"Look, I find some of what you teach suspect / Because I'm used to relying on intellect / But I try to open up to what I don't know..." -RENT
If you spend an extended amount of time in a different environment, you are basically bound to change. And for the most part, you have to learn to embrace that change because you will never be the same again. (I sincerely hope that you change for the better.) It's really hard to explain, but being abroad changes a person. It changes the way one thinks, the way one interacts with people, the way one lives.
If you spend the majority of your life surrounded by the same things, people, and places, it's kind of like you're trapped in a bubble and you don't know what exists outside of that.
I attended a seminar in high school, and someone said, "A mind, once expanded, can never go back to its original proportions." These words stuck with me. Exploring the world can cause your eyes to be open and your mind to expand. The new things, people, and places that surround you once you step out of that bubble will have an effect on who you are--even if you don't realize it.
I am SO glad that I have grown up in a decently culturally diverse environment. I'm the only American-born in my immediate family, but had a Filipino upbringing. I grew up listening to the Filipino language/dialects, so I can understand most of it and know how to say a few words/phrases (I've been working to improve my language knowledge since I've been here...let's just say it's a work in progress haha). I went to grade school in a school whose student population was predominately black. I went to middle school in a school whose student population was predominately white. I went to an all-girl high school where diversity was embraced (not to say it wasn't at my other schools). These 13 years of education were in Catholic institutions, but there were students there who were Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim. I have neighbors that are Chinese, Chaldean, Caucasian, or African-American. I went to a University that is in a city in which about 26% of its population is below the poverty line. I am a woman in engineering, and my University was about 80% male.
So it kind of surprises me when I meet people who live on an extreme of the spectrum--like if they spent practically all of their life in a predominately white city and barely ever left. They definitely see the world through a much different lens that I do because of the lack of diversity that they have experienced in their lives.
One of the things that I've noticed is that people over here aren't typically used to seeing people other than Filipinos. Two of my friends over here are from France and are white. When we go to different places, I notice the locals' faces when they see my friends. A lot of people do a double-take, or literally just stop what they're doing and stare. Sometimes I'm a little self conscious when I speak over here because I'm pretty sure I sound very different with my Michigan accent haha.
Peace. Love. Happiness.
--TR
No comments:
Post a Comment