Ceeshnia
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- Posted: Sat, 26 Jan 2013 06:00:18 +0000
* Ceeshnia
* Across the US
* I am Lithuanian, Apache, German and Tsalagi. I grew up in various places in the US due to a "gypsy" mother, which is just fancy for saying we were a family that moved a lot and were not military.
When I first lived in New Mexico, I got a taste of some of the traditions of the Natives. I noticed I love their languages the most, they are beautiful and generally not as harsh as English. I've had more personal experiences since, between the Lakota, Black Feet, Tsalagi and other nations and clans.
Living in Utah I had more interaction and observation of the Utahn Mormons as well as the Mexicans. Many good people, many differences. One of the things that stood out the most was the Mexicans and how they seemed to band together as a family and help each other, even if it was their first time meeting. When we sold our house to a family who used to live in Mexico, the bank said they had to do some fix-ups before the loan could be approved (such as the roof was older and needed re-doing. It was just my mother, my sister and myself living there and we didn't have the financial ability to fix it up). There were some Mexicans that lived up the street walking by, and even though they had never met the new family, they stopped and helped until the work was done. That kindness and community feeling left a general love of their culture in me. That was when I really noticed the differences between cultures.
When I moved to New York at the beginning of my Sophomore year, I was in for a wide awakening. Long Island, New York, one of my favorite places. I met people from Italy, Turkey, Indonesia and just... New Yorkers. They have a much different rhythm than everyone else, and broke me out of my shell. Growing up with a soft voice and an accent, I was used to people prodding me about my nationality no matter how many times I assured them I was from the US. In New York they were more concerned with getting me to just talk and open up and get to know me than whether or not I was a foreigner. In a strange sense I was as the east and the west are such different places it's surreal, and New Yorkers near the city are even more so. Being surrounded by the diversity and open mindedness I was able to finally work on my art without being put down and I was able to thrive in all of my classes. It is one of the places I miss sorely. Though I didn't live there long, it felt somewhat like home.
We had to move from New York due to finances, and ended up in southern Colorado. Back into an entirely different world, people there were convinced I had lived in New York longer than I attested to. For health reasons of my mother's, however, we shortly moved to Montana. Montana, not much for race or culture diversity, but you did have some as far as personalities.
From Montana I moved back to New York after I graduated, this time to upstate. I loved a lot of the people, but was coaxed into moving to Alaska. From there I decided to move back into living with my sister who had moved to Maine, where I currently preside.
With all of the different customs, cultures and areas I have been exposed to, I have been learning to match the flow of different areas quickly making smoother transitions and matching my unique style into that flow without causing uneasiness though some may find my mini hats, my fingerless gloves and the occasional drawings on my face... different. It is also much easier to understand people from different backgrounds, cultures and preferences. I intend to continue learning the different flows of the world.
* Across the US
* I am Lithuanian, Apache, German and Tsalagi. I grew up in various places in the US due to a "gypsy" mother, which is just fancy for saying we were a family that moved a lot and were not military.
When I first lived in New Mexico, I got a taste of some of the traditions of the Natives. I noticed I love their languages the most, they are beautiful and generally not as harsh as English. I've had more personal experiences since, between the Lakota, Black Feet, Tsalagi and other nations and clans.
Living in Utah I had more interaction and observation of the Utahn Mormons as well as the Mexicans. Many good people, many differences. One of the things that stood out the most was the Mexicans and how they seemed to band together as a family and help each other, even if it was their first time meeting. When we sold our house to a family who used to live in Mexico, the bank said they had to do some fix-ups before the loan could be approved (such as the roof was older and needed re-doing. It was just my mother, my sister and myself living there and we didn't have the financial ability to fix it up). There were some Mexicans that lived up the street walking by, and even though they had never met the new family, they stopped and helped until the work was done. That kindness and community feeling left a general love of their culture in me. That was when I really noticed the differences between cultures.
When I moved to New York at the beginning of my Sophomore year, I was in for a wide awakening. Long Island, New York, one of my favorite places. I met people from Italy, Turkey, Indonesia and just... New Yorkers. They have a much different rhythm than everyone else, and broke me out of my shell. Growing up with a soft voice and an accent, I was used to people prodding me about my nationality no matter how many times I assured them I was from the US. In New York they were more concerned with getting me to just talk and open up and get to know me than whether or not I was a foreigner. In a strange sense I was as the east and the west are such different places it's surreal, and New Yorkers near the city are even more so. Being surrounded by the diversity and open mindedness I was able to finally work on my art without being put down and I was able to thrive in all of my classes. It is one of the places I miss sorely. Though I didn't live there long, it felt somewhat like home.
We had to move from New York due to finances, and ended up in southern Colorado. Back into an entirely different world, people there were convinced I had lived in New York longer than I attested to. For health reasons of my mother's, however, we shortly moved to Montana. Montana, not much for race or culture diversity, but you did have some as far as personalities.
From Montana I moved back to New York after I graduated, this time to upstate. I loved a lot of the people, but was coaxed into moving to Alaska. From there I decided to move back into living with my sister who had moved to Maine, where I currently preside.
With all of the different customs, cultures and areas I have been exposed to, I have been learning to match the flow of different areas quickly making smoother transitions and matching my unique style into that flow without causing uneasiness though some may find my mini hats, my fingerless gloves and the occasional drawings on my face... different. It is also much easier to understand people from different backgrounds, cultures and preferences. I intend to continue learning the different flows of the world.
