Cultural Autobiography

Jerrica Jones

EDU 280

Dr. Flowers

Jan. 24, 2022

I am the 7th of 8 children in my family. I am of mixed nationality, with my father being

Filipino and my mother Mexican, Filipino and Irish. Although my dad and mom became parents

very young, my mom was only16 years old when she had my eldest brother. After they had my

brother, they continued to have all 8 of us until my mom had her tubes tied to avoid having any

more kids. And at that point, my mom left us, life leaving my dad to raise the 8 of us on his own.

We never had much money, but my siblings and I always had each other. My dad would work

multiple jobs to take care of all of us. My sibling and I are very close to each other and would

always be there for each other. My father raised us with a strong sense of family and an even

stronger work ethic. Even as we got older, every holiday was always filled with family, food, and

each other's company.

I grew up in the heart of San Francisco, and we were emersed in culture and diversity.

We grew up mostly in low-income housing in San Francisco and lived in a very urban

neighborhood, but we always made friends wherever we lived. In San Francisco, you could

explore so much culture just by taking a bus. Even though San Francisco was small, there was so

much diversity everywhere you went. For example, if you were to go down to mission street, I

was filled with various Latin stores, and you can get one of the best burritos you have ever had.
It was a great place to grow up, and I was lucky enough to live and grow with so much diversity

around me.

Growing up with a big family, in a single-parent family, and living in Ssn Francisco has

had significantly affected my views of life and people. I grew up very open-minded and with

love for all people. My extended family is filled with color, culture, and a couple of drag queen

uncles, all of whom I love dearly. I feel like this upbringing has made me the person I am today.

This writing process helped me discover my multicultural background and how unique it was to

be born and raised in San Francisco.