Good The Factors That Shape My Opinion Essay Example

I grew up in a somewhat unconventional home, one where I was raised part-time by my mother and mostly full-time by my maternal grandmother. My parents met and married and shortly thereafter I was born. Three years into the marriage, when they both realized it wasn’t working, divorce was filed. After the divorce was finalized, my father skipped town and moved to another state. I have not seen him since. To ensure a good upbringing, my mother worked full time to support us and my grandmother raised me the majority of the time.
My grandmother immigrated to America in 1927 from the peninsula of Italy. Her father had come to the States five years prior to her sailing. When he had made enough money he sent for his wife and five-year-old little girl. In the cold winter months, a young woman who knew only her native language and a little girl boarded a ship that would take them across the ocean to a new world. They eventually met up with my great-grandfather and settled into their new life. My grandmother grew up helping her mother take care of the seven siblings that were to come after they settled. The siblings and parents relied heavily on one another as the children learned English to translate for their parents and helped to raise the few pigs and chickens they owned as food sources. To this day, even after the passing of my grandmother, the siblings, their children, and their grandchildren remain very close. We have a family reunion every year and look forward to seeing our many generations of cousins. I very much believe in raising a very close and loving family one day to emulate my own close family. In addition to our closeness, I grew up learning and following many Italian traditions. Large family gatherings over delicious meals is a staple in my family.
Not only did my grandmother teach me the importance of family, she also taught me the importance of hard work. She told me many stories of how hard her father worked to create a good life for her and her siblings. It was easy being an immigrant and not knowing the language, but he never gave up. Also being an immigrant family, they were not very wealthy and had to learn to do many things at home, such as making clothes and butchering their own animals. She also related to me stories of how she worked in a shell shop during the Second World War. At the time, life was difficult for many. With war waging on, workers were given war stamps as they prayed for their loved ones to come home safely. War always brings about perilous times.
In addition to my family’s heritage, my family’s religion has also had a very large influence on the formation of my life’s values and opinions. As one can imagine, my mother’s family is Catholic. Growing up with my grandmother, she instilled in me very Catholic, conservative morals that I possess even to this day. I commit to try to choose right from wrong in all my daily decisions. I try to be a very kind and gracious individual. I attempt to look for the good in everyone and set examples for everyone I know. I try to regularly think about others in my local community and afar. I try to remain knowledgeable of universal and affairs and lend a helping hand when I am able to – I donate to charities around the world and donate to local food drives. I possess conservative values that are sometimes very different from others I know. However, despite the hard times growing up in a single-parent home, I am incredibly grateful for the values I was taught and how they have shaped my thoughts and actions.