Kim Owens
30 April 2009
FHS 216/ Prof. Subramani
Midterm Exam
Growing
up in a white suburban community, I have not been exposed to many diverse
cultural backgrounds. I say this with
regret because this has caused my viewpoints on the world to be drastically
different than if I were to have grown up in with people of different cultures
than my own. My lens that I see the
world through is biased with a stereotypical mindset. Until I went to Europe this summer, I have
always perceived America being the greatest and the biggest. I used to believe that we were the only
country that was worthy and everything we do is right. However, traveling to Europe was a huge
eye-opening experience. I learned that
American culture is sought out to be “supreme” but only to Americans. I believe that we live in this culture that
separates us from the rest of the world.
I have been taught to believe that we are the most important
country. As I was traveling for a month,
I realized that America has this reputation, but only to Americans. I did not feel supreme when I was there
because I was the minority. It gave me
the opportunity to feel what it is like to be the minority and that was only
for a month. I could not imagine living in America as the minority and having
people treat me the way people often treat minorities here. I know I was only in Europe for a month but
it still engaged me in a different culture that I was not used to. This taught me that there are other cultures
other than American culture that is wonderful in its own ways. I am not proud to say that I have lived
eighteen years of my life with this stereotype of other cultures engraved in my
mind. Although, I am thankful I had the
opportunity to travel for a short time to begin the transformation to ending my
stereotypes of other people.
A
major reason I have thought that American culture is the only correct and happy
way to live is because I was born and raised in Scottsdale, Arizona. Scottsdale is a place where socioeconomic
status is what defines a person. The
majority of the population is extremely wealthy Caucasians. I have not been exposed to diverse cultures
living in Scottsdale. All of my best
friends are Caucasian Americans. I have
grown up thinking that every person I talk to is wealthy and can afford
whatever they wish from mansion size houses to expensive shoes. However, Professor Subramani opened my mind
when he mentioned that we are all students and our socioeconomic statuses are
because of our parent’s accomplishments.
This statement helped me realize that all of my life I have been
surrounded by money being the most important aspect in a person’s life. Now, I understand that I cannot judge a
person based off what their parent’s have done for them. I am a student and my dad is a judge, but
what he has accomplished should not have an effect on how I see myself towards
other people. I am grateful for the
opportunities my parents have opened for me, but on the same note, I have taken
advantage of the opportunities. They
opened the door for me but I was the one who stepped through the door to be the
person I am. My father has accomplished
so much in his life as well as my mother but that does not mean their bank
accounts should define who I am or how I treat others. I look at others and wonder how wealthy they
are because I have grown up in a city where that is defined as normal. However, after moving here and seeing that
there are amazing people who do not have infinite amounts of money, I am
learning to erase those judgments from my mind.
My parents have always tried to teach me that a person should not be
defined by how much money he or she has, but I was only with my parents so much
growing up. I spent most of my days at
school and then with friends who had this mindset that money is important. A major part of my decision to come to Oregon
was to leave the bubble that I have been surrounded in my whole life and to
meet other people from different places.
I am trying to look at people the way I want others to look at me. I want someone to look at me with an open mind
and not to wonder how much money I have.
I have had the opportunity to learn that money is not everything and it
should certainly not define who a person is.
My
context and what is normal to me will be completely different for another
person. My views are only going to be
one hundred percent agreeable to me and not for any one else. My worldview is defined by my context. I have these certain viewpoints because of my
ethnicity and the environment I was raised in.
However, now that I have been exposed to a new city with people from
more than one certain culture, my context is broadening and in the changing
process. I want to admit to myself that
I have been wrong for so many years so that I can accept it and finally change
it for the better. I want to start
seeing people for who they are inside and not what culture they have grown up
in or how much money their family has. I
was not born with stereotypes and dislikes implanted in me. The stereotypes and my ethnocentric
viewpoints have set in my mind over time.
This all means that because I have learned to think this way, I can
learn to not think this way as well.
However, my mindset did not develop over night. It is going to be a journey of transformation
to a new context. Professor Subramani
mentioned that what a person does for their self dies with them. But, what a person does for others lives for
eternity. I want to do something great
for myself so that way I can do things for others that will really have an
effect on them. Also, another inspiring
statement Professor Subramani made was that if my mind lives in the gutter,
then all I will be capable of seeing is the gutter trash. I want to clear my mind of the negativity so
that I can see the light around and I want to love and accept the people around
me, regardless of their context.
The
positive side about the transformation process is that it is not going to come
all at once. It is a slow process and I
am not going to be perfect at opening my mind more at first. It will take a while for it to be ingrained
as my actual thought process. I am not
sure how to even accomplish this, but I know that it will come to me bit by bit
now that I have realized some of my biases and stereotypes for others. I can only fix the ones that I am aware of and
that I have accepted. It is still a work
in progress to dive in deep to uncover my biases and then to figure out why I
have certain biases towards people and why I have specific stereotypes. When I travel back home to Scottsdale, I no
longer feel as if I am in a bubble.
Eugene is not extremely diverse, but there is certainly more diversity
here than back home. I have been able to
make that step to freeing my mind from the socioeconomic stereotypes. When I went back home for a few weeks, I felt
as if I was an outsider looking in. I
was no longer caught under the spell that I have been living in for eighteen
years. Now every time I think of back
home, I see the beauty in it still, but I also see this black hole that people
live in day after day. I am thankful I
was able to leave when I did and be able to come to Eugene to learn about
diversity and different cultures. I am
not culturally diverse by any means, but I am becoming more aware, which I
think is the first step.
When
I think of how I see the world, it disgusts me often times. This is because I have been blind sited for
so long. However, now I know that I am
responsible for my own ignorance and the time has come to change that. Maybe I did not know any better than living
in Scottsdale and being surrounded by it every day. But now I see differently and I can no longer
be ignorant about the life around me. We
live in America, which is the Melting Pot of the world. There are so many different cultures and
ethnicities that are represented here and there are so many wonderful people
here who have different ethnicities and cultures than me. However, at the same time, I understand that
America is not the biggest and the greatest.
Many other countries exist who are all great in their own ways. I have freed my mind from thinking this
stereotype of America that we are all great because we are fortunate to live
here.
We
harbor old ideas because of fear. I no
longer want to live in fear of people I do not know. I want to erase these old stereotypes and
implant a new and improved mindset in my mind.
I want to let go of all of my old negative biases towards people and
ideas. I am going to become a person who
is open to new people and new ideas.
After reflecting upon why I am the way I am and why I have certain
thoughts, I am ready to accept that this is who I am. However, I am not going to accept this and
not change it. Now that I am aware of
the negativity in my mind, it is the perfect chance to reverse the thoughts
into positive ones. I believe I am a
compassionate person, but a person can never be too compassionate. That is one of my goals as a future worker in
the human services field is to become more compassionate towards others and
their situations. My opinions have been
formed because of the environment I used to live in. However, I no longer live in a egotistical
environment and therefore, I have an opportunity to take advantage of the one I
live in and change my opinions. I can no
longer harbor these fears in my heart because they are holding me down like an
anchor. I have to let go of my past to
really engage in the possibilities of my future. I think self-reflection and journaling is an
ideal way to help me accomplish this task.
When I hear myself speak to myself, I can work with what I am hearing
and change it. Honesty will be key
though in changing my ideas and opinions.
It will be a process of personal therapy that is necessary for me to
grow as a better person rather than sink in my negativity I have towards other
people who are different than I am. Now
that I have written it aloud and shared my thoughts with other people I think
it will be easier to confront my fears and begin to free them from myself. I want to have a positive hole in my mind and
only let positive thoughts escape and positive thoughts to enter. Once this happens, I will be more accepting
of people and want to get to know people for who they are inside and what they
have to offer, and not their financial worth or the color of their skin.
No comments:
Post a Comment