<p>Living in this country everyone already knows that it's a melting pot culturally--where all people from different backgrounds live together. As a first - generation American I feel like I have so many Identities to take on..sometimes it's a little bit difficult for me to identify with one group. So...my question is: Do you guys feel like as you grow older you have an urge to become closer with your identity and get back in touch with your 'roots'?</p>
<p>I am of Irish descent on my father’s side, and hope to learn the Irish language either in college or after. I would like to know how to speak it, given that the only language I can currently speak is that of the nation that invaded and oppressed Ireland, suppressing its language and religion.</p>
<p>It’s interesting you say that BillyMc. I’m British but three of my grandparents and my dad are Irish and my mum is half-Irish, yet I don’t feel any affinity to Ireland and have always identified myself as British. </p>
<p>Why is it Americans have such a powerful urge to identify with and belong to other cultures as well as their own?</p>
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Well, I suppose it all comes down to self-identification. Britain has been in Ireland, in one way or another, for so long that many people of Irish descent consider themselves British. Or are considered British by most people, such as John Lennon, who wrote Sunday Bloody Sunday and The Luck of the Irish.</p>
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Well, America isn’t a full nation, in the sense of a group of people connected by culture and heritage, but, rather, a country. So while many people are proud of being America, the melting pot has yet to melt everyone together completely, and people like to recall the culture of their ancestors.</p>
<p>I’ve always had a strong affinity for my culture but after spending five years in my homeland, I’m more drawn to it than ever. I want to learn to read and write my mother tongue (I can speak it pretty well) and I’ve taken to watching movies from my region.</p>
<p>Definitely. I’m proud to be an American, but sometimes I wish my ancestors hadn’t “acclimated” so much. Because the most I have of my heritage now is a couple songs. That said, depending on where you live and how long your family’s been there [I’m a god-knows-how-many generation American], certain cultural aspects do develop. As my family has lived and worked and died in the south for a long time, I am very much a part of the culture of the south- the religion, the social norms, the food, etc. </p>
<p>I think it most comes down to wanting to belong to something old- America’s not an ancient country, and most people are the descendants of immigrants but many have little if anything left in memory of where their ancestors came from.</p>
<p>I don’t identify myself with any particular culture. America is so diverse that there really isn’t a specific “American” culture. And all of my parents and grandparents were born and raised in America, so their traditions from their ancestor’s home countries have mostly disappeared by now. I identify myself with the regional culture, like the city I live in.</p>
<p>I’m like half Lithuanian. So no.</p>
<p>I don’t really know my “roots.” I’m black, so I’m assuming my ancestors were just slaves (I really don’t know much about my family history at all). I just know I’m an American, and that’s fine with me, to be honest.</p>
<p>I know I’m part Scottish. Being black, I assume that my ancestors were slaves(from what my grandmother told me). It also seemed that down the line, met a Scottish person and mixed.</p>
<p>Being born in Italy, my parents immersed me in that culture. May not be Italian in blood, but I did embrace the culture.</p>
<p>I have ancestors from all over Europe. There isn’t one particular culture that I identify with. I just try to know a little bit about each culture, and that’s it. I am American, and that is fine with me.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m three-quarters german, born there and everything. My mom and dad are fluent speakers, and most of my extended family lives there.</p>
<p>Looking back at it, I do feel bad that I never got to learn the language. My parents planned to teach it to me (and continue to teach my elder siblings it) but ended up not doing so. </p>
<p>There are so many people who have looked at my last name, or just my face sometimes, and then asked if I was german. I will say yes, and the next question is always “Sprechen Sie Deutsch?” </p>
<p>“Nein” :(</p>
<p>It makes it all the more frustrating because I had the accent for the first ten years of my life too, yet couldn’t speak it.</p>
<p>I’m American…</p>
<p>^^I know how you feel. I can’t speak French nor Spanish, and my family speaks it often. So when I’m out with my whole family, their speaking their language and I’m left out because I only speak English. My parents taught me a little when I was younger, but stopped. So all I can speak is very basic, like “hello, goodbye, and how are you”</p>
<p>No, I hate being Chinese. We eat greasy food, talk loud and raucously when unneeded, and can be quite belligerent. I appreciate the other Asian cultures, like the Japanese and the Koreans, more. I wish to learn how to speak those languages as well as Spanish, German, and French.</p>
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<p>you should take a genetic test to find out where exactly you’re from then! 
Probably from a country in west africa…</p>
<p>I’m American, however my family is of french origins.
I honestly don’t really care that my family is originally from France, they moved to the US quite a long time ago and I think it is more important to recognize my culture as an American.</p>
<p>I Braziiilian, and I come from german, italian, japanese, native-american, portuguese and black origins (in order from stronger to weaker). I Idantify myself with every culture, even if just a bit, except the Portuguese part cuz…Well, im brazilian and I hate Portugal. =P
But, above everything, I am SOOOO proud of being SOUTH-brazilian!</p>
<p>I think it’s lovely to see that some people on this thread embrace being ‘just American’. Personally, I think it’s heartbreaking to see the cultural divide in this country when people would rather identify with a culture that was actually their great-great-great grandparents and that they (usually) barely know anything about. Maybe if more people embraced being American then the US could get started on building more of a cultural identity (:</p>
<p>I was born in Brazil as well (go us South-Brazilians, Lennin!) but as I’ve gotten older I’ve started to embrace my American side more and more. I’m a fluent Portuguese speaker, and if I went back a random stranger would never realize that I lived a day outside the country, but the US has definitely grown on me and become a part of me. I proudly identify myself as Brazilian-American, simply because both those cultures make me who I am.</p>
<p>It is hard though, because when you say you’re from a South American country people automatically label you “Latin” in the sense that you see most Latin people here- of the russet-skinned, black almond eyes and straight black hair variety. I’m not saying that this is a bad thing (or a common thing everywhere- I can actually only speak for the region I live in!), but you can tell that most people who label themselves Latin here are of the Indigenous South American roots. However, my roots are Portuguese and Italian, and whenever someone looks at my last name they automatically assume I’m an American of Italian descent. It irritates me because ethnically I’m white, but when I tell people my nationality they don’t seem to understand the concept that South America has white people. Actually, I read the other day that percentage-wise Brazil has more white people than Canada does :/</p>
<p>SORRY, Rant over! Just something I had to put out there…</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s so much that Americans don’t want to identify with America; I think that they just want to remain connected to their ancestral culture as well.</p>
<p>I do and always will see myself as an American first. But additionally I hold on to my background (I’m about 75% German). It is a part of who I am and where my family came from. I have a German flag and I take German classes at school. These efforts to understand and appreciate my background help make me unique.</p>
<p>And that’s what is so good about America. It is a melting pot; people from all different cultures and backgrounds come to live here. These people all came for the American ideals and all love their country, but at the same time they hold some of their connections to their homeland. This is what makes us American in the first place, and it should be what unifies our nation, rather than what divides it (as it kind of does today).</p>
<p>Just like you said, you see yourself as a Brazilian-American, not an American. You say you embrace your American identity, but you are still retaining your Brazilian identity even in that label you have given yourself. This is a good thing in my opinion, because without it America’s diversity would gradually slip away and we would lose one of the fundamental characteristics of our society.</p>