Cultural Mosaic

Mosaic is a fitting title for this because I am not any one single race. On my father’s side I’m British, Irish and German. My mother is, as I’ve told friends ‘an all American mutt’. She’s German, Dutch, English, Native American, and Gypsy, and several more no doubt. These different cultures are part of the identity I claim, but others are: student, Christian, wife, traveler and librarian.

I think if I absolutely had to pick a primary hue it would be White, although that doesn’t cover nearly all of me. Native Americans and Gypsies are both darker skinned, with dark hair and eyes. However, these legacies get overlooked by people who may judge me based on my pale skin tone.

I have so many demographic tiles. I was recently told exactly what tribe my family is from, the Mingos, and was pleased to discover that Chief Logan was one of the most famous chiefs in the tribe. I have a cat named Logan and while I named the cat before I knew of the leader –who was a great orator- I still like to think of the cat’s name as a tie to my heritage. Both Native Americans and Gypsies are no strangers to persecution. In fact, the Mingos were driven out of areas east, such as West Virginia and moved to Kansas are part of the Indian Removal Act.

Gypsies are originally from India and were pushed out, and all across Europe. They have been forced into migrating so often that ‘traveling like a gypsy’ is now a colloquialism. With this came a great deal of racial tension. Have you ever used the termed ‘gypped’? I’m sure everyone knows that it means to steal, yet how many people would be upset if instead of that term we used ‘whited’ or ‘blacked’?

My group membership that I seem most involved in is that of being a student. I’ve been in school for 21 of the past 22 years. I live like a student (tiny apartment), dress like a student (casual, but hopefully nice, too), and live like a student (see how I’m writing this at 2am?). I’m interested in things that students are typically interested in, such as college sports, and when grades will be posted. I’ve been a student for so long it’s going to be a major life change when I graduate in May, and am finished with earning degrees forever!

On an individual level, my Christianity plays a major role in who I am. My husband and I share a strong faith, or we would have –could have- never gotten married. I am a churchgoer, a make believe theologian, and my every day is shaped by my beliefs. Everything from what I wear, what I read, what music I listen to and more are shaped by my beliefs.

An associate dimension of me would be my new explorations into Finnish life. My husband is Finnish, born of immigrant parents who came to the United States in the 1970s. His first language is Finnish and it is a culture I’ve embraced. It is a new part of me. In the past 3 years I’ve learned Finnish words, customs, traditions, and even Finnish cooking. Tonight he called his parents, as he often does, and the conversation was entirely in Finnish. This Finnish-ness adds a new tile to my mosaic and honestly I love it. I love learning about new cultures. I love that my husband’s first language was not English and that he has an entirely different worldview than most American men I’ve met. It has added new color to my world, and more dimensions to my life.


Chao, G. T., & Moon, H. (2005). The cultural mosaic: A metatheory for understanding the complexity of culture. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(6), 1128–1140.