Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

 Three people I talked to about diversity and culture were my husband's best friend, my sister-in-law, and my classroom aide. 

My husband's best friend is a 30 year old male. His definition of culture is things we believe in and value. His definition of diversity is that it is differences. 

My sister-in-law is a 21 year old African American female. She is one of my husband's adopted siblings. Her definition of culture is what makes us who we are- a person's values, attitudes, language, and style. Her definition of diversity is differences. She said everyone is diverse because everyone is different. 

My classroom aide is a 50 year old female. Her definition of culture is a group of people who share things and have things in common. Her definition of diversity is things that make us different from others, like our race. 

The aspects of culture and diversity that I studied in this course so far that are included in the responses I received are that culture involves common things share by a group of people such as religion, values, beliefs, and attitudes. Culture is a part of who we are. Diversity is differences. This was something all three people said, that when they think of diversity, they think of the word differences. 

I don't think too many aspects have been omitted. I guess one aspect that has been omitted is how similar culture and diversity are and how they are intertwined concepts. Culture and diversity vary amongst people, so culture can be differences too. 

Thinking about other people's definitions of culture and diversity has influenced my own thinking about these topics. I enjoy hearing other people's thoughts and opinions on things like this because it lets me look at something from a different point of view. I may learn something new that I did not know or think about. 

My Family Culture

If I survived a major catastrophic event, I would feel lucky that I survived. To be told that I had to evacuate to a new location, I would immediately feel anxious and stressed. The unknown of not knowing where I would be relocated to and what it is like there would cause a whole mix of emotions and feelings. 

If I could only take three items with me, I would take my awareness bracelet for agenesis of the corpus callosum, my recipe book of family recipes, and a family photo album. These items are special to me and would be sources of comfort during a time of transition and unknowns. 

I would explain to others that the awareness bracelet represents my youngest daughter. She was born with agenesis of the corpus callosum, meaning her corpus callosum is missing from her brain. The bracelet not only represents her, but it brings awareness to her and her brain disorder. The recipe book has a collection of recipes from my family and my husband's family. While some of the recipes in it may be unknown in this new location I would be in, it is a collection of meals that were important to our families. The photo album is a way to look back at family and memories. 

Upon arriving, if I was told I could only keep one of my items and had to give up the other two, I would feel sad. These three items are special to me so it would be difficult to choose which one to keep and which ones to give up. I would have a really hard time making this decision. 

As a result of this exercise, I gained the insight that people have things that are meaningful and near and dear to their heart. Some may be material things while others may be memories.  Some may be big, and some may be small. No matter what they are, these things provide people with a source of comfort during difficult times.