those types of activities and to push myself to new heights. I feel grateful to have a wide range of experiences that not only allow me to push myself, but to also challenge my family about what it means to be a girl or a woman and at the same time be just as strong and capable as any