I am a 27 year old female who was born into a white, middle class, college educated family. My family’s cultural background is made up of Eastern and Western European nationalities. The largest percentage of my ethnic background is Lithuanian, but there is also a mixture of English, Irish, Danish, Scottish, and French. For the most part my ethnic background has not played a large part of who I am today. I am a fifth generation American so our family has long since assimilated into the American culture. Also because I come from so many different ethnic backgrounds my family never identified with one specific background over another. I have found that one of the benefits of not having a singular ethnic identification is I am drawn to, and have developed friendships with several people of single national ethnic backgrounds, who strongly identify with their cultural traditions. These relationships have allowed me to experience the practice of ethnic traditions first hand. Each new unique ethnic experience has helped me to grow as an individual because they taught me to reach out of my comfort zone and try different things. I have also found that when I show a sincere interest in someone’s background not only are they very willing to share their heritage but also I have been able to develop strong friendships.
Ever since I was young I have struggled to build strong relationships with other people due to my learning disability. I discovered that by participating in different social groups at my church allowed me to develop some effective communication skills among my peers. From the developing of close friendships I have learned how to be supportive of another. The friends that I have built are very close to me because
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