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Exploring cultures and entertainment has been a captivating journey of the discovery and connection of who I am. To begin, culture is a group of people with common values and beliefs. The culture I grew up with versus the culture I have now is completely different. When It came to culture and entertainment, I have been very influenced by almost everything that society has put out for us. As someone who came from parents who came over to the US, my culture growing up has been normal to me for the first 10 years of my life. I grew up in a hispanic household where things were different from American culture. My parents were very strict, had different rules because of how they were raised etc. For example as a child and teenager I wasn't allowed to have sleepovers, or have friends over and even allowed to date etc. It wasn't till I was about 18 when my family actually started to be more lenient towards things such as sleepovers or having friends over etc. Other things in my culture such as language, music, and food, were way different and eventually over time it had changed. The culture I grew up with really affected me and I think that because of the way I was raised by my parents and their beliefs of how to raise their children. I viewed American culture a little differently and sometimes envied it because some kids got to do so much more than me and I always felt like that was unfair and that I was always left behind in certain parts of my life and never got to experience certain things as well. I think now, this culture is something that has made me feel more belonging since I have lived here all my life. I think both my cultures have had a huge impact on me and how I grew up and developed as a person and in some ways such had my perspectives on issues, the food I eat, the languages I can speak and music I listen to. It may sound like I disliked my culture which isn't true at all, I definitely love my culture, I just think there's some views that are outdated which I don't stand for. Overall, my culture has given me more choices in language,food, music, dance and all sorts of entertainment. I think one thing I will take away from both my cultures is how I will raise my kids in the future with influences from both sides because it will help give more opportunities for them than I had as a child and I would want them to experience life more as a child so they don't feel like they missed out on so much.

Next, entertainment is such an important part of my life and even culture. This can shape someone's personal life and relationships. Entertainment includes music, movies, tv, sports, and games. All of these entertainment options act as common values that all people have. It is what creates and builds relationships. For example, personally when I am put into a group of people that I don't know at all, I try to find something we all share in common such as music or shows, especially in my age group most college students have similar interests so we are bound to have something in common within the entertainment industry. From there, friendships are formed because of said common interest. I have experienced multiple friendships due to common interests of entertainment such as music, shows and video games. Video games are probably the biggest form of entertainment that has influenced my life. Video games have given me opportunities to make friends and meet new people from different places. At UD, I am on the Valorant Esports team and I have made some of my closest friends there because we all have the same interests in playing games and some of those friends have made friends with my other group of friends from different states because of similar interests in the same games. I think that entertainment is an important part of someone’s identity because it helps shape you as a person and who you meet in your life and which people become your closest friends. Another way I think entertainment is important is because of expression. A lot of people use music to express themselves in ways that they can't speak or explain. Sometimes people are sad and listen to sad music or sometimes someone is excited or happy that they listen to hyper or happy songs. Again, with video games people use that to either feel like someone is different because they are behind a screen or simply because they enjoy it or just to distract themselves from other stresses in their lives. Lastly, entertainment can help someone learn skills because there are games that are puzzle or strategy based that require the player to think or music and shows in different languages that help teach someone learning that language a bit more with visuals or sounds. I think the way that entertainment can also teach us is important because I feel like I have learned a lot from playing video games, such as decision making and creating plans, working as a team etc. To tie both culture and entertainment, they both create awareness to what is happening around the world. Music, TV and movies all can spread some sort of message that can have an influence towards the people watching/listening.

They both play important roles in society and contribute to individuals' experiences and interactions with other people. They both allow creative expression, such as the type of music they listen to the shows and games they play, the shared experiences in the same culture and the social aspects such as belonging in culture because of the similar commonalities in entertainment and how influential entertainment and culture can be to someone's beliefs and perceptions. In all, I think culture and entertainment has shaped me as a person and has given me multiple new perceptions in life and has helped me make friends and develop relationships.

Cristhina Reyes