An Influential Factor Of The United States - 1615 Words

When we think of our health, we rarely think about the many factors that have been contributors. These determinants of health include income, transportation, housing and education. An influential factor in my life has been that I identify as an immigrant. I was not born in the United States, but in Colombia. I arrived in the United States when I was nine years old. My early childhood in Colombia was unambitious compared to life in New Jersey. The United States gave me options in my education, diet and work, which my home country could not. Socioeconomic status impacted my early upbringing due to the fact that my parents grew up in poverty and with nothing higher than a high school education. When I was being raised in, they instilled the†¦show more content†¦We always lived in apartments, considering the rent and utilities were lower than a house. This meant that I never had a backyard to play in or that I had much privacy. Housing also affected my family’s health as a result of the people living above us making noise at night. The constant noise made it hard to sleep at night. The location of the town that I grew up in was average, in terms of safety and the quality of life it provided the community. However, we were situated next to a town that is well known for gangs, drugs and the occasional shooting. Eventually the accessibility to weed and drugs was there and in high school countless friends smoked and partook in risky behaviors. As well, violence became a safety issue for me when individuals from a neighboring town crossed over to ours looking for trouble. The town we lived in was safe, but we were still surrounded by other towns that were not. Here, the urban environment was structured to segregate us by our race. Most of the North Plainfield population is Hispanic, White and African American, respectively. The conflicts between neighboring towns that had greater African American populations that had turf wars with the Hispanic populatio ns in our town is also something worth mentioning. For me education has been always vital and a crucial determinant of my health. I finished high school and I am now on my way to finish college. I was able to receive my Associate’s Degree in communications. Currently I have an