On Being American

I'd like to start this entry by saying a little bit about myself. I grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland,  which is directly North of the border to  Washington D.C.  Because of this I grew up in a community filled with people from all over the world. When I think of the traditional values associated with being American I feel like my own background is a little bit different.
 
One of the first differences is music. When I think of  "American music" I think of country/western and bluegrass music. The lyrics of these songs reflect the lives of typical hard-working pick-up driving white Americans. When I heard music like this growing up in such an urban and diverse area such as Silver Spring I felt no connection to these lyrics. This made me feel somehow less American, especially considering music that I had gotten into including rap and later metal, had lyrics and meanings directly opposite to the types of pro-America messages found in country music.

Since many of the people I went to school with were only first or second generation Americans, people seemed to put more emphasis on where you were from, not that you American now. I felt weird when I would be among the minority of students in a class to just say "I'm from here" after other students would say "I'm from Korea" or "My country is Peru".

 In my mind I often felt like the United States was a meeting place of the world cultures rather than its own distinct one.

The last thing that always made me feel that I am not fully American is that where I grew up wasn't as homogenized  by things such as Walmart or McDonald's. I never even stepped foot into a Walmart until I  was 15 years old. I feel as though stores like this help remind customers of what American culture is by also telling them what to buy and how it all fits in to the American lifestyle. This was not part of my upbringing.

Since my upbringing lacked some of what seems like quintessential American experience, I always felt that in the eyes of other people in this country I am not seen as completely genuine American.