Personal Narrative Being An Italian American - 781 Words

For me, being an Italian American means that I have come from a long line of hardworking immigrants who came to the United States to make a better life for their children while still maintaining their Italian cultural pride and heritage. From the time that I was a small child, I was taught to be proud of my Italian heritage. From the young age of four or five, I can remember sitting in the kitchen while my grandmother and great-grandmother would be cooking and they would tell me how my great-great grandparents immigrated to the United States from Calabria. They told me how my great-great -grandfather came with little money and could not speak English. He worked in the mines and sold wood on the side in order to make a living. A few†¦show more content†¦My Italian-Catholic faith is the center of my life. I am an active member in my parish as an altar server, sacristan, and volunteer at various church events, such as our annual picnic, which we call our feast. It is important for me to maintain my cultural roots because I come from long line of hard-working Italian immigrants who faced discrimination and who sacrificed to make things better for future generations. I maintain my Italian heritage my maintaining close ties with my family and my parish. I am extremely close with my family and making time for each other is a priority. We attend mass together as a family and have Sunday dinner at my grandmother’s house. Nearly every Sunday for the last twenty-two years of my life, we have had homemade sauce, meatballs, and lasagna. Food is a huge part of my Italian-American heritage. At Christmas, we have the traditional Christmas Eve Feast of the seven fishes and attend midnight mass as a family. During Easter, we make Easter bread and tarallies. My grandmother and mother have passed many recipes down to me over the years. Another aspect of our Italian-American culture which has been passed down to me was to respect and care for my elders. We have cared for my great-grandmother and grandfather at home until they passed. God-willing I plan on carrying on this tradition of caring for loved ones with my grandmotherShow MoreRelatedAn Army At Dawn Essay1643 Words   |  7 Pagesat Dawn: The War in North Africa 1942-1943 gives the reader valuable insight into the campaign in North Africa in 1942-1943 for both Allied and the German forces. The narrative follows the American and British armies as they fought the Vichy French in Morocco and Algiers, and then later when they fight the Germans and the Italians for Tunisia. The novel follows the inexperienced and ill-led soldiers from battle to battle as they gradually become a more cohesive and deadly fighting force. This novelRead MoreThe Beginning Of American Literature Essay1322 Words   |  6 PagesThe beginning of American literature started in the 17th century when pirated, adventurers, and explorers started to write about the new continent. 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