Part I: Race I identify myself as a caucasian female that comes from an upper middle class family.

Although identifying myself into these different dimensions is easy for me now, I did not always know that dimensions even existed for a long time. These dimensions have contri uted to defining who I am as a person and have shaped my personality with out me even eing aware that they played such a large role in my life. !hile growing up I was exposed to very little diversity and lived a very sheltered life. Therefore I elieve developed a sense of race at a later age than a child who was exposed to many different races. I did not have an experience where I looked at a friend or class mate and wondered why their skin was different from mine or why their parents spoke to them in a different language. I went to a very small all girls catholic school my whole life. I attended this school from the age of three all the way through eighteen when I graduated from high school. The school was located in the middle of the neigh orhood I lived in and we did not venture outside of our little u le very often. "y school had very little racial diversity. #or the first part

of my education I did not have anyone in my classes that was not a caucasian upper middle class female, $ust like me. This put me ehind in terms of experiencing other cultures and forming my own identity. !hen exposed to such little diversity forming your own cultural identity is hard. If you are not exposed to other things it is easy to think that everyone is $ust like you. !hen everyone is $ust like you there is no need to classify or form your own identity, you $ust assume this is the way everyone is. As I got older I egan to understand that there are many other cultures and races around the world. This knowledge came mostly from learning, not experiencing or o serving. In school

we would learn a out different countries and their customs and traditions and this is how I formed awareness a out race. At this point in time I understood race and ethnicity in terms of physical geographical location. The thought of experiencing race close to home never really crossed my mind. The moment I reali%ed I could experience other races and ethnicities was when my older rother started high school. &is high school was an all oys school located in the middle of &ouston's (hina Town. All of the street signs are in english and in chinese and there were signs for chinese food and u le tea, all things I had never experienced. After dropping off

my older rother at orientation my mother rought me to a tapioca house near y and that was my first remem ered experience that made me reali%e I was different. It wasn't until college that I truly experienced race and the privileges and disadvantages it can cause for people. I had learned a out all of the civil rights movements in my time at school ut it is easy to think that all of those issues have come and gone when its not something you experience on a daily asis. )T*A has the most diversity I've seen in one place. It was not until I came to college that I made friends outside of my racial or socioeconomic status either. In so many was I was naive to the pre$udice that still exists in today's society. "y first semester at )T*A I $oined a sorority. "y sorority is a P&( sorority which means it is a traditionally white sorority. !e do have some diversity with in our chapter as do most chapters on our campus ut that does not mean that race is not a topic when recruiting new mem ers. +uring my first recruitment on the chapter's side I saw a very ugly side of racism. !hile handing out flyers and ta ling to get girls to sign up to go through recruitment I could hear sisters from all chapters on our campus make comments a out girls of other races esides white wanting to $oin our chapters. (omments like ,They should $oin a "-( or .P&( sorority instead/ were very common. These other councils have chapters that are traditionally lack or

hispanic chapter mem ers. !e are not forced to keep these traditions ut for some reason we try to keep them. All of our organi%ations are values ased, all of these values can span across any racial or ethnic group ut we still make opinions ased on race which goes against our values like friendship and acceptance. These situations on our campus that I've experienced are in no way an extreme. 0n some college campuses like The )niversity of Ala ama $oining a P&( sorority is a solutely unheard of for an African American woman. This past year there was ma$or controversy with this and this rought to light the discrimination that still exists on so many college campuses including our own. .ow that I see the discrimination that takes place on a daily asis I reali%e that I lived a privileged life. I have never een turned away from something I wanted to $oin or do ecause of the color of my skin. I've never felt uncomforta le in a situation ecause of my race. #or this I am truly thankful. After seeing the discrimination I've also ecome more sensitive of what others could e feeling. The ideas of inclusion are important more than ever so we can create a society with out hate or discrimination.

PART II: (lass As a college student my socioeconomic status is in lim o. I'm at a cross roads in my life, I am a out to e an independent adult and at the same time I am clinging to the lifestyle my parents have provided to me my whole life. 0nce I graduate my class and life style will change. I will no longer e in the upper middle class ecause I have yet to esta lish a career and will not receive a starting salary anywhere remotely close to what my parents make. This is the time of transition that most young adults face. #or some their class will not change ut for many graduating college is the eginning of a huge transition, positive or negative.

"y parent's class have given me many opportunities that I am very lucky to have had. I have received excellent education from various private schools. This also gave me an advantage when applying to colleges. I have een taught the skills needed to succeed in college and throughout whatever career path I choose. -rowing up college was never presented as an option. It was always talked a out as the next step after high school, very similar to how high school follows middle school. It is not until now that I'm in college do I reali%e how much of a gift that is. A college education is the first step to a successful career which leads to a higher class. !ithout a college degree many people find themselves ineligi le for higher paying positions within companies or struggle to find a $o at all. !ithout my parent's support graduating from college would e much more of a challenge and possi ly not even an option. In many pu lic schools there are a various array of classes all represented at the same school, especially pu lic high schools ecause the %oning is so road. The children who need to receive free reakfast and lunch will go to the same schools as the children who have never een concerned a out where their next meal is coming from. This exposes everyone to the various classes present in America. I went to a private school my whole life that charged tuition and did not offer any financial aid. All of my peers were amongst the same class that I elonged to. "a$ority of our parents were doctors, lawyers and usinessmen and we all had anything we needed and never worried a out money. This is one of the iggest luxuries of growing up in the upper middle class, never worrying a out necessities. It wasn't until I applied to college did I reali%e what class I elonged to. The idea of class systems in America never crossed my mind. I had traveled for a few foreign third world countries and done volunteer work like uilding homes and churches for communities that did not even have electricity twenty1four hours a day, so I knew how ad it could e ut I did not

understand what people went without $ust locks away from my home. !hen I went to ask my parents what tax racket we fell under so I could apply for financial aid they did not answer me. "y mother took the computer and filled it out herself after explaining to me that it was rude to talk a out salaries and money. After receiving an email saying that I did not 2ualify for any financial aid I never spoke a out money with my parents again. .ow that I am in college I have learned a lot a out class and how it shapes your up ringing. "y friends and I often compare childhoods and our favorite memories or childhood experiences. "a$ority of my friends did not have similar experiences to mine. *he is the child of a single mother who worked sometimes two $o s to support the family. "any of her childhood memories involve her older si lings taking care of her while her mother was at work. *he sometimes talks a out how she struggled in elementary school ecause her mother did not have much time to practice spelling words or read ooks with her. This is in stark contrast to my experiences. "y mother did not work until I was sixteen, giving her plenty of free time to help me with my homework. #or this I am incredi ly thankful for, without her devotion to my education I would likely still suffer from my various learning disa ilities. This would make completing college next to impossi le. As a college student I am keenly aware of my parent's class ecause I no longer get to live like it's mine. I am reminded this every time I check my ank account statement, my parent's resources are no longer mine. The transition has een difficult. "y family goes out to dinner for most meals and my mother rarely cooks. )pon arriving to college I assumed that I would e a le to continue with this life style of eating out and going shopping. I was very mistaken. I have learned to em race sandwiches and homemade pasta and shopping is a thing of

the past. I've started learning how to live in my new class and will work hard to e a le to get to where my parents are today.

Part III: -ender I discovered my gender around the age of two or three like most toddlers do. "y mom taught me that I was a girl $ust like she was and that my older rother was a oy $ust like my father. At such a young age the differences that come with gender seem to e only physical. "y mother color coded my rother's and my things, lue for my rother and pink for me. I identified with this color and to me that was part of eing a girl. I was lucky enough to grow up in an environment that empowered women and empowered me to ecome a confident high achieving young woman. I attended an all girls school from the age of three until I graduated from high school at the age of eighteen. 0ut of every opportunity I have received this is what I am most grateful for. !hile in school I was taught confidence, to em race my differences, and to completely e myself. This is especially important for young girls in middle school and high school. That is the age that many girls feel they must dum down to impress oys or are distracted y oys in their classes. #or me that was not an option. !ith no oys in sight I developed a strong sense of self which I have carried with me into my adult life. "y high school was especially focused on providing mentors that were usually alumna to help inspire us to fulfill our goals. I was a le to see and meet woman doctors, lawyers, politicians, and usiness woman. This gave me the impression that I could pursue a career in any field I wanted. This is something that not all young girls are told or encouraged to

do. !ithout this aspect of my life I would have fallen into the traditional roles my parents perpetuate. Although my school life inspired me to pursue any career path I pleased, my home life perpetuated gender stereotypes and traditional gender roles. "y mother did not work, she stayed home and took care of the children. "y dad worked long hours to provide for our lifestyle. &e was involved very little in taking care of the kids. I can count on one hand the num er of times I was left alone with him at the house growing up. As I ecame older and started doing chores gender roles played a significant part in what my assigned tasks were. 0n *aturday mornings my father and older rother would do yard work outside3 racking leaves, mowing the grass, cleaning out the gutters. "y *aturday mornings were filled with inside chores like dusting, vacuuming, and cleaning dishes. !hen I was a out twelve I asked my father if I could learn to mow the grass that week. I knew my older rother had learned to mow around the age of twelve and I thought it was ased on age. "y father told me I was much too weak to push the lawn mower and to go ack inside and help my mother. I never 2uestioned my *aturday morning chores again. The iggest ine2uality I experienced ased on my gender growing up was my curfew. This is actually still a pro lem for me when I visit my parents home even though I am much older and live on my own. "y curfew in high school was an hour and a half earlier than my older rother's curfew was at my age. Although as I got older my curfew got later it was never as late as my older rother's. "y parents would tell me things like ,pretty girls like you shouldn't e out past 4insert curfew here5/. It would drive me cra%y and I would protest it every so often. It wasn't until my younger rother was given a later curfew than I was that I really got upset. I didn't find it fair that $ust ecause he was a oy he could stay out later even though I was much older than he was. "y parents told me it was ecause if anything happened to him he would e

a le to fight ack where as I was a girl and I'd e kidnapped for sure. "y younger rother still lives at home and when I go ack to visit for reaks I am still given a curfew that is earlier than his. "y mother has taught me most of what I know a out eing a woman. This is largely influenced y our culture as well. "y family is a traditional southern family, my mother grew up on a plantation outside of .ew 0rleans. To her the era of southern elle still exists and she has passed down many of these traditions to me. "any of these rules of proper eti2uette only apply to woman. #or example a woman is never supposed to e forward or crude. This means I was taught to never ask a oy out on a date or to initiate contact. In today's society that isn't an issue, woman can ask men out without seeming ,too forward/ ut ecause of my up ringing I can't ring myself to do it. I find this aspect of eing a woman according to my mother's standards hardest to live y. I am not very docile, if I see something I want I go for it, ut my mother is always in the ack of my mind telling me to e more gentle and lady like. "y experiences with gender have made my a more well rounded woman. I can relate to the struggles of eing discriminated ased on my gender ut I have also een given many opportunities to see how I can overcome discrimination and succeed in any field I want to. I am very grateful for all of my experiences. This will also shape how I raise my children especially my daughters. The next generation of woman will e a le to accomplish more e2uality than ever imagined ecause of the woman of today who are reaking down stereotypes and glass ceilings.