I’m from a small town called East Bernstadt KY; population less than 1000. The other
town that a lot of my family lives in is London KY. My family is very diverse; there are African
American, Caucasian, Native American, and Spanish in my family. I was raised in the country
and was taught that everyone is connected in one way or another. Many family members have
different religious beliefs and practices. Due to this upbringing, I have learned to accept people
for who they are. My grandmother, the matriarch of our family always treated everyone as their
person. At family gatherings, everyone’s beliefs and values were taken into consideration we had
different foods and celebrated all traditions. This taught me even though we may all be a little
different we could respect each other‘s beliefs. There may be differences among people but be
open-minded because you can always learn something from someone both good and bad. The
goal is to come away with something positive and leave the bad behind you. I was taught to see
people individually. Just because someone has wronged you does not mean you go out and seek
revenge on everyone that looks like that person. My upbringing allowed me to express myself
and to be open to others expressing themselves as well. My country town was very family-
oriented. My family was respected in the community due to the work my grandfather and
grandmother did. Unfortunately, when I moved to a larger town, I have seen how other people
the same accepting attitudes that I was taught. Others were mistreated just because they were
different from others. The good thing about my upbringing was family always stuck together. If
there were times of trouble, you can always depend on family to lend a helping hand. Growing
up in this type of culture was great for me but I believe it made me a bit naïve due to when I was
younger, I thought that everyone had the same accepting heart I was wrong. The way I grew up I
