College Admissions Essay: Heritage And Personal Identity

Heritage is the first word in my family’s dictionary for defining who we are, how we live and how we influence the people around us. My parents taught me that my heritage defines my identity and that I should never forget where I came from. Though, through endless fights, years of alienation from my culture and its people as well as disregard for my heritage, love and recognition for where I came from led me to accept my Haitian customs. I am a mixture of many labels. I am a black, young woman. But most importantly I am a Haitian woman with immigrant parents. That is the first thing people are going to notice when they see me. They will see my flat nose and small ears and know that I have pages of history behind my eyes. As a young child, I loathed who I was as a Haitian, blaming my lack of freedom on the strict, rigid Haitian customs. Though I outwardly represented the model Haitian-American daughter, I loathed fitting
Today, I am grateful to my parents for placing the spirit of enthusiasm, loyalty and love for my background and people. They presented a charitable goodness that shines through into my actions. The only form of inheritance they can give me is one that forms the basis of who I am as an individual, and one that defines my dedication to strengthening the society that I live in and loving all kinds of groups within my society as well.
I believe it is important for us to be aware that these heritable inheritances are what define us and make us unique. Without heritage and culture, every family, community and country would be alike. We would not have our own identity and we would not be the diverse group of people we are today. Without heritage, the traditions and customs that have been passed down from generation to generation or among other cultural groups would be lost and there would be no relationship between