The same way Tony has a mix of two different ways of life, I do too. Both of my parents were born and raised in El Salvador, while I was born and raised in the United States. The Salvadorian and American culture are very different. In the Salvadorian culture everyone is family oriented and spend as much time as possible with their loved ones. Furthermore the Salvadorian culture does not consider education as a very important matter, getting a job and earning money is more important.
The reason for this is that in El Salvador there is a lot of poverty, rather than learning, one’s job is to bring food to the table and earn money for necessities. My parents are always reminding me that once I get older I’m going to have to provide for them because that’s just “how things work”. They think sports are a waste of time because it is so rare for someone to earn big money off of playing them, but of course, they still support me at my games. Also, they expect me to always make time to spend with family members. For example, last weekend they made me spend the night with my brother and his kids, I had a great time.
Since I told them about how I had a lot of fun, my whole family is going to spend the night at my brothers house this weekend. They could just wait until Christmas vacation, after finals, but I guess they have a philosophy that somehow it wouldn’t be the same, which makes no sense. My brother is going to get sick of seeing us. My brother also grew up in America, so he always gives me tips about how to deal with the differences between both cultures. I like having aspects from my Salvadorian side, but sometimes they are too much to handle.
In American culture everything someone does reflects on their future, and in order to be successful they must sacrifice time which means they can not spend as much time with family as they would like too. Basically, what you do, is for you, nobody else will benefit from it or be harmed by your decision. Since this is how the american culture is, education is believed to be very important because it is what will overall determine success. Therefore, most American parents would want their kids to go to school for as long as possible and get a high-paying and longlasting career.
Throughout my life, my uncles have always told me that education is key and I should always work hard in school, which I really do. They believe that playing sports will better my life by 102 percent. According to them “sports leads to college scholarships, college scholarships lead to a good career, and a good career leads to a successful life”. They have always been so supportive of me at my games and are always pushing me to do better. I spend so much time practicing basketball, not only because they tell me too, but because I love it.
To them, sports are just as important as education. I have been greatly influenced by both cultures. Being both Salvadoran and American can be difficult sometimes but I like how both cultures intertwine with each other to make a unique and new kind of lifestyle. My parents have adopted certain beliefs from the american culture but still hold on to Salvadoran ones. They agree that everything I do affects me, not them. They want me to always be busy and working on homework but at the same time they expect me to spend time with my family.
I have somewhat benefited from that because I have learned how to use my time more wisely which is very important all throughout life. This becomes really stressful because there are so many expectations and it is hard to balance everything. For example, it is IUE week which means a lot of stress for all core students. On top of that, I’m on the school varsity basketball team as a freshman which means a lot of practice. Not only does it mean staying late for practices, but also for games. All this week i have been getting home around 9:30-10:30 because we attended a tournament which was held an hour away.
I get home and eat dinner, then I do homework, which seems to be endless. And with all of these things I’m already doing, my parents expect me to spend time with my family. It seems impossible, but somehow I’ve been making it work. Although, don’t get much sleep, I’ve managed to keep my grades up, excel in my sport, and still spend time with my family. But in the end, I am able to fulfil all of my parents expectations and I hope to be a very successful Salvadoran-American and make my dream of being an amazing student-athlete come true.
