Cultural Baggage Essay

674 Words3 Pages
The essay, “Cultural Baggage” by Barbara Ehrenreich believed that you don’t have to be the religion or culture you were brought up with. She believed that you are your own culture, and you’re allowed to be who you want to be. She believed that she was a part of the “nothing” culture, which meant she didn’t follow any of the cultural acts that her family would. She believed that she could do what she wanted, believe in what she wanted to, even though it was unlike her culture. I think she hit the nail right on the head with what she said in this essay. I believe that once you grow older, you have your own beliefs and you do things the way you want to do them, not the way others want them done. Once you turn the age of eighteen, you are allowed to do what you want without your parents’ permission. You are your own person. The author was brought up with the belief that her culture was “nothing”. That’s the way her mother, grandmother, and great grandmother referred to their family. Her mom always told her “Try new things”. They ate all different kinds of foods, from different cultures, and did what other ethnicities did. Their family didn’t always follow the cultural rules that they are “suppose” to follow. She knew that’s what her mother and father believed, so that was what she believed. She didn’t believe in a certain type of culture. At the end of the essay, she leaned over and asked her children if they felt any ethnic or religious identity. They firmly said “None”. She was very proud to hear that her children had also picked up on their tradition to think for themselves , and hoped that they would carry it on with them from generation to generation. The author obviously believes that there is a problem with some of the people today. She doesn’t believe in the fact that following your culture, simply because it’s your culture, is the right thing to do. When
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