I would like to consider my cultural heritage as diverse, but that is far from the reality. Over the years, as I grew up, I was exposed to different cultures through life experiences and travel. I struggled to create both a personal and cultural identity while trying to adapt to my vision loss, and with the support of my family, I traveled abroad to experience other crops for the first time. My family opened their home to a foreign exchange program, in turn allowing me to travel to Europe when I was 16. This opportunity marked the beginning of a slow progression of experiences that opened my mind to other people who aren't like me, including traveling to a strange place and feeling different in a dominant culture. It is only in the last 5 or 6 years that I have fully accepted my disability which has changed my view of difference, whether it be race, class, gender or disability. Before this period, my own fear of being different was so intense that I believed that my weakness (disability) made me inferior not only to other cultures, but also to members of my own family. I interviewed my grandmother, father and mother for this project. It was very interesting to discover many stories and values ​​that I was unaware of throughout my life. My father's mother is currently 91 years old and gave me a difficult interview by telling me too many stories to analyze for this project. She grew up in the Midwest and moved to several states as a child. Her parents separated when she was 8, leaving her mother to raise her independently. They settled in Missouri in a religious community called Unity Farm. Her mother taught school while raising my grandmother. The value of education...... middle of paper ......evolution of diverse understanding throughout my life. I have found that the more you explore and understand your own culture, the better prepared you will be to deal with counseling issues in other cultures while avoiding possible pitfalls like bias. As I reflect on this autobiography project, I feel that I have found some reasons for my thoughts. and behaviors. I don't respect many strict values ​​like religion; It seems to me to follow the path of the males of the family. My adjustment to blindness was both helped and hindered by both my parents. My father encouraged me to explore and not be discouraged by failure or defeat, while my mother strongly encouraged me to improve my life. As I marry and start my own family, I will understand the importance of expressed emotions and how my upbringing has influenced my role in current and future families..