The Definition Of Culture In Whitni Thomas's 'Colors'

“ I grew up in yellow country but my parents are blue. I’m blue or at least that’s what they told me” -Colors by Whitni Thomas (1991).

If I were to personalize Whitni Thomas’ poem “ Colors” I would write it like this: I was born in Houston, Texas to Nigerian parents. I am Nigerian but I grew up in Oman and Canada. I used to envy those who could say, “I was born and raised in Detroit” because of convenience. As a third culture kid,- a child who grew up in a different culture than that of their parents- I had to provide my life story to answer that question. However I am proud of the different cultures that create my identity due to a ted talk from Poet Ali in 2014, in which he explained the definition of language. Experience can be a language,

Muscat also introduced me to broad range of communities other than the Omani community. Muscat had a rich mixture of distinct culture from expatriates all over the world. I went to an international, the American British Academy, where a large population of the student body was third culture individuals. Even the language in the student body even consisted of Arabic, British, Indian, American and Dutch words and phrases. This diversity stimulated a welcoming environment; therefore I became very enthusiastic about meeting new people because every individual came with an intricate life story. I also appreciated the different cultures in my community; for example, my favorite school events were the United Nations day concert and International food festival, because it provided a platform to showcase of the music, food and language of the representative countries. Thus the language of expatriate life in Muscat was defined by the district cultural

Unlike Muscat, there was large emphasis on a canadian culture and involvement in your local community. In Muscat, community referred to my family, church or the nigerian community but community was all calgarians. Although there was great sense of collectivism, calgary was very multicultural. My current school, Sir Winston Churchill high school has a large chinese population, which exposed me to new foods and music such as bubble tea and K-pop. Thus I adopted a new “language” which enlarged my circle of friends. For example, at the University of Toronto's youth summer program, I befriended a student on the basis that we were both from Alberta and we did not a stereotypical view of Alberta compared to other students. A collective identity also has encouraged me to volunteer frequently and I currently volunteer at a retirement home. Therefore I have embraced my calgarian identity because of involvement in