Peer Profile
Britney George is eighteen years old and she lives on City College campus. Her family is from Trinidad. She’s genuinely a funny outgoing person and you’d mostly catch her walking around with her hair out and probably the most comfortable outfit you could imagine to stroll into class with. Before I started interviewing Britney, she and I had a conversation before class started and we realized that we actually had two classes together and we started chatting up a storm from then on, but still I had no clue who she was. I asked her “When you are asked who are you, what do you tell people?”
She responded, “Well, I am an Undergraduate student at City College in my second semester. Apart from my academics I am really family oriented. I am always talking to them and we are always looking for each other. I like to say I am a very loyal person especially when it comes to like my friends. I don’t mind going out of my way for people even if they don’t do the same in return.” I found this to be very interesting because at least in my most recent experiences, a lot of people have issues with their families and this makes it difficult for people to build bonds with other people around them. Family bonds are definitely important and essential to creating your best self.
I wanted to know more about her family background so we went on to talking about life at home. She remembers as a child they always went to church together, and ate dinner at the table. Britney mentioned that she was in a bit of culture shock when she first saw other Trinidadians dancing. She says that they had a very sexual way of dancing and she’s a church going girl who two steps to the beat. We laughed about that for a bit because I could relate to her entirely. Although Britney doesn’t practice same lifestyles as the majority of Trinidadians, she says she still self identifies as Trinidadian because she grew up in a Trinidadian household. Growing up in her household impacts her a lot. She compared her experience with holidays and receiving a baby into the world for the first time to those of American traditions and says that she embraces her culture for the differences they have compared to other cultures. Britney has a close relationship with her older sister who she says is the one who keeps her household together. When her sister isn’t around to fix something, everyone feels a bit out of place and lost.
She and I then went on to talking about school, I asked her what she wanted to do with her Psychology degree after school. She replied, “Well I was thinking of going all the way through with my pHd and seeing where I go from there. I’m not one hundred percent sure what it is that I want to do with my degree yet. My assistant principal from High School was the one who told me I should go into Human Resources. But I’m not sure yet, I feel like that would be a boring field to go into. I asked my sister and she told me it’s actually interesting. So I’m undecided on that right now.” To be so young, and still try and pursue something is a very big milestone to cross. Especially living in a City as New York where it is so easy to fall into discouragement with the way our economic society is set.
I then asked her if she thought human resources connects some way to the role of social sciences. “Maybe Human resource managers are social scientists and we don’t realize it. That’s the confusing part, we don’t know who exactly is considered a social scientist.” Britney told me she does not see herself as a social scientist. However, she feels that if she were a social scientist, she wouldn’t try to change anything specific in the world because people are so stuck in their ways in general. Moreover, she would try and convince people to be more open minded to suggestions. It was a genuine pleasure getting to know Britney better, now we even developed an awesome friendship. Given her background, and her beautiful family bonds, I see a bright future ahead for Britney. She adapts to change well moving away from home to focus on her studies, and even though she misses being at home with her family and her mother’s cooking, she speaks to them often enough and remembers that this time apart from them is to help her future self later on.
Free Write of My Name
My mother and father had different reasons for choosing my name. My dad had a good friend in High school with my name. My Mom wanted to know the actual meaning of the name she would be likely to chose for me. When my dad mentioned Sadie, she searched up and it means Princess in another language. From what she tells me, I am her princess, and today her only princess because I ended up having two brothers who came after. I have taken the time to search my own name up and saw that it does mean Princess but in another language. I can not surely remember what language that is, but having friends from different parts of the world, I have also been told my name means someone who is always happy in Arabic. I wonder if names have a correlation with personality similarities? I have only met maybe three other Sadie’s in my life, and no it is not short for any other name. Fun fact about my name, it is most common in babies old ladies, and apparently dogs.
Where Are You From?
I am Dominican and Puertorican but I am from the creaks in the concrete of Harlem. I am from having mangu and tres golpes for breakfast with coffee after every meal. Black in fact. I am from grandparents who migrated here for a better life. I am from long days of school because it is the only way to stay out of poverty. My parents were strict and never let me have sleepovers. I am from a childhood that didn’t exist with no friends and excessive bullying. My step dad always told me not to look for problems but if problems found me to defend myself. I am from transitioning from Harlem to Washington Heights where the atmosphere felt safer and more alive. I am from a strong oriented family who always sticks together no matter the circumstance. My siblings are my half siblings in fact, but to me they come from me entirely as I am the oldest of the three. I am from the honor roll in school and setting a good example for my two younger brothers, the sky’s the limit to their abilities. I am from respecting elders and others, and treating each other with such. I was taught to never talk back to them, or else. I was taught to never input my opinion in adult conversations so I was quiet most of my childhood. I am from protection from cruelty of the ignorance. In Washington Heights, the dealers I went to school with protect us so we are blind the the illegal actions. I am from New York where life is fast pace and people barely think about their actions or what they are going to say. In New York patience is minimal and not many possess this trait. My parents did a great job with the responsible adult I am today, especially my mom. She worked crazy hours to make sure we had everything we needed and wanted. I am from the best example I have ever known in my life. So when you ask me where I am from, I come from a village who raised me.
