Tuesday, February 7, 2012

culture

Culture: Experiences in life have taught me how imperative social justice can be; it opened my eyes to the world, to the different unspoken laws in each culture’s society. The boundaries, morals and unspoken rules of society are inevitable with our human nature because it is in our natural desire to belong and want to be accepted; with this inevitibility, social justice can only be philosophical. These boundaries, morals and unspoken rules are the key to which provides us acceptance into a certain cultural group and without acceptance, I would be lost amongst the world itself. I immigrated to America when I was about eight years old and upon reaching America’s soil, my uncles’ greeting was warm; however, I soon learned that America was not at all that I had expected. WhenI was placed into public school without the knowledge of the English language, I was terrified. My experience was not at all easy because other students were not willing to accept me for who I was or even dare to help me. Rather than being invited over to play a ball of game, I was always alone in a room and finally I decided it was not fun being shuned away from a group. I needed to figure out this particular group’s social habbits (of course then I did not think this way, but rather I am able to logically rethink my past now that I am older) and their morals, their type of language, and their style. The main point was to be able to comprehend the language in order to be able to figure out the smaller parts, which in turn will lead me into acceptance. Finally, I know English language, can communicate with others fluently without any Korean accent, analyzed and accepted their fashion and social habits, and learned their morals. I know I would not have been the same person as I am today if I had not come to America. With all the hardships I had experienced, I collected a lot of wisdom of decision making, taking care of myself, thinking of others, and various other valuable tools needed to become independent.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Laura,

    Sounds like you did have a tough time fitting in due to being from another country. It is interesting how much culture can really impact the generalizations people make and how it can really leave people out.

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  2. I never realized how much culture can impact learning and social integration. I am taking a service learning class right now that focuses a great deal on cultural diversity and the impacts it has on education. I have learned just how important it is for teachers and families along with other students and their families to work together and understand how important it is to help one another. It sounds like you had a tough time adjusting and nobody was willing to help, which was the most important thing you needed.

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