A week ago, Pete Southworth's journalism class began interviewing members of the community and writing personal profiles as part of a juried competition. Most of the profiles will appear on the Student Voices site; the winning piece appears below. Matt Quinn's essay on junior Alex Richichi takes a novel approach, revealing Alex's pride in his ethnic heritage. Congratulations, Matt!
House music blasts from the television. Images of "Beating the beat," overly gelled hair, artificially tanned individuals and juiced men flash across the screen. All of these images symbolize the way Italians are portrayed on MTV's "Jersey Shore," but Alex Richichi takes personal offense to these "Guidos" and the way they represent Itlaian-Americans. Although there may be some similarities, there are some major differences between the Italians you are seeing on TV and the Proctor junior who sings, snowboards and plays lacrosse.
When asked what he takes pride in most, Alex immediately responds with, "My Italian heritage, without a doubt." He continues on how he has been taught by his family to cherish opportunities to be successful because of all the hardships suffered by Italian immigrants during the 1920s. "I hate the misconceptions that people get by watching "Jersey Shore." Life as an Italian for Alex, for the most part, is nothing like that.
"Italians, in general, are much more genuine that what you see on TV," he explains. "Most of us don't care about our appearance that much, fake our personalities, wear excessive amounts of hair products, and certainly are not that disrespectful to women." He feels that his Sicilian background instilled in him one of his core values: that in order to receive respect, you must give it first. He also states that his heritage has become one of his greatest motivations in regards to the professions he will choose to pursue over the coming years. "I want to stay true to my ancestry. There is a great respect for artisans in Italian culture, and to have a job in that field would be fulfilling for me personally, but it would also allow me to garner the respect of other Italians." When asked what jobs specifically he would be interested in pursuing, he included occupations such as opera singer, carpenter or vineyard owner.
As frequent as the misconceptions might be, Alex admits that there are some similarities between the show and real life. "Often times you'll see the families of the cast members coming over to the house, and almost immediately they begin cooking and taking care of their kids. Nothing could be more accurate." Alex even opened up about "cooking Sundays" at the Richichi household. Each Sunday, family members come over and spend the day making homemade pasta for the entire family to enjoy later that night.
Italian heritage is something that Alex can truly take pride in, from cooking Italian food, honoring his grandparents' sacrifices, or wearing his Italian horn, he stays true to the land which he has tattooed on his back. His appreciation for his cultural heritage is astounding, specifically the importance of his family. "I can't tell you how thankful I am to my
Nanos (grandparents) and my parents as well. Their decision to immigrate here helped not only open up doors for my parents but for me and my future children as well."
