Masees Honanian

Professor Beadle
English 113B
11 May 2016
Student and Armenian Culture
When looking back at the epochs before us, there is one factor that helps make sense
about the happenings before us, culture. Perhaps more so than the individuals personal beliefs,
culture shapes men and women into who they are whether or not the know it. Properly
defined,than A culture is a way of life of a group of people--the behaviors, beliefs, values, and
symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by
communication and imitation from one generation to the next. Both cultures that have
influenced my identity is my student and Armenian culture. As a student my work habits and
education have matured while the culture back home taught me to be respectful and responsible.
There are different types of cultures that everyone has but not everyone belongs to the
same culture. In the article, Culture and Communications, Additionally, you may think of
culture as also referencing ethnicity, race, age, and gender because these are the most visibly
salient categories you notice in other people when you see them for first time. (Stangor, 1995) A
cultural groups is not only about ethnicity, race, age, or gender, it is also about groups of people
who are born into and groups of people voluntarily or involuntarily become a part of, such as
religion, phases of life, geographic location, sexual orientation, ability, socio-economic class, and
generational identity. Throughout my life, I have had to shift and maintain control of my student
and Armenian cultures. Both are significantly different and often have different norms between
my family and friends. As an Armenian,my environment would be different than it would be at

school At home, I would pray every night because we are religious at home. We also place
incense everywhere around the rooms to show respect to the dead and bring good luck to the
house. However, at school it isnt common to see people practice religion. We listen to a lot of
our cultural music and also talk a lot of our language to communicate with one another. I feel
like I have to be respectful and calm with my family while I can curse or act goofy with my
friends. Armenian parents are very strict about being formal and respective. Growing up I was
taught to be respectful to everyone and was taught the importance of education and getting good
grades in class. In the article, the Armenian Family, Verifying the child's report card and
disciplining are provided by the father (Markarian, Paragraph 7). In this quote, Markarian
explains how the father checks on how well the child is doing at school and how the father
disciplines the children. The importance of college was valued in my family because my parents
saw it as a way to support myself and my family. While in my student culture education is seen
as a way to make a living for myself.
The environment a person is in can alter a persons behavior and change a persons selfidentity. In my case being at home or being at the dorms changes how I act. The significance of
place for identity is often connected to the memories or cultural understandings that are attached
to the place rather than the place itself (Self-Identity and Culture, Page 119). Growing up, I felt
like I had to be respectful and calm with my family while I can curse or act goofy with my
friends. When speaking to my parents I had to speak formally but when I was at school or
hanging out with my friends. As for my actions I felt I always had to act appropriately when my
family was around but with my friends I didnt have to speak formally or could act casually.
I feel like I have to be respectful and calm with my family while I can curse or act goofy with my
friends.

At home, my parents always made me practice good manners and taught me to be

respectful. When I came to CSUN student housing, I had better life experience than I had before.
At home I had to listen and follow orders such as mowing the lawn or cleaning up the house but,
ever since I came and lived at the dorms on my own, it felt like I had freedom and opened a lot
of different doors and opportunities for me to explore. I am having really fun living at school and
going to school getting my education then coming back to the dorms and hanging out with my
friends all day long and doing homework and studying together. I miss my family back at home,
but every time I visit I still change my behavior and act the way my culture would want me to.
The way my parents would want me to act. In a Los Angeles Times article, Tamar Mahshigian
states, In general, Armenians and many other ethnic groups feel it is the responsibility of the
parents to care for their children until old age incapacitates them; then the roles reverse, and the
children do the parenting (Mahshigian, Paragraph 2). Since they protect and care for us as
children, even if we do not like our parents, we have to consider them and take care of them
because they have done their best to take care of their children. It is respectful and our
responsibilities to keep this cycle from continuing. This is because that is what our behaviors are
as part of being in the Armenian culture. At school, my behaviors would be focusing, listening,
and cooperative. At the dorms, my behaviors would be listening, showing less respect because
Im more comfortable with friends so I can goof around, and cooperative while at home, I have
to be really respectful, have good manners, and being responsible. Although I may act differently
in different spaces, these all each share common traits. My identity does not change as much in
different spaces because I was raised in an Armenian culture and no matter what I still at like I
would at home. I cannot really control it and it is part of who I am. From my seven day journal
entries, I have noticed that my behaviors are similar in any space I go to. I was taught to be kind

and thoughtful person because my parents do not like it when I act disrespectful and not follow
orders.
In conclusion, culture is basically a group of people who share the same beliefs or values
and depending on the spaces, it changes the persons or groups behaviors and values. Student
culture and Armenian culture plays a big influence on my identity because it changes the way I
act and the way I am because depending on the group we are all raised differently depending on
what type of household we live in or ethnicity. The student culture most likely would be the same
for all of ethnicity because everyone likes a bit of freedom from their ethnic culture. Cultures
change the persons characteristics and their attitude. It changes their actions depending on what
culture they are going towards to. Culture plays different types of roles in peoples lives and it
can affect differently it may be bad or it may be good depending what type of culture and
identity the person has. These cultures are similar because they both taught me similar behaviors
like focusing, listening, responsibility, and other behaviors that I may have picked up from both
these cultures. As a result, I have noticed that the seven day journal entry showed me how I
became as a person, I have noticed that I became this mature and generous person who shows
respect and loyalty to the world no matter how unappreciative a person may be, my behaviors
still keep in play.

Works Cited
Kurylo, Anastacia. Inter/Cultural Communication. Jackson II, Ronald L., Cerise L. Glenn, and
Kesha Morant Williams. Self-Identity and Culture. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2013.
Web. 24 Feb. 2016.

Kurylo, Anastacia. Inter/Cultural Communication. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2013. Web.
24 Feb. 2016.

Markarian, Shogher. "The Armenian Family." Hye Etch, 22 Apr. 2003. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.

"Taking Good Care of Their Own : Elderly: Armenian Culture Dictates That the
Young Care for the Old, but Both Generations Look Forward to the Opening of the
Mission Hills Facility, the Largest of Its Kind in the Country." Los Angeles Times. Los
Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 1990. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.