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Personal Narrative: My Identity, Culture, And Family

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To singularly define my identity, culture and family in three items is extremely difficult. How do I encapsulate my entire essence with three tangible materials to complete strangers? After much thought, conversation, and pure chance the three things I would have to explain my background would be a football, Gummibärchen, and a pair of pink baby booties. The three things I have selected encompass my family identity, link to my German and American heritage, and pay ode to myself and culture.
Football may seem like a typical American nod to our culture, but in my circumstance it is atypical. For as long as I can remember, football has been one of the only things to bring my family together. In 2006, I remember living on the military base, Camp Lejuene, and my mum burning her Pittsburg Steelers candle while the Steelers …show more content…
My dad is a natural American citizen while his mother was born in Germany. My great-grandma or my Oma, was a child refugee during World War II. She has recounted to me the horrors of seeing her city, Hamburg, being bombed and burned. Coupled with this, my Oma explained the egregious process of waiting hours in a line for hot chocolate and bread only to receive nothing and go hungry for another day during the war. This past summer, my Oma and I went to Germany to visit relatives. There, I was able to learn multitudes of information about my family and my linage. I proud of the fact I am German. There is so much rich culture from where my family orignates—best beverages, food, driving and mannerisms. Gummibärchen or gummy bears in English, are a candy native to Germany. All the family in the direct German linage love gummy bears. Gummibärchen is a perfect item to showcase to a stranger in a different country as it represents my German roots and the ties to my family. Not only is the sweet delicious, it holds a deeper meaning to my family, always reminding us of our

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