I've written up an essay, but I feel as if it doesn't pertain to the topic... any comments?
I come from a homogenous yet diverse background
No holiday is as stressful to my family as Christmas. With 46 cousins, my family's long standing tradition of Secret Santa makes the snowy season seems at times more competitive than the Olympics. Just imagine over 60 people constantly trying to one up each other each year. I come from a homogenous yet diverse background. Both of my parents were from Vietnam and immigrated during their youths. That's where the commonality ends. My maternal family has a strong conservative-christian background, while my paternal family, the more progressive side, holds Buddhist values. This probably explains why 45 of my cousins come from my mother's side. Our differences don't stop there, however. Although both sets of my grandparents settled in Kansas, my relatives have diffused all across America, from the rockies to the Jersey shore. But despite our differences in beliefs and lifestyles, It's not just our shared DNA that makes us family. In any time of need, my family is prepared to make sacrifices to support each other. When my mother died, my many aunts and uncles each took turns driving up to our household to stay and help my dad raise us. I've learned from my relatives that anyone group of people who truly cares for each other can be a family, and I believe that Duke is a campus that fosters such a mentality, where even people like my cousins, who always give their Secret Santa recipients deer heads which they've hunted, we love all the same.
Thanks.