Rayvonne Brown

Leisure in Society
Foose
2/18/2016
Cultural Awareness
My culture is based off my ancestry. I am an African American. Growing up, my mother
didnt say much about where she came from and her older ancestors. Left with that knowledge, I
only knew my family up to my great grandfather on my moms side. I am sure that in the late
1700s my first ancestors came from Africa as slaves to the United States. My family is mainly
from Mississippi. When their freedom came to finally be citizens, they were shaped into how to
be Americans instead of being slaves. Though I am an African American, I come to notice that I
have family that vary from jobs like working in factories to being a nurse at hospitals. Holidays
that I share with my family are Christmas, Easter, Halloween, the fourth of July, New Years Eve
and Thanksgiving. Through my grandma, I started to attend a Baptist church. I personally chose
to be a Christian in my family while most of my family chooses to be agnostic.
Another aspect of my culture is my traditions. My traditions passed down to me from my
mother is how I have a love for running because she loved running in her high school years. My
grandmother passed down the Bible which is used in many traditions around the world of those
who are believers. One norm that all my siblings had to follow was that the house had to be
cleaned or they wouldnt be able to leave the house. When it comes to eating food at the table, I
was expected to eat all of the food on my plate. Punishments for if the house wasnt clean or if I
disrespected my mom, I would get spanked with a belt. Sometimes a tree limb. Another ritual

was that if my grandfather came to pick me up, it was expected that I be ready when he was
came to pick me up. If not, I would be left. From the rituals, I learned that food must be finished
completely, to not be a defiant kid, and most importantly to be on time; because if I wasnt then I
would be left. One more thing that was encouraged from my mom is to stay out of the streets.
Leisure was taught to me as enjoying the free time when I did not have an obligation to
do at home or school. Activities that I participated in during high school was show choir, choir,
and track. All of the activities were for pure leisure. I gained from these activities that I can be
confident when singing to a crowd of over 100 people, be in tune with the rest of the choir as I
sing my own individual part, and that hard work can be talent overtime. These experiences have
formed me into what I am today.
My culture shaped my identity. My mother had my older sister at age 16 and had me and
my twin brother at age 18. She graduated high school, but did not continue her education.
Growing up with my mom, I barely saw my dad. I truly valued my mom because she has always
been there for me. Being raised by a single parent, I believe that I became more emotional and
formed into the blue personality. My mom was my biggest influence. We were a family that
lived from paycheck to paycheck. Sometimes, the light bill wouldnt be paid or the water bill
wouldnt be paid. I remember that I got my first cell phone at the age of 14. Most of my
childhood pastime was spent with my twin brother and younger cousin. When we were together
we would play video games, duel with Yu-Gi-Oh cards, watch movies, and even watch older
people play video games like resident evil. We were very exposed to zombies. Moving to middle
school is where I found my faith for me. In high school, I chose to not have friends my first year.
I chose to be the wallflower and to not be in the crowd. Soon, I would be asked to try out for
show choir and choir by another influence whom I went to church with. A friend named

Stephanie told me to run cross country and to try out for both show choir and choir. After trying
out, I made varsity choir and show choir. Soon, I would find my passion in running in cross
country. My junior year, I went from a 53 to a 50 second 400 meter run time. That is when I
realized that I had a competence-efficacy in track at my high school. I chose not to party or
follow crowds in high school. All of these experiences impacted my worldview because they
shaped me into what I am today. The activities in the past are my passions today and those things
I chose not to do were things that I wasnt exposed to.
Two stereotypical things I believed when growing up was that most Caucasians were
racists and that African Americans were devalued when it came to status or jobs in a workplace.
Throughout my life based off past experiences, I have run into both of these stereotypes. In
elementary, I remember when I was in the third grade, I did something disrespectful; but a
female teacher pushed me against the locker and told me not to act that why. I remember it made
me cry. The next year, I faced a racist teacher who always discredited me and gave me no
attention when I needed help in class. Even when I was running miles at practice in junior
college, some man yelled out of his truck, nigger, I stopped running and thought about it. I
kept moving because I didnt let it affect me. When I did applications for jobs online, I filled out
50 job applications. Only two of the jobs called back and only one accepted me as an employee.
The job gave me a contract pay of $20 for 6 hours; because it was the only job available I took it.
I was paid poorly, but I didnt complain because I had a job. It did not make sense to me why my
rsum got looked over because of my name or my race. I believe that my race is devalued in the
workplace, but I know that most Caucasians arent racists. How you were raised does not say
anything to how you treat a certain person. I was taught that by my mother.

The biggest insight I learned from gathering this paper was that all of the experiences and
how I was raised shaped me into what I am today. I am a strong individual because of my
influences. Writing this paper, I started to visually see the pastimes that happened and I smile
because those were the good times. It is always good to see where you come from and how you
are using your knowledge based on what you know from class and connect it.