My Cultural History

Allen Manalili

HCOM 214

Blake Roger

My Cultural History

            Personally, I feel that my cultural history is quite different and oddly unique in comparison to others. It all started with my grandpa, born and raised in the Philippines, and his decision to enlist in the United States Navy. As a result, he traveled the world and eventually was stationed and settled in Hawaii. I feel that his situation was more than auspicious because Hawaii is such a pristine location in the world, and we already had a plethora of family members currently living in Hawaii.

            Then my mom came along. She was born in the Philippines, and then raised in Hawaii. After seventeen years in Hawaii, Mom, Grandpa, Uncle, and Grandma moved to San Diego together, eventually residing in Temecula, CA. In Temecula, my mom and Dad had met in high school. My dad moved to the United States when he was eight years old. Therefore, both of my parents are not qualified to run for president. And so over the years, that is how I became presented to this world.

            As of now, I am Filipino, but raised with more a Hawaiian cultural background, due to my mom being reared up in the islands of Hawaii. There is a possibility that I may be part Spanish too because Spain had colonized the Philippines from the 1500’s until the late 1800’s due to the outbreak of the Spanish- American War in 1898.

            Growing up in the city of Temecula, CA, I feel that my childhood was very unique. There was not an abundant population of Filipinos currently living in this town, so all my friends had very diverse nationalities and backgrounds. The majority of the population in my home town was either Caucasian and/ or Mexican. We all got along pretty well due to the fact that my home town was ranked in the top twenty safest cities in the nation. One thing that I had experienced that was quite different and unique was being invited to my friends’ parties and gatherings. Most of the time, maybe even all of the time, I was the only Filipino person in the household. Luckily for me, all my friends’ family members and their friends were very open and embraced each other’s differences. I feel like this was a lifelong lesson that was molded into my mindset which had occurred throughout the duration of my childhood. The only time I would be around other Filipinos was during family gatherings and/ or parties.

 Because I have attained these experiences, I feel that, now, I am very embracing and open-minded when I meet/ encounter new people with varying and different backgrounds/ nationalities than me. Because I was blessed with the opportunity to be reared up in such a beautiful and safe town, and having seen different cultures coexist perfectly fine with one another, I am absolutely positive that the love and appreciation for one another is more than able to precipitate and assimilate throughout the whole country. And if the United States of America, a melting pot of cultures, is able to embrace everyone’s differences, then the whole entire world is able to progress from a hostile, single- sided mindset to and open and appreciative mindset. Martin Luther King Junior once said that we should not tolerate, but appreciate. His meaning is that mankind as one should not live in peace separated from one another, but instead love our neighbors, friends, family, and strangers as ourselves. Therefore, we should live life filled with compassion, rather than that of hostility.