West 1

Maliqua A. West
Professor Sipin
English 211C
1/17/2015

Discovering my Souls Purpose

Dictionary.com describes culture as being, the quality in a person or society that
arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly
pursuits, etc. Wikipedia suggests that culture is, the central to the way we view,
experience, and engage with all aspects of our lives and the world around us. Thus, even
our definitions of culture are shaped by the historical, political, social, and cultural
contexts in which we live.
If one were to ask me what I believed culture to be, I would say that its the way I
do my hair in the morning; the way I click my tongue when I talk, and the way my hips
swings when I walk. Its the spirit that takes over me when I dance and the light that
shines through me whenever I laugh or smile. Culture is the colors that I wear during
Kwanzaa and the songs my family sing at cookouts and during holiday parties. It is the
way we all come together when one of us is struggling, and how we never accept
repayments.
Culture cannot be defined on a mass level, because it different for every race,
ethnicity, tribe, family, and person. Culture is much more than food and dance. It is a
lifestyle that was created by many generations before me, and one that continues to be
shaped and molded as the rest of the world moves forward. Its dancing in the rain and

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giving thanks to the gods above for even the smallest of things.
Many people struggle to find their own identities amidst their ever-growing
familial traditions, and it would be foolish to ignore the many roles that culture play in
the identity game. In many cultures around the world, a girls first menstruation is a
definitive sign of womanhood. In the west; however, menstruation is only seen as a sign
of puberty, which is when the body is child begins to transform into the body of an adult
and becomes capable of reproduction. Tattoos, piercings, and other body modifications
are seen as signs of beauty in African and East Asian societies while again, in the West
they are seen as taboo. Even gender roles become switched.
As a displaced African, I often struggle with my identity and am always
discovering new things about both my history and my culture; I even got a DNA test
through Ancestry.com to learn even more about my past. I consider myself to be many
things, and as my knowledge of my ancestors grow, my labels do as well. To some I am a
conscious Afrocentric and to others Im a radical. Regardless of how others view me, I
feel it to be my duty to openly, but never aggressively, encourage other displaced
Africans to gain knowledge about themselves, their history (both ancestrally and
globally), know their worth.
When I was a young girl, my father was often deployed with the United States
Navy so I didnt really get to se him often. My mother was frequently my greatest
influence, especially when it came to being a Black woman. I learned from her that Black
women were strong, intelligent, loving, and hard-working; they could have many jobs
and do them all effortlessly and flawlessly. Any problems that appeared were solved
almost instantly, and to me that meant that Black women were magical creatures.

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As I got older and became more aware of the things going on in my life, I began
to notice that being a Black woman was almost like a burden. Everything that Id seen
Black women accomplish was never enough. The extra mile was always ran, only to be
given the same recognition as the person who barely got past the starting mark. My
mother worked three jobs to support my sisters and I, and still didnt make as much
money as the White man who only worked one job part-time. I began to make the
connection between sex, gender, race, and social class, and how the other world viewed a
person. In nation that doesnt see color, women of color had to work triple and
quadruple time for less.
The media representation that I saw wasnt much better; Black women were loud,
raunchy, and always angry. Their hair was nappy, their skin too dark, their hips too wide,
and their lips too full. Slowly, these stereotypes and racist, colorist, and sexist views
penetrated my subconscious and changed the way I viewed myself, friends, and family. I
was incapable of seeing the true value of Black women because I let the opinions
ignorant people get to me. My mother had gone from the queen of my universe to a poor,
ghetto single mother.
My self-hate and internalized racism followed me into my early teen years, where
I openly allowed myself to be disrespected and mistreated by my boyfriend, because I
didnt believe that I deserved better. My parents argued constantly and all the couples on
TV did the same, so why should my relationship be different? It wasnt until I was
contemplating suicide and suffering from deep depression that I realized my self worth
and to appreciate all aspects of myself.
Engaging in certain dances doesnt make me a sexually loose woman, nor does it

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make my culture primitive and shameful. My hair isnt nappy something that needs to be
combed and braided constantly to look beautiful. I can be emotional and dainty and fat
and fabulous. I can be whatever I want to be because Im constantly changing and
evolving, just as my ancestors did.
The opinions that Ive had of myself and my community as a whole have gone
from praiseworthy to downright disgusting and back up again. I dont feel remorse for
allowing thinking the way that I once did, because its helped me become the person that
I am today. Ive learned to respect myself, my people, and the struggle that we have gone
and continue to go through. We may not be perfect, nor will we ever be, but it all starts
with embracing ourselves and our flaws.
My culture has been great, destroyed, and is now in the process of rebuilding. No
matter how many false images are depicted and no matter how great our personal
struggles are, our perseverance and ability to overcome extreme tragedy will always
come out on top.