Changes in the Family Culture across All Races in the US - Essay Example

When my family first immigrated to the US, my grandfather was the head of the family. He migrated to the US at 24 years of age with my grandmother who was 21 years old in the year 1954. Hispanic immigrants in the US have been working aged and disproportionately young (Bodvarsson and Berg, 2009, p. 319). My father was born one year later in the US. At that time, women did not work outside home; rather they took care of the domestic matters that included washing, cleaning, and babysitting the children.

My grandfather taught at a public school and earned the money for the family. Being the financial provider of the family in an era when the society was primarily dominated by men, my grandfather was both the established head and the actual head of the family. My grandfather paid for the bills. Since my grandmother was educated and my grandfather often did not have time to attend parent-teacher meetings, my grandmother would go whenever a teacher requested a meeting. Although the sole breadwinner of the family was my grandfather, yet he always consulted my grandmother in important matters.

So the disciplinary rules were primarily imposed by my grandfather, though my grandmother played an active role in maintaining them and making sure they were followed. One thing that my grandfather regrets are that he did not allow my grandmother to work. Those were difficult times since a new family was trying to fit in a new culture, and yet my grandfather did not allow my grandmother to contribute to the family financially while she was capable of doing that. However, my grandmother utilized the time she had at home reading books and journals and increasing her knowledge to the extent that she could administer quite a lot of home remedies successfully.

She learned the names of botanical herbs to cure different sorts of illnesses and diseases. To maintain good health, my grandparents placed a lot of emphasis on the physical workout, particularly walking. In the 1950s, cars and vehicles were not as common as they are today. Most of the people walked their way to their homes and offices. My grandparents used to walk as much in a day that I probably walk in three days. Other than that, the family of my grandparents consumed organic diet and primarily vegetables.

My grandmother is a strict vegetarian to date and is in very good health.