Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

For this weeks blog assignment, I talked with three different people in my life about culture and diversity. I chatted with a close friend who is the same age as me, I chatted with my sister who is 7 years older than me, and lastly I talked with a co-worker who is significantly older than me and also a different race that I am. 

Definitions of Culture that I got from my 3 conversations:

1. Culture is everything that makes you, you. 

2. Culture is someone's traditions, beliefs, race, etc

3. Culture is what makes a person who they are. It is years of family customs and beliefs, traditions, religion, values... it's literally everything. 

Definitions of Diversity that I got from my 3 conversations:

1. Diversity is basically the differences between different people and groups.

2. Diversity is the understanding that everyone has differences ranging from sexual preference to their social class, to their religion. 

3. Diversity is a very broad term that should encompass so many things that can be see as differences between people. Diversity should be not only accepted but also celebrated. 

I think my biggest takeaway from these conversations was from my co-worker who is significantly older than me and also a different race (African American). She was so open and excited to talk to me about what culture was and what it meant to her and her family. I saw her face light up as she spoke about beliefs, traditions, memories, food, etc. She was so excited to share those details about her family and life with me. And then there was a sudden shift when I asked her about diversity. The conversation continued, but it was always like there was a negative word association for her with the word "diversity". She talked about what it SHOULD be and what it SHOULD mean, but then shared that often times in her life, she hasn't always felt like diversity was celebrated or even accepted. I could tell there was more behind her words, and there was some emotion and passion. I saw passion in her eyes again as she started to talk about how she can create a diverse classroom for her students and I see the importance of that for her in her classroom. 

I think it's just important that we remember in this class and in our day to day professional like that everyone comes to us with very different background, experiences, and feelings on many topics including culture and diversity. We need to be open and honest in our conversations but also ensure that we are being sensitive to the feelings and experiences that others may have both good and bad, and proceed appropriately from there! 

My Family Culture...

 If there was a major catastrophe and my family and I had to evacuate to another country, I believe I'd take the following items to help remember and preserve my families culture...

First, I'd bring family pictures and photo albums. This is important because I'd want to be sure that my family and I could have a way to remember the people and places that are important to us and the memories we've made as well as the memories of extended and even passed family members. 

Next, I'd bring our family cookbook. This cookbook has recipes from family members both alive and passed away and shares with me some of my most favorite family recipes that I would want to make sure that I could continue to cook for my family (even in a new place) but would also allow my children years down the road to have as a resource to remember for many years to come. 

The last item I would bring would be my two kiddos "lovey" items. They both have cuddle items that they've had since birth that are important to them and help calm them and comfort them. These items will be with them for a long time, and would be the items that I'd put away in boxes as they get older and pull out for them to show their children someday. These are the beginning items to start their family culture in years to come. 

If when I arrived, I was told that we could only keep one, I would keep the family photos. Though the other ones are important to me and my family, the family photos will now and forever show my family the people, places, things, etc that we loved and enjoyed for years. This would be a very meaningful way to keep our memories, traditions, and cultures alive now and forever. 

An insight that I learned through this assignment, is that for me THINGS don't matter in the end. As I thought about this assignment I just kept thinking as long as I had my family, nothing else would matter, and that is so true and so meaningful. Family is everything. As long as I have the love and support of my family and am able to be with them, I can figure the rest out.