Cultural Reflection

Culture is a key aspect of a human that reflects on their lifestyle, family, traditions and pulls together the external influences that play a role in how one chooses to live their life. For me, culture is something you collect throughout your lifetime. In my lifetime, I have been lucky enough to travel outside of the United States and meet people from all over the world. I have seen how people go about their daily routines in many different ways compared to mine. The main cultural influence that has been present in my life since day one is the closeness of my family. All my cousins are very close it has often odd when I hear about families with weak relationships and small size. Another influence that has shaped my behavior was my exposure of extreme poverty and extreme wealth while living in Mexico. Lastly, a cultural influence that has shaped my belief system is my education.

Cultural immersion is an essential part of the education experience. It has been used throughout time to allow people to understand those whose ideas and beliefs differ from their own. The experiences gained through immersing in an unfamiliar culture allow the mind to grow in ways that are beyond comprehension. Because our nation is advancing, and merging ides from other cultures, this process is more important than ever. Cynthia Kratzke and Melissa Bertolo (2013) state that if we only teach concepts and language from other cultures we are limiting the ability of future generations to be able to work with other cultures (p.1). Cultural immersion is a way for one to reach a new insight they may not have otherwise gained. Jesus Nieto (2006) says there are main goals to these experiences: 1) to interact with people of a different culture 2) to gain insight into aspects of others 3) to be of a minority group in a setting 4) to gain a new perspective on one’s own beliefs and values (p. 77).

Religion plays an important role in people’s daily life. It gives them a sense of belonging and brings communities together. After doing research, it is clear that for African Americans religion brings them a great sense of comfort, belonging and brings them together as one; it has played a big role in helping African American’s be where they are today and it continually fights for their freedom and rights.

In the African American community, a major component of our history is the institution of religion. It has been with us since our time in Africa, and it still affects us today. The sad realization is many African Americans today never learned the history to understand how much religion affected us, so people of the current generation did not appreciate its importance. Now, there is a social conflict between generations of Blacks in regards to how they see religion. In this paper, I plan to show how religion has molded the African American community into what it is today, and how African Americans’ perspective of religion is changing in the community.

Cole Moore: I thought that Cole’s introduction was very professional and got straight to the point of what his group was discussing. The idea of combining the themes of the military, patriotism and one’s heritage was very impressive and caught my attention. Also, tying it to the themes of the red convertible was very interesting! While the presentation was amazing, I was confused as to what was the artifact. It seemed as if you talked more about general themes rather than close reading the design on the jacket. Nevertheless, you did an amazing job presenting.

However, there should be something constant about religion, especially when it touches a community and is so intrinsic in a community such as the African-American community as a standard for righteousness and purity in a world that doesn’t make sense.

There are all kind of feeling that are transpiring throughout my mind when think of the term cultural analysis. In executing the communication concepts of African American cultural, I found that the Chinese and African American cultural are strongly tied to their beliefs and family concepts. I define myself through my culture as being an African American male, thought out religions, education, and family is very essential in my culture. Also, being limited to making lifestyle changes, and the different ways we communicated with each other are how I define myself through my culture. Being African American my perception of my culture is that we as a community are high in health, crime, education, and public housing, which implies welfare, government assists, black on black crime, and drug abuse. Being an African American, other cultures have a better chance at getting better jobs, education, and opportunities in life.

A cultural analysis is the combination of many elements. Cultures have many traditions, customs, habits, beliefs, practices, and values. The culture can have different traditions in their own essence. The traditions can come from their ancestors and the people who continue doing them. Some people do not like continuing their own traditions and adapt others customs from other culture. The cultures change from time to time or place to place. The enrichment of cultures consists in the adaptation and acceptance of other culture's beliefs. Not all the people tolerate other cultures, traditions, language or stereotypes. Some cultures attack or support some cultural values The Mexican culture is hard-working and are so strict in their

The cultural assignment allowed me to gain a new perspective on the differences of others. I have grown up in a household of dissimilar belief systems. My mom is a dedicated Christian while my dad is unassociated with any religious beliefs. Though, he grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness. There differing belief systems have been the cause of various conflicts within their relationship. I often wondered if people with contradicting beliefs could effectively and peacefully discuss their belief systems. This cultural experience showed me that a peaceful discussion is possible between individuals of dissimilar beliefs.

In elementary school, middle school and in high school, I found myself questioning a lot of the material that was being taught. There were many instances, where I felt like I did not belong and I did not find myself engaged in the material being taught. In my primary years, most of the lessons that were taught to me were not multicultural, but Eurocentric. I found myself not learning a lot of the material that was taught. However, there is one positive experience that I had when I was in grade three.

While I believe that this multicultural class is great class for future counselors I also believe this class would be good for everybody to take in general no matter of what field of study you are going into. This multicultural class was one of my favorite classes that I have ever taken at Gardner Webb University because of how it challenges the way you think about certain issues and how it makes you look at you bias that you never knew you even had. While in my past I never really looked at cultural differences when it came to why certain people acted differently than others and why others reacted differently to similar situations.

The paper is based on the following questions asked by my advisor, Dr. Larry G.Murphy

The definition of culture according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group. When one is born into a certain culture, the teachings and traditions of the said culture influences the individual’s thoughts and actions, thereby, shaping their lives. Having mentioned this effect, It is worth reiterating that culture is not to be thought of as a single entity but rather as a collective product of various societal convictions. These fundamental convictions are embedded in aspects within the said culture. These aspects include, and are not limited to gender socialization, familial life and individual roles. Growing up in an Asian household, I was taught at an early age that women in my family were expected to take on the role of homemakers and were expected to conduct themselves in accordance with traditional values. And while I spent 18 years of my life under the supervision of various family members and in three different homes, I developed a slight sense of rebelliousness that stemmed from questioning the purpose of the roles expected of me and whether or not these roles bore any significance. This imperative shift came about during a turbulent period of transition in my teen years. Coupled with the struggle to conform to gender and cultural norms, my self-awareness, self-concept and self-esteem played a pivotal role in my decision to ultimately leave my hometown and enlist in the United States Marine Corps where I was immersed in a entirely new culture. I am proud to say I am a product of both cultures and as far as my hometown, I have not looked back since.

Where do we stand in comparison to the rest of the world? How do our values and customs align or differentiate from people across the globe? The only way to truly know the answers to these questions is to experience other cultures firsthand. It's not enough to just read about them in history books or even hear about them from a foreign resident. Cultures change constantly, so no recorded account of them will ever be perfectly accurate, and someone's description of their own nation will likely be laden with partial opinions that would cloud what their culture is actually like. During the summer of 2014, I represented the United States on the European Discovery trip sponsored by People to People International. I experienced the customs, and personalities of people living in Italy, Austria, France, and Switzerland; lived with an Austrian family for three days; and regarded the darker side of history as I toured the Mauthausen Concentration Camp. Experiencing all these things showed me the good and the bad in European society and history.

Multiculturalism is no doubt one of the most important aspects a society has for its well-being. Since humanity has grown into a large mixture of different races and cultures, its imperative to be all inclusive when speaking and interacting with different cultures, either in social or professional environments. Differing cultures than the one you associate with may have other strengths and weaknesses that your culture may not possess, and those differences are what make them a benefit to society as a whole; since they have different aspects to bring to the table, then say your own culture might. One of the primary places you will see a large volume of different cultures would be in the workplace. Daily, I interact with dozens, if not