What is ‘puerto rican’ culture?

According to Merriam-Webster, culture is defined as “a way of thinking, behaving, or working that exists in a place or organization (such as a business)”. Based on this premisses, a person who doesn’t have any idea of what culture is will be led to believe that since birth, a person is predetermined to belong to a way of thinking, behaving, or working depending where he/she resides. 

To be a puertorrican means, following the lines of the definition placed above, to follow the ideas of the Island of Puerto Rico. Usually that means that we are already given a(n) identity without our consent from childbirth. Someone in the brave new world thought it would be a great idea to keep these constant check-ups up to standard to keep everybody monitored and in place. 

The tightness of the bow can be seen and felt when you’ve reached a(n) age where your consciousness starts to kick in. To declare yourself with ‘puertorriquen’ means that you are the sole image of those who aren’t present with you in that moment, meaning that all the bad that somebody has done will always be carried around your shoulder, even though you can’t do nothing because resources (at least in the campus) are very, very, limited. 

The problem is that there can’t be a clear understanding of what culture is or what culture is not. It is one of those words or phrases that may have the power to define everything, but at the same time nothing. To be partake in the this culture (in the USA) means that a(n) individual is alive and well, always has some tan, he/she is very beautiful or “tropical” looking, likes to consume alcohol (heavily), and knows how to sway a person into falling in love or to do some crazy activity, which supposedly is fun. Photo Credit 

These characteristics just mentioned are product of how Hollywood has portrayed the puertorrican people throughout the years in their cinematic hits (Hollywoods Perceptions). The truth is very far from it. Here in the island there are few, to my understanding, who side with their roots, as definition states. There are too many problems that are inflicting who the people are to themselves. Many see salvation close to the time of the elections, candidates say they’re going to change what’s going on (currently) - each four years a new problem arises which the current administration doesn’t know how to fix - and come close to not doing a thing or puncturing the wound much more. We side with political vision that in a essence say what we are to the community, that being a thin line between left wing or right wing (Commonwealth), or right wing extremist (Statesmen). The only good thing these parties do (unwillingly) is make that what which made Puerto Rico the gem of the Caribbean into the the grey patch whose sight of who he was is lost in the abyss and can’t be found. 

Assumptions From the Eye of C. Jung

Each opinion is preceded by a quote of a excerpt of Carl Jung's "Memories, Dreams, Reflections"- Photo Credit

Assumptions about Europeans:

"With a single exception, which I shall mention shortly, I never spoke to a native woman, this being what was expected of me. As in Southern Europe, men speak to men, women to women. Anything else signifies love-making. The white who goes in for this not only forfeits his authority, but runs the serious risk of "going black." I observed several highly instructive examples of this. Quite often I heard the natives pass judgment upon a certain white: "He is a bad man." When I asked why, the reply was invariably, "He sleeps with our women.” (316)

He thinks in this part of the book that there is a conduct expected from him for being European and if he fails to do so, it would hurt his chances to communicate better with the Africans. 

Assumptions on Kenyans & Ugandans:

"All in all, Negroes proved to be excellent judges of character. One of their avenues to insight lay in their talent for mimicry. They could imitate with astounding accuracy the manner of expression, the gestures, the gaits of people, thus, to all intents and purposes, slipping into their skins. I found their understanding of the emotional nature of others altogether surprising. I would always take the time to engage in the long palavers for which, they had a pronounced fondness. In this way I learned a great deal. (pg. 314)
It is shown that he stills feels the pressure of his presumptions of what are the conduct of the Africans supposed to be. In some parts of the text he shows that he is clearly evolving and thus the image of what is a(n) “African” is changing. 

Assumptions of a lengthy stay at this precise location:

"Parallel to my involvement with this demanding African environment, an interior line was being successfully secured within my dreams. The dreams dealt with my personal problems. The only thing I could conclude from this was that my European personality must under all circumstances be preserved intact. " (pg. 329)

Basically he does recognize that if dreams become pierced by something of his travels there, it would become a certain sign that he has been pierced and can't continue his travels.

What I can recall ...

I was born on October 23, 1995 in cold monday night. That very day there was a party in my hospital room because the boy that my father always wished was born, the one who will become the star point guard in Puerto Rico's basketball team. As most people around me know, that dream is somewhat far from the truth

Well, since my birth was mentioned it wouldn't matter to add that to add that I was born in the Caribbean, specifically in Puerto Rico. Ever since that moment in which I was brought into this life, I've been surrounded by those who I hold oh so closely to my heart. Much of these people are family members from my mother's side. One of the things that I fear most is that if somethings happens to one of them - meaning death - a void would be created in myself to the point that nobody will be able to fill it no matter how much they try. My family is of the most important aspects of who I am and will continue until the day that my consciousness stops working.

As you can see, i'm 19 going on 20 - that sounded like the title to the movie "13 Going on 30". I'm currently studying Liberal Arts (or "Estudios Generales") in the University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras Campus with the goal of finally changing majors - since the beginning of my first semester I've been trying to change to a Biology major, but the faculty has such strict for the change that it has taken me almost two years - and becoming some kind of doctor in the not-so distant future, time (as you can see) happens way to fast. One thing that resonates in my head always when speaking about my profession or my career path is a thing that my sister always mentions to me: Whatever I decide to study it has to collide with three roads, I have to have a passion for it and it has to help the population of this Island, make a big influence - the second or third one always stays in the untouched corners of my mind, meaning that I almost never remember it. For those two reasons I have chosen to study the major of Biology, it comes and collides with my passion and I feel that in that field I will thrive to such a point that I would most-certainly leave a mark. 

In the aspects of passions, I have only one: weightlifting. Sincerely there are things that save people from dark roads and that activity has done just that, saved me from a dark road. Each of us have to find a outlet in which they can go off and deal with their problems at some point in our lives because most of us are somewhat introverted, meaning that we don't like to speak of our problems and just prefer to chug it down to the point in which nobody, not even us, knows it's there until one day something wrong happens and we implode and tell everything to everybody making total chaos of a simple or difficult situation.