Cultural identity is the thing that makes a group of people them. Culture is not always about what we may be able to physically see all the time. I believe that culture can be little inside jokes between the people that live in an area. Or there are just simple phrases that are stated all the time that become a norm to those there. I think that everyone subtly changes the way cultures are viewed over the years. No matter what one tries and does, it evolves over generations. That is because the world is constantly changing. America is a place in which this happens a lot. Especially since there are many different cultures here. I think that people do go and pick pieces and parts out of some different cultures and slowly make new ones. Every place has some form of cultural identity. It may be as dumb as Ohioans yelling O-H and I-O to each other because of The Ohio State University. This is a little cultural thing that any Ohioan does with each other. At any point, if you want to find out if someone lived in Ohio, just do this and if they are from Ohio they will interact back. Sometimes cultural identities also include what in some cases Ohio is also known for. In Cincinnati, Ohio they have something called Skyline Chili that any single person from Cincinnati will say is a staple food for them. But in the northeast area of Ohio, we do not have a single Skyline Chili. Anyone in Cincinnati knows that it is more likely that an outsider will not like Skyline. Another food that seems to really be an Ohioan food is buckeye. Not the buckeye that comes from trees, but the peanut butter covered in chocolate cookies. This is a cookie that some families make as a holiday tradition. Although not a full cultural identity, it still is something that every Ohioan has had at a party or even made. Cultural identity happens in some of the weirdest ways. Some places have halls of fame or even museums that help spread some form of culture around. For example, in Canton, Ohio there is the Pro Football Hall of Fame which we take a week at the end of July/early August to celebrate. This is the time of the year that we get more cultures coming into Canton. We may have some people from the west coast or even down south. It is weird to know there are so many different cultures coming together when there are so many cultures here already.

            Although I may be an American, there are many different identities that I happen to identify with. I feel as though to identify with the American culture, you have to realize that there is not one culture here. There are many and that is what makes America well America. It could even come down to where you may be from here in America because there are different subcultures within the areas. These subcultures are very important and do end up affecting Americans more than they think. One of these happens to be race. This outside of being American I feel is one of the most important identities that Americans focus on. The race that I identify with is white. Here in America, it feels as though if you are not white you are not as good as people who are. To me being white really shows me how much I can get away with something. I can walk around without worrying about my safety because of my skin tone. I know that by being white, I will not come across as a threat to anyone. Allowing me to do things that people of color may not be allowed to do. It is like if a person of color drives through a sundown town they cannot be there after it gets dark because the people will try to hurt them even though it is the 21st century. Racism is still very much so alive here in the US and some people do not think it is a problem. Another identity that is a major factor here in the US is what gender someone may be. That could include being male, female, or nonbinary. With these, there are many ways in which they have differences. One of the main things that is still fought over is that males are paid more than women. Even males have it a lot easier when shopping for hygiene products. Women have to deal with the pink tax on a lot of the hygiene products we use. However, depending on who you may ask, they might say we do not have to pay a tax since there is not one fully out there. Yet if someone looks at the prices between two objects, for example, two razors one from the men’s section and one from the women’s, the women’s razor will be more expensive than the men’s razor. Even the prices of shampoo and conditioner are different between men and women. Although women do work a lot more than they once did here in the US, sometimes women are still held to the standard of being the ones caring for the children they may have. This may end up taking a lot of their free time away since they work 9-5 jobs and then go home to make sure everything is okay there. Men also do not have to worry about walking alone at night or well anytime in general. Women on the other hand are taught from a young age that they have to always be aware of their surroundings. To the point that they are told to never take a drink from someone else to even keep their drink completely covered. But for anyone who identifies as being nonbinary, sometimes they are told they are not normal. As someone who recently started to identify as nonbinary, it has made me realize just how different both sexes can be. The making of t-shirts changes between the two sexes. Crop tops and light shirts in general are more for feminine clothing while more masculine shirts are thicker and longer. Usually, masculine shirts do not always have some quote on them either unlike the feminine clothing that most times has some quote going across it. It also opened up my eyes to more gender-neutral options. I know that I was once a female, and that will always be a part of me in some way. Yet it just does not make sense as to why we should forget about a whole section of people because they do not identify with the social norms of being male or female. This can then be brought under being an LGBTQ+ member. Being a part of that community is in itself a culture. Some people want to educate others and are willing to help other younger members out. Some do not want to do any of that. Even words and actions have been considered a way to tell if you are a part of the community. One example that Generation Z kids have done is with the song Kiss Me More by Doja Cat they do a little hand flick at the ding sound you hear. It was a way to help each other know you were a part of the community on TikTok without fully stating it because at one point TikTok was shadow-banning and even banning members of the community. This was not just a Generation Z thing; it then went on to other generations because they noticed that if they were to openly say these things, they would lose their account. I think that this is an important aspect of the US because we have many different types of people, and their sexualities can change. Not one person is similar to another. Yes, they do also still face a bit of backlash, but they continuously strive and grow stronger. This is something that is taught throughout socialization within the community.

            Another thing within the US that you could say is a big part of our culture, is the way we get so into our own politics. We would say that getting so into politics that you are being more patriotic. One thing though, throughout your childhood, you are taught not to talk or ask about the politics that we see every day. On almost every corner you will see some form of sign for someone running for office. Even now with Trump being out of office, I still see flags stating that Trump has won and that he will be back in the office. These people are the same people you would see driving a truck with the same flag and an American flag (upside down). Another way we get very patriotic is just flying our flag almost anywhere. On the side of houses, to being in front of buildings. We even have rules that when someone in power dies or someone who was in power dies, we have to fly the flag at half-staff. (Not all the time is it for someone in power. When we started to go back to normal, the president had stated we needed to fly the flag at half-staff.) A major time that Americans are patriotic, is when we have the Fourth of July. In preparation for the celebration, many different companies will make designs with the American flag plastered on them. We then will dress up in red, white, and blue (or a shirt with an American flag on it) to celebrate the day. These shirts some people wear once, and some people wear them all year round. Even some beer companies keep their American flag design all year round.

            Now with Thanksgiving, we can say this is another big cultural holiday for the US. This holiday is a wild one. There is the Macy Thanksgiving parade, which is on early in the morning while the food preparations are being done. Usually on Thanksgiving, you are better off not eating anything all day and waiting until the Thanksgiving feast. We have a big get-together with families to eat a large dinner. There is also the football game that happens which is also a big deal here. American football in itself could be a subculture within itself. But that mostly depends on how big of a fan someone may be. Some Americans sleep, eat, and breathe American football. Others just watch it every now and then. Then we do the most American thing possible and stand outside of companies – sometimes it will be all night long. This is usually for Black Friday, a day/night full of deals. This shows just how much the big companies rule the US. To many others looking at what some Americans do on Black Friday, it may be concerning. Including the fact that people have fought over whatever items they are trying to get. Companies such as Walmart have changed where things go in the past to make it easier for shoppers to find what they need. Sometimes, people buy things they do not even need.

            Another thing that can be cultural, is how someone talks. As someone who lives in northeast Ohio and the first college I went to was in southwest Ohio, I saw the changes in accents. The accents down there were definitely more of a Southern influence. It may not have been true Southern accents, but it was definitely more Southern than I’m used to. As well as there were things, they were used to that I was not. I was used to things many things that they were not. I know that if I were to compare it to my aunt who lives in the southern part of the US. I know my aunt has said things that have confused me. She even has an accent, and it is weird in my mind that she even has one. However, if you look at some of the people from these places, they most likely do not have an accent. I think that is the weird part. It is like in Cincinnati, Ohio, a lot of the people I have talked to do not have an accent. They speak like the people that I grew up around. Seemingly speaking in a northern accent. Even some of the cities that I live near have more of that southern accent.