ELLE
GALVEZ
EDU 280
CULTURAL
BELONGING
My family and I are all full Filipino. Both my parents were born
in the Philippines, as well as me. My entire family can
understand Tagalog, which is one of the main languages spoken
in the Philippines. Most of my family can speak Tagalog as well,
but unfortunately cannot. We talk to each other like we’re yelling
and we like to point at things with our mouths. Majority of my
family have lived on the island, but we’ve all live(d) in America.
I lived there for two years. My parents are divorced and my dad
remarried, so my family organization is kind of messy. I used to
spend most of my time with my dad, but we don’t get along that
well anymore. I celebrate the basic holidays that are celebrated in
America (Christmas, Halloween, Easter, etc.). Filipino food is a
must in my family, but I do get tired of eating it. My favorite
Filipino food would have to be kare-kare. It is like a stew.
LIFE EXPERIENCES
One of the most life changing experiences would have to be when I got in a critical car accident
back in 2015. I flew out of the windshield on the way back to Vegas from California. I broke my
ribs, collar bone, and my aorta was torn apart by one of my ribs. Another life changing
experience was when my parents divorced. It happened a couple months before the accident, but
they didn’t inform me. The change was so sudden to me. I was in middle school at the time, so I
was already dealing with a lot of teenager things. Once my mom moved out, I felt alone because
my dad was focused on his new wife and my mom was focused on bettering herself. I’ve lived in
Vegas for majority of my life. Mostly in urban neighborhoods. I was always a good student from
elementary to high school, and I still am in college. My high school life was not like the movies. I
didn’t get bullied or anything, I was just the popular loner. I was friends with everyone but didn’t
have main friends I could lean on because I moved to a new school in eighth grade. I just kept to
myself most of the time, which doesn’t bother me because I’m the only child. My parents never
put me in sports after elementary school, which kind of upsets me now looking back on it. I was
in dance for my whole second grade year though. I was in choir for six years and quit senior year
due to covid. I love being with my family, traveling, and baking.
LIFE EXPERIENCES
MY WORLDVIEW
I know that I can’t live up to everyone’s standards, so most of the time I just live up to mine. I’ve
been told that my standards are up there, which I think is a good thing. I like knowing that my mom
is happy with what I’m doing with my life, so I’m kind of living up to her standards as well. I
always value my family. Family comes first in my book. I was born Catholic, but I’m not into it.
Yes I am Catholic, but I was never put into the routine was going to church every Sunday, reading
the bible, going to church school, or even reading the biblical stories. I was put into confirmation
classes my freshman and sophomore year of high school, but I did not learn anything from it. One
long term goal of mine is to get my associates in elementary education (2023). A short-term goal of
mine is to finish all my summer classes. Another long-term goal of mine is to get married to the
right person and to build a family I wish I had growing up. Another short-term goal of mine is to
just enjoy this summer, because it’s my first year where I could do anything I wanted. I love just
living in the moment. I usually get nervous before I do anything that I normally wouldn’t do, but the
adrenaline afterwards feels amazing. Being there for others is a very important principle to me. I
didn’t have that kind of support growing up, and I don’t want someone else to feel that way. I think
most things should be taken in a positive way, because if you’re always thinking negative, then your
outlook on life is negative as well.
MY WORLD VIEW
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
C UL T UR A L A R T I F A CT S
In elementary school, I always got
A-B honor roll and student of the
month. I graduated high school
with an advanced diploma and a
couple other awards as well. My
main hobby would have to be
baking. My current obsession right
now is baking banana bread. I am
slowly learning how to cook
though, because I can’t just survive
off sweets.
