Socio Autobio

To start off let’s get some background roots down about myself. I have spent most of my life living in the New York City suburb areas and my ethnic background is Italian-American. My father was born in Italy and moved here when he was 9 years old, but my mother is 3rd generation Italian-American who lived in Brooklyn, NY most of her life.

Having a father who was born in Italy gave me many cultural influences which I have come to appreciate as I become older. I have the influences of American culture (being that I do live here) and also have that European twist to life. Coming from a poor family growing up my father taught me the value of a dollar and made me appreciate the simple things in life which in Italy are very much appreciated. Being that he did come from a poor family he basically had to work for every cent he ever earned which was taught to me as well, making me a very diligent worker. (TCO 4)

Growing up in a “blue collared” family I started life working construction because this is all I knew from growing up. Eventually I decided to pursue my degree to enter the “white collared” working world, which was a direct influence from my mother. She grew up more Americanized and knew the value of a good education, so this gave me the drive to pursue such a goal. (TCO 9) Knowing how the life of “blue collared” and “white collared” workers are, it gave me the best of both worlds. This in turn allowed me to make the proper decision for myself which fit me best and also gave me an appreciation for both aspects of work.

Today I consider my family in the middle-class category of society, but they were in the upper-middle class category at one point. Being that my father is retired we have less of an income and we had to settle for much more simple things in life. Being middle-classed I feel gave us (mostly my mother and I) much more of an appreciation for the simple things in life. Instead of taking multiple vacations a year we simply go to the country side and enjoy nature. A greater appreciation for what the earth gives us I feel is the greatest reward of all in life.

Living in a more upper-middle class community we do find difficulties, but thankfully the mortgage on our home has been paid off many years ago giving my parents and I less overhead for living. The community I am from is predominantly Italian-American with a large blend of Irish-American as well. (TCO 6) Growing up in a community which the heritage is of