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Aurea Garfias-Rabi
ENG 101
Cultural Essay: The Beginning - Rough Draft
17 October 2016

I Am Garfias-Rabi
My name is Aurea Sofia Garfias-Rabi, though I prefer to be addressed as sofi. I was born
in Walnut Creek California 1998. I was raised by two latin American immigrants from Peru and
Argentina. I am a mormon, college student, an athlete and a dreamer. My identity of who I am
today and what I represent has been a result of my culture. My culture has defied who I am and
who i will be in the future and how I will make decisions in life.
To begin, the morals and values that I have today exist because of the certain culture I
grew up in. My grandmother and mother have raised me in the values of education, hard work
and determination. My family has always believed in starting from the ground and working your
way up to the clouds. They taught me that this world doesnt owe you anything and that
everything you receive in life must be earned. As well as the key to success only comes with a
relentless drive to do better and give a hundred percent effort in everything you do. My mother is
an immigrant from Argentina, South America. She came with my grandma at the age of ten
hoping for a brighter future. My mother is the sheer definition of driven determination. At young
age she would work for nothing but exceptional grades and was still learning english. My
mothers relentless drive paved the way for her to later be accepted into the University of
California Berkeley where she would earn her bachelors of science in Business. Even in times of

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hard trials my mother has shown great strength and has taught me that no matter what the
situation there is always a way out, through hard work and a little faith. As I grew up my mom
wouldnt let me give anything less than my best. Even in Elementary school my mother wouldnt
let me leave the dinner table until I understood all the criteria. I would spend countless hours in
the night trying to comprehend the material but would only face defeat and frustration and
feeling angry at my mother for not simply allowing me to go to bed. However now I understand
what she was trying to teach me, and I carry those values with me still today. Even now years
later, I find myself sitting at my desk working and studying late into the night not allowing
myself to go to bed until everything is complete and done with my best effort. My grandmothers
belief in determination with my mothers endearing drive is what influences me and what will
always be part of me.
Next is customs and traditions, both of my father and mother are from latin (South)
America. The customs and traditions in Latin America mainly focus on family. Together with a
culture of work, there must be a culture of leisure and gratification. To put it another way: people
who work must take the time to relax, to be with their families, to enjoy themselves, read, listen
to music, play a sport. (Pope Francis) When I was a baby I grew up and played with my older
sister and my cousins. I even would regularly see and spend time with cousins who lived outside
of Arizona. My sister and I were raised right along side our cousins to the point when they felt
more like brothers and sisters instead of cousins. In my hispanic culture this is normal customs to
be so tight and close in the family, this is because for many years and still to this day there is a
lot of poverty in Latin America. Families would support and live together or close by to help
support each other. For example, when raising children all the kids would shower together

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because of water costs. Everyone eats together as a family and everyone would help in the house
some way or another. Holidays and Special occasions would be spent with family and close
friends celebrating together into the night. It has been this way throughout generations that
people in this culture still follow this form of lifestyle. I have grown to love my cultural
background because of this, I love everyone of family members and extended family. They way I
have been raised Ive learned that family always comes first above everything else, because
when you face tribulations in life its family that gets you through it.
Third is Religion or beliefs, in my home I was raised with Christian beliefs. I have been
raised to always stand my ground in what I believe in no matter what else is happening around
me. My dad grew up in a Roman Catholic family and would later leave, though it was a little
hard for some extended family members to accept my dad stayed true to his beliefs regardless to
what others said for some time. My religion and my family has contributed to who I am and how
I make decisions in todays age.
Last is Arts and Literature. Through my cultural background I am familiar with a lot of
Latin American music. My grandma and my parents have impacted me through music and arts.
When I was little my grandmother and my dad would play old classic spanish music all the time.
Whenever I was at grandmas I heard old classic argentinian music, I never truly understood any
of the spanish songs but I heard them so much that I actually started liking the songs to the point
I knew all the lyrics to all the songs and started listening to them on my own. Since then
whenever I hear my grandmas favorite songs it reminds me of her and where I come from. Then
when I was at home my father played classic oldies songs from the 70s all the way to the 90s.
When I was little I knew the beatles, Bee Gees and many more before I even discovered teen pop

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stars such as Hannah Montana growing up. My mother however was the one who introduced me
to classical music and arts. When my mom was little my grandmother loved classical music and
going to museums and would take my mother with her whenever they got a chance. My mom
would later then take me and my sister to museums and concerts passing on her love for the
paintings and classical music. I was raised with so many different types of music that I have
identified myself with all my personalities.
In conclusion, Every person has their own unique identity and culture that determines
who they are A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a
tree without roots. (Marcus Garvey) Such as my culture and how I was raised on the importance
of family, christianity and cultural music. Albert Camus once said without culture, and the
relative freedom it implies, society even when perfect, is but a jungle. This is why authentic
creation is a gift to the future.

Works Cited