Some Things My Parents Taught Me

although I don't always follow them...

1. Be responsible for what you do. Clean up after yourself, pay your bills, be on time, take care of your possessions, fix your mistakes, apologize if you're wrong, be honest, tell the truth. Respect other people's property; don't trample the land.

2. Perseverance. If at first you don't succeed, try and try again. Don't give up in the face of adversity, it will make you stronger and success will be more rewarding. You can do anything you have a mind to, if you think it's worthwhile and you really want it. If anything is worth doing, it's worth doing well.

3. The Golden Rule. Treat others as you would have them treat you. Civilized people have a sense of fair play; don't kick the underdog. Respect other people's differences, be civil and polite. Have a modicum of respect for the social order, moral values and habits of the general population.

4. Be selective of the company you keep. They can either help you or harm you and always reflect on your choices about character, yours and theirs. Appreciate your friends and people who are good to you; don't hate your enemies, you made them. You can always find someone worse off and someone better off than you.

5. Eat right and take care of your health. Value learning and education. All that glitters is not gold. There is beauty in simplicity. Respect nature and wildlife. Be prepared for a rainy day. Think before speaking. Don't talk too much. Waste not, want not. Haste makes waste.

English: Two Dialects

On Being Bicultural: One Language...

My life story started on a dot on a map in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, about 640 miles off the coast of North Carolina on the islands of Bermuda. It was a wonderful place to grow up but I always wanted to "get off the rock" and move to the United States. Our arrival coincided with a very tumultuous time in US history with civil unrest, racial strife, assassinations, anti-draft protests, divisiveness over the Vietnam War, Kent State shootings, a President in trouble, economic distress and much more. In spite of all that I was excited to be in America.

My mother was a very "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" woman from a classic British middle class family and my father a definite "true grit" American from a family that was successfully "self-made" and had done well for themselves. My parents left their respective home countries after WWII to seek adventure and met each other in Bermuda, were married there and stayed. My sister, cousin and I were born and spent most of our childhood on the islands until we moved to the US for high school.

Since I was not born on a US military installation and as a British Subject, although my father was an American, due to the laws of the time I went through a process to become a U.S. Citizen. I have never regretted that or looked back. This is one of my first vlogs from 2007 where I talk about growing up learning to English in two dialects, "proper" British and "standard" American.
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On Being Bicultural: English, Two Dialects from JR Snyder Jr on Vimeo.

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An Immigrant's Success Story

A True American Entrepreneur...

http://youtu.be/dfhCYtW8xOw?hd=1


In this video Diana cuts Gregg's hair and tells me her story of coming to the US when she was very young. She didn't know how to read, write or speak English very well but she was determined to go to school to improve her opportunities. After passing the state board exams she didn't understand how some people she went to school with, who grew up here, understood the language and had opportunities provided for them, didn't study and pass the exams. She had borrowed money from the bank, with the assistance of her brother, knew the amount of interest she would have to pay above the principle amount. Since she was going to pay it all back, she saw no point in going to school, not finishing and getting her license.