In this assignment, you will create a cultural portrait of yourself that explains your racial, ethnic and cultural roots and how these have shaped your attitudes, values, and biases. Remember that culture refers to those groups to which you belong and the similarities you share with others in those groups; it does not refer to the individual or unique factors that influenced you as you grew up, like the parenting style of your parents or specific traumatic experiences.

To complete this assignment, answer the following questions. Each short essay is worth 50 points, for a total of 200 points for the assignment. The minimum length for each short essay is 400 words.

1. (50 points): What do you consider your race (or races, if you are biracial) to be? How has your race shaped your view of the world and how you view other people whose race is either the same or different from yours? Describe how you first became aware of your race and any race-related experiences.
2. (50 points): What is your ethnicity? (Keep in mind that ethnicity and race are not identical. For example, if you are of Asian descent but have lived all of your life in Africa, your ethnicity might be African or a combination of both cultures.) How did you acquire that ethnicity, and what does it mean to you? Do any traditions or aspects of your lifestyle come from this ethnicity? How are you similar to others who share your ethnicity?
3. (50 points): List the elements of your cultural identity. These groups (other than race and ethnicity) have shaped who you are and how you see the world. Using the list of cultural identity elements below, describe yourself based on each dimension and write your thoughts about how this dimension has shaped how you see yourself, how you see others, and how it has molded your ideas about what is a "normal" way to communicate, interact, and live your life. What do you have in common with others who share the same cultural background?Gender
4. Age/generation
5. Religion
6. Socioeconomic status
7. Sexual orientation
8. Geography (where you spent most of your life or where you feel most "connected")
9. Subcultures that you have been a part of and that have shaped your sense of who you are or left you with specific values or beliefs about people. (Some examples are the military subculture, prison subculture, LBGT subculture, "street" or "drug" subculture, recovery subculture, etc.)
10. (50 points): Describe a hypothetical client who is different from you - racially, ethnically, and culturally. Using a hypothetical first name for your client (Mary, Juan, etc.), describe how your client might see the world differently than you do and how this might present barriers in your counseling relationship.