One word comes to mind when I think about my racial identity. That word is Caucasian. Being from and living in a town that is 85% Caucasian I’ve never had to go through any struggles with racial identity.
Most of the struggles I had to endure during my life aren’t skin color related. They are weight related. Being an over-weight kid, I was always picked on. I was called every name in the book that’s associated with being over-weight. Names like lard-ass, tub-o, dough boy and jelly belly. The name calling got to me on occasion. I spend a few days in I.S.S. for my actions against those that were calling me names. Thanks to my mom, I was good about ignoring them, for the most part and moving on. She would tell me, "Son they just don’t understand, that’s why they have to make fun of you."
As I’ve gotten older and tried to manage my weight. I’ve tried to leave the old habits and mentalities behind, similar to what Rodriguez did. He made a choice to leave behind the culture he was raised in and all the stigmas that come with it and so am I. Some of my old eating habits I’ve been doing since I was 5 and 6 years old. I think it’s just a matter of controlling those old habits and learning how to live with them now. I understand and know where those old habits can take me and that’s a place I never want to go back too.
Hi Junior,
ReplyDeleteYou write,
"As I’ve gotten older and tried to manage my weight. I’ve tried to leave the old habits and mentalities behind, similar to what Rodriguez did. He made a choice to leave behind the culture he was raised in and all the stigmas that come with it and so am I. Some of my old eating habits I’ve been doing since I was 5 and 6 years old. I think it’s just a matter of controlling those old habits and learning how to live with them now. I understand and know where those old habits can take me and that’s a place I never want to go back too."
I find the comparison you make with the author rather interesting. It is a matter of choice, but do you feel that the author feels pressured in anyway? How may he feel pressured in his community? In a community of academics?