My Heritage and Who I Am

My heritage is a large part of my life and who I am. My mom is half Swedish, half Lebanese and my Dad is half Swiss, half Egyptian. I come from so many different countries, and sometimes I feel like it makes it hard to find roots in all of them. My parents teach me about certain traditions and customs. My grandparents also influence me, and they teach me about where I come from. Some traditions my parents teach me I will take with me, and others I will not. I am not Dee or Maggie I try to be both and find the gray in my cultural heritage.

I was born in Sweden so sometimes I feel the strongest connection to this culture.I make saffron bread with my mom every year around Christmas time, and I plan to do this when I grow up.I celebrate my Swedish heritage through food and cultural items. I also will eat Swedish meatballs and cook classic dishes. I also own Swedish items like my Dala horse which reminds me of my heritage and is important to my culture. I will not continue the Sainta Lucia tradition which my mother did as a child. I manage to maintain some of my Swedish culture because my mom manages to blend it into my life.

My Lebanese heritage is also important and my grandfather tries to remind me about where I come from through Lebanese history and food. I eat many dishes and I try to cook Lebanese food with my grandfather. My great-grandfather was also a painter so many of his paintings can be seen in my house which I feel is a strong connection to my past. I have never been to Lebanon though, and many of the holidays and customs I don't know or follow.

My Swiss culture is seen in me through my need to be punctual and my OCD nature. The swiss are famous for their clocks and punctuality. I also have been to Switzerland so I have connected with the culture. When I was there I could see my Swiss side come out.My grandmother who is 100% Swiss visits every other month, and she teaches me about where I come from and how she grew up. My dad honors his Swiss heritage and this helps me connect to mine even if I don't follow majority of the Swiss customs.

I am also a quarter Egyptian. I have never been to Egypt so I don't feel the strongest connection to my heritage there. I have some family in Houston who are from my Dad's side so they speak Arabic and I hear the language.










I feel like I am the typical American. I am informed about my cultural past, but I only follow a few of the customs. I feel like I am more of an American than my parents, and therefore I am not Dee or Maggie I am a little of both. I try to make sure I know about where I come from, but I manage to be my own person and follow and do things a little differently than my parents and grandparent.s