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Positive and negative effects of cultural diversity
Positive and negative effects of cultural diversity
Positive and negative effects of cultural diversity
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One factor that has shaped me and influenced my hopes and dreams is being ethnically ambiguous. Being ethnically ambiguous has led me to many awkward situations such as having to explain to an entire classroom that I am not Mexican or Hispanic at all and that I was born in the United States along with the rest of my family. I have always been told that as long as I am smart enough and try hard enough, I have the ability to make it into any field I choose because I am a female and I would broaden the diversity of the field I choose. This has caused me to think more about what it is that I want to do in life. Another thing I am influenced greatly by is my mother having a child before graduating from high school and the results of those actions.
My mother's education was stalled by having a child during school and then having another two years later. I grew up knowing that having a child would be something to do later in life when I have a stable life that would ensure a good environment for the child. Growing up poor also had an effect on when children come into my life plan.The way I grew up made me appreciate the smaller things in life. Now, in my sophomore year of high school, I have been to one country and a territory and have plans to go to even more this summer. Knowing my family has grown from going to visit family once a year to being able to go to different countries one to two times a year shows that it is possible to move up in the world and be stuck in the same place for my entire life. One of the biggest factors that has influenced me in a multitude of different ways are the adults in my life. My parents showed me that it is possible to be struggling in life but make the difficult decisions to make life better when they stopped smoking for my sister's health and for theirs. My teachers do their absolute best to teach their students and do so by coming up with interesting stories or phrases to remember formulas in math or events in history. My Spanish teachers, past and present, always have songs that tell their students ways to speak in Spanish or remember the months and types of weather in the language. My grandmother taught me that it is perfectly normal to marry a person but then decide they are better off without them and be completely happy and still prosper in life. These factors and people have shaped and influenced me in ways that I still do not fully understand.
I agree that non-whites possess little to no ethnic options. If you are half white and half Mexican, you are most likely going to be categorized as Mexican, regardless of which ethnic option you would prefer to identify as, you are always going to be categorized as whatever ethnicity you physically match the most.
The adversity that was displayed through racial inequalities became a platform for me to trust myself even more along with advocating an example for future young students to neglect any doubt previously conceived of them. It inspired the drive to exhibit triumph and became an ultimate fuel that leads me to the aspiration of love, hope, and success for the years to come. The configuration of a vision of fulfilling my own destiny shaped my undying dream. A dream to say, "I have a
"Symbolic ethnicity" is a term coined by Herbert Gans. It refers to ethnicity that is individualistic in nature and without real social cost for the individual. These symbolic identifications are essentially leisure time activities, rooted in nuclear family traditions reinforced by voluntary enjoyable aspects of being ethnic (Gans 424-429). "Symbolic ethnicity" is practiced and enjoyed by white Americans. It is a way for descendants of white Europeans to learn about and be proud of their heritage. That is not the case for non-whites who are grouped together by the white majority making ethnic identity difficult .
Encouragement plays a significant role in my success. Without encouragement, the achievement won't come true. Juliet Ferking, the author of "A Drive to Achieve the Extraordinary" from This I Believe: Life Lessons, tells her story about how she succeeds at things that normal people don't. No matter what people say, she achieved big things in her life. Her only encouragement are those who actually supported her (Ferking). My connection to Ferking's essay is that without the encouragement that my family and friends are giving me, I wouldn't have the motivation to pursue my degree to have a good career. Even if other people ridicule my choice of degree, I won't succumb to their words.
My parents are both Mexicans so I am Hispanic and in my ethnicity the percentage of graduating college is not that high, but the fact that I even graduated and attending already show that I can be one of the percentage to graduate college. My perspective changed to become different person and succeed in my life.
An example of the ways in which this decision shaped my life was the way I dealt with the junior and senior high school foreign language requirement; I have none: since I'm deaf, I am exempt from taking a foreign language. However, I never considered taking advantage of this exemption. I turned a "deaf' ear to my friends who said that I was crazy to take a course that I didn't need or my parents warning that it might be extremely difficult. Taking a foreign language was something that I wanted to do (not merely to prove to others that I could do it) because knowing another language seemed so interesting. Why should I have to go through life with only one language when everyone around me was learning new languages? So I began studying Spanish in seventh grade. Trying to articulate sounds that I could not hear was incredibly frustrating, as was the realization that my grades in Spanish were much lower than my grades in my other subjects, including my AP courses. Every semester, instead of my average being high enough for High Honor Roll, I was only able to make Honor Roll. Still, I was determined to succeed and I did. I can speak, read, and write Spanish. I am proud of my decision to persevere despite the knowledge that my perseverance would lower my academic average. Like so many experiences in my life, a challenge that I could have avoided became a test of my determination.
Ethnical ambiguity is my specialty. Since I was a child, I have always been mistaken for either being Mexican or Indian. At first I enjoyed the puzzled faces, but experience has taught me the dangers of racial profiling. There is an apparent juxtaposition between my high school and my university. I lived in a predominantly Spanish-speaking area and also attended a diverse high school. This was a privilege and at the time, I did not realize how lucky I was to be learn cultural competency without actively seeking it. In college, I am surrounded by people of similar traditions, upbringings, and mentalities. Transitioning from a suburban, diverse high school to a rural, predominantly white institution generated a culture shock. I was accustomed
According to Fredrik Barth, ethnic identity is constructed or converted through the interaction of social groups through a process of inclusion and exclusion that establishes boundaries between these groups, defining who belongs and who doesn’t. For Garifunas this process of globalization has forced them to analyze their own ethnic group as a form of organization, and social organization of cultural differences. This means that, both in and out of the group, social relationships are organized from cultural differences. The effects of migration and globalization have caused Garifunas to look at themselves and their ethnicity as a continuous process of dichotomization between members and outsiders, who demand to be expressed and validated in
In the near future, I would like to be in medical school. In order for me to be able to achieve that professional goal, I will have to have the available financial resources. Unfortunately this is a necessity to education in the society we live in. More importantly I would need the encouragement of my parents to push me to continue on the very rigorous journey that is postgrad. Without support it is very hard for me to carry myself especially in times of extreme stress. Just does in explain to be found in Latino culture, it is important to me that the people I am surrounded by have a liberal attitude towards women rolls as well as diversity and culture. Being that I am a black woman with Caribbean roots, I think it is imperative to note that representation matters. Being able to see role models of the same culture background and race as me gives me the encouragement to know that if they could do it I can as well. Especially in the field of medicine, there aren't very many people that look like me. It is doable but not as comfortable to try to endure something that you do not feel like you fit into. What will ultimately hinder me from achieving my goals believes that I can't do something because of any circumstance.
There were several instances in my childhood when my Family had a direct influence on me according to my gender. Right from birth my role as an individual was predestined. The gifts I was to receive at a baby shower were all based around my gender. It would have been unheard of for someone to give me pink clothes or flowery decorations at my baby shower. Young boys have always been told not to cry when they fall and scrape their knees. Comments like these from family members definitely had an impact on my aspirations. My dream to be a fire fighter was most likely related to those comments to not cry. Being a fire fighter would definitely be an occupation where stress would be high. If I could be a fire fighter I would definitely have the opportunity to prove to my parents that I could be strong and not cry. The media was also a factor that had a large impact on my childhood ambitions. Television is a great example of this. In almost all Television shows the gender roles are very prominent. Things such as male characters being strong or in positions of authority are prevalent. Even th...
Being a first generation college student and working with my mother majority of the days that I was not in school to allow me to have the opportunity for an American dream from a very young age only positively impacted me. It made me realize that no one is born a genius, but everyone has the potential for it and that is determined by what work you do with the potential. My circumstance has only stimulated me to be successful and challenge myself everyday to reach my full potential-then some.
A person's racial culture affects their attainment of the american dream. In Joseph Stiglitz’s article about how inequality is killing the american dream, he mentions how “The growing debate about inequality in America today is, above all, about the nature of our society, our vision of who we are, and others’ vision of us.”. Inequality in race is a major aspect in today's society. The vision that Stiglitz's is talking about is what ethnicity you are, your cultural background is what brings the main point of inequality towards you.
Looking at how my social location was affected by my family life is in many ways telling a story of American society and how things you have no control over have more effect on some of your own life then your own choices. As an example, one's race, gender, the access to opportunity and good schooling. In many senses America has instilled in us that being white is “right” or “better” by giving privilege to those who are white middle class. Being Latina I have faced more discrimination than my parents, but the key is their “whiteness” and geographic location helped me gain the building blocks to my success whether they were meant for me or not. Social policies made sure that my white family was equipped to have success beyond poverty. I was lucky to grow up in the community that I did because my life chances would have been opposite if I had grown up in a community like West Oakland. According to Mendenhall some of the biggest factors that contributed to upward mobility is a mixed residential area with a majority of two parent households and access to a good education (2006). My families act to be middle class gave me a perception of a different world outside of poverty, it allowed me to receive a good education and make connections with people who understood the importance of college for my future. Due to my family's race, geographic location, openness to accept financial assistance from the government and their act of a middle class family put me in a position to be at the best public university in the world and experiencing different life chances than many individuals who are in similar life
There were many instances in my life that have shaped my values, intellect, and academic or career goals. I was raised by my parents to become a hard worker, independent, and caring young adult. I was taught how to be all these qualities by a combination of experiencing and witnessing them first hand.
Throughout my life, I’ve always had big dreams and goals set for my life just like everyone else. I would constantly daydream and picture myself fulfilling my dreams. But, when the time came to actually plan out how I was going to reach my goal, I couldn’t figure out which path would lead me to my desired future. Every option I would contemplate on doing and try would somehow fail and crumble before my very eyes. After several attempts, I began to question if I was even good enough or qualified enough to go to college. To me, it seemed like the people who had a chance to make it in life were the ones with resourceful parents or the students who were in I.B or in numerous A.P courses. The possibilities of a little Hispanic girl like myself,