I feel like my identity is just a big pot of the different people and cultures I grew up with. I was born and raised in the southern USA but my family is composed of many backgrounds. My mom is Italian, my stepdad is Slavic and spent a large portion volunteering in India at a Mother Teresa hospital, my step-sisters are Sri Lankan, so even at home, there’s always a large variety of foods, holidays and traditions that are being mixed together into everyday life. A lot of my daily life is influenced by these cultures, such as my taste in food, fashion, my taste in architecture, leisure activities, and entertainment.

Food

Food is definitely the biggest thing that has influenced me. My mom is Italian so our house constantly smells like garlic or tomato sauce… Bread and pasta has definitely become a staple in our household. Since my step dad spent a lot of time in India, Indian food is a common cuisine as well, and one of my personal favorites. Growing up eating so many different foods made me appreciate the cultures and the art of food. Going from eating pastas to curries definitely expanded my palate and made me more open to trying different things, even mixing different flavors and techniques together to create something new !

Fashion

My fashion is very reminiscent of western culture. Jeans, t-shirts, hoodies, sneakers are the norm when it comes to my fashion sense. That is what I feel most comfortable in. I don’t wear Indian or Slavic clothing, though I’ve learned how to identify the different styles and enjoy them from afar.

Architecture

Growing up in the South, you see a lot of brick homes with porches, but with my mom being Italian, it made me notice more Italian styled houses, often having these pretty archways, courtyards and tilted floors. With my step dad being Slavic, it made me notice Eastern European buildings as well. Churches and wooden carvings. A stark contrast to the copy and paste buildings you see in the South. Through my step dads stories about his stay in India, I saw all kinds of temples with different patterns and styles. Learning about different styles in tastes in architecture really made me be more aware of how these influence the environment around me.

Leisure Activities

Recreational activities are also heavily influenced by culture. In the South, I grew up watching a lot of sports like football and baseball, and I spent a lot of my free time playing outside. I remember my mom teaching me how to play bocce ball and Italian cards games. From my step dad, I learned chess and other activities that are popular in Slavic countries, and sometimes we spend out free time cooking different meals together and trying new foods we haven’t eaten before. All of this made me find new ways to entertain myself outside of what I grew up on, and even made me want to introduce new things to my friends.

Entertainment.

Most of my entertainment stems from Western culture, watching TV, playing video games, most of my music is western rock, punk and metal. My mom listens to a large variety of music, such as Louis Prima and Dean Martin which added a little bit more into my music roster. I also enjoy dabbling in different types of media from Italy, especially horror movies or video games that come from Italy or are heavily inspired by the culture. It’s just so interesting seeing how some cultures express different topics and media.

Conclusion

My life feels like one huge mash up of cultures and I love it. It made me more open minded and willing to try and explore new things. Southern USA taught me casualness and independence, my Italian side taught me about family values, food and style. My step dad added Slavic traditions and hobbies, as well as Indian cuisine and culture. I don’t think I would be the same person without it or be as open to things as I am now, and I wouldn’t have it any differently.

TV Insider. (n.d.). Louis Prima. Retrieved January 6, 2026, from https://www.tvinsider.com/people/louis-prima/

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Sedlec Ossuary. Retrieved January 6, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedlec_Ossuary

WorldAtlas. (n.d.). Women in Indian clothing. Retrieved January 6, 2026, from https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-are-the-traditional-dresses-of-india.html