Your Family

Everyone knows that family is really important in a person’s life. In this exercise I would like to find out a little more about you. I want your answers short and to the point, but at the same time I want you to include as many descriptive details as possible.

1. List everyone that lives in your household. Then, tell me a little about each person. You can include, but are not limited to using the following examples: their age, their relationship to you, their occupation, where they were born, what kind of foods/sports/movies they like, or even describe what they look like or what kind of a person they are (happy, funny, grumpy, kind, etc.). For each person, write at least 2-3 sentences.










2. Tell me about a fun experience that you and your family have had. It can a family vacation, a dinner at a nice restaurant, or even just going down to the park together. Write about something that you vividly remember. Include as many details as possible while giving the reader a clear picture of your experience.

My Cultural Autobiography

By Jon Voigt


I was born a small-town boy in the truest sense of the word.
I lived in a predominantly white community.
Not many races are represented.
Wells, Mn –15 Miles north of the Iowa border
smack dab in the middle of the state –
Somewhat isolated…
So the University of Minnesota was my college pick
Because I needed diversity.

Eighteen and on have been rich years, full of emersion and change.
I studied abroad twice to Spanish-speaking nations: Spain and Argentina.
Coming home from an extended trip is always eye opening because
Your culture, at least for awhile, is foreign to you.

The people I met abroad let me know how the rest of
The world views Americans, and sometimes it upset me.

The summer after I graduated high school I worked at a concrete factory
And got to meet many Hispanics who also worked at the job.
I hated Spanish before then, but minored in it afterwards.
Often Hispanics are discriminated against in my town
Because they are so different – or are they?

I volunteered at Hans Christian Anderson Elementary
In South Minneapolis. The students were African American, Hmong,
Hispanic, and a number of other cultures represented.
I taught, played, read, and observed the young kids, so full of life.
Patrick Henry High school gave me my first very urban
Teaching experience, and will probably be remembered as one of my
Greatest perspectives on teaching.

My grandfathers are probably the biggest factors in my personal identity.
Both WWII vets during battle in the south pacific.
I take immense pride in this – except for one memory that I can’t shake.
My cousin got married a few summers ago.
There was an Asian man in the wedding party.
During his speech my grandpa turned his chair to face the back and shook his head continuously.
His racism was born of something sinister, but I was shocked.

I say my grandfathers are important to me, and the sole reason, if there is one,
Is that they both grew up fathers, raised farm families, and thus I grew up on
A working farm, with all its challenges and excitements.
I love the land and wide open, and am starting to hate the city.

Both sides of my family are Catholic, and as I grow older I realize that
A good deal of my identity can be attributed to this fact.
The hard-line dogma of the church has been softened by years,
But I still go every once in awhile: Christmas, funerals, weddings…

A hunter, a fisherman, a farmer, a lover, a family man.
White, middle-class, privileged, thankful, a Minnesotan.
My identity is the mere sum of my relationships to others,
Something that will never stop being created anew
As I go through life.