My background seems, at least from my point of view, a sort of fusion between family history and adolescent resistance equated with conformism. The world I knew as a child exists only in my memories. As I draw my life experiences from them, I have made the active choice to change the path I have been on. I take positive knowledge from that life to better provide and care for the family I have now. Highlighting some points from my childhood that shaped me into the man I am today is the fact that I come from a lower middle class family. This plays a big factor in how I process information. I grew up with a father who was distant at best, working long hours day in and day out in a cannery, a mother who suffered from multiple health problems including diabetes, depression, OCD, and an older sister who in I idolized my youth. These factors are the basis for the future that was to come. My parents had a very unhealthy relationship and had separated at one point and my mother continually threatened to leave my father over the years. (TCO 3 and 5) From the age of 5 to 11 I was raised by my grandparents. They were a couple who worked hard during the Depression era and maintained that mindset throughout their lives. They were loving, but harsh in the way they raised me. In this way they taught me respect, moral ethics, the value of hard work and results, the value of education, rituals and tradition. (TCOXXX) I loved the arts and animals. My grandparents supported a love for animals as it also reflected their affinity for them; however, they regularly told me to practice my art as a hobby because while p...... middle of paper ...... where your life takes place. I am a stronger person, albeit protective and distant, decidedly masculine characteristics within the family as a result of my life experiences. (TCO 5, 6, 7 and 8) In short, I am establishing the breaking of a dysfunctional cycle for the men in my family. I have been among the homeless, the working poor and the middle class, as such I do not accept a class distinction. No, I'm challenging him. They are a loving and supportive father and son. I overcame my handicaps to achieve moderate success and continue to advance. I have traveled the spectrum of social mobility moving up and down the ranks. In conclusion, I am a well-rounded, critical-thinking individual who does his best to uphold his family bonds and instill healthy traditions by highlighting my life as an example to those who follow. (TCO 3 & 5)